Saturday, 13 August 2016

The motor is in...

Finally got the motor connected to the gearbox and lifted it into the frame. I thought I would be pre-making the mounts but instead I offered the motor into place attached to the gearbox and hanging from a hoist, then using the gearbox mount bracket to set the position I measured and cut the other 2 mounts from an old scrap metal stand.

Curtis controller just tacked on to get the wires connected ready for a first run. 

Here are some more photos of it in place

The lifting eye was balancing it quite well although the motor end was slightly heavier. 

LH and front mount plates made from 3mm scrap sheet metal, it was already folded along some edges so I cut the shape I needed from it and didn't need to fold any parts



Offered the drive shafts up, had to unbolt the top of the shock absorbers to allow the arm to drop far enough to get the wheel end of the drive shafts in 

Would of been almost impossible without the hoist as I could hardly lift the motor and gearbox together. Although new the hoist was surprisingly cheap from ebay. 



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11 comments:

  1. Unknown2 September 2016 at 22:15

    �� nice car, clever way to do it and I like your ingenuity with finding existing materials and parts to make it work. Will keep coming back to see how it progresses.

    I am still dreaming of my own EV project so for now I will enjoy the build vicariously.

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  2. Mikeedith12 September 2016 at 13:39

    Hi Paul, Well done. I am impress with what you are doing, getting the Smart gearbox to work with a AC motor is a big hurdle. I to have just purchase one of these cars and I am at the early stages of removing rust on the back sub-frames and replacing rear brake pads etc.
    Could you e-mail me so we can work together on our cars! mikeedith@clear.net.nz
    Several years ago I converted a Morris Mini to electric, I still have it and its working really well.

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    Replies
    1. Paul4 October 2016 at 05:52

      Hi Mike, Thanks for the interest in the build, I'm really struggling to find time to work on this at the moment so progress is almost non existent. I have bought some chunky Harting connectors off ebay recently and will also get a steel box to house some of the electrical control parts then I'll hopefully get to a point of running the motor.

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    2. Mikeedith18 October 2016 at 18:30

      Keep up the good work, I am relying on you to crack the problem of getting the gearbox to commutate with the ECU! Cheers, Mike.

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  3. Anonymous4 October 2016 at 11:00

    Just know that you have another amazed follower from Germany here! Keep up the good work!

    /Alex

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  4. Paul7 February 2017 at 11:21

    Hey Paul any updates on build ? How many batteries will you need and what type I have a roadster with a junked engine and was looking at mr2 or bike conversion but this looks even harder!

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    Replies
    1. Paul17 February 2017 at 15:26

      Hi, no change to the build so far, 2 young kids and the cold winter has meant I've hardly gone into the garage for the last 4 months. I will get back onto finishing this soon, I can't wait to have this up and running. Slightly nervous about connecting up 100s of amps of batteries.

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  5. Mikeedith22 February 2017 at 12:33

    Glad to here you are getting onto your car soon. I have had some progress on my Roadster conversion, all the rust is addressed and my motor has been married to the gearbox and I have the Curtis controller mounted on top of the gearbox along with a wiring box. I have also managed to get a key switched 12volt wire from the SAM to the rear of the car this was not an easy job.

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  6. Jesus7 March 2017 at 16:26

    COOL STUFFF!

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  7. Unknown19 October 2017 at 06:24

    Love what you're doing, keep up the good work!

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  8. Unknown27 August 2021 at 08:54

    Hello Paul, very interesting project! I was planning to do something similar but I think it will be cheaper and better if I take the motor, transmission, controller and charger from a savaged Nissan Leaf. Can you tell me how much space there is inside this rear frame?

    ReplyDelete

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