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Electric vehicles are in use everywhere. They have proven to be efficient, quiet, economical and clean. The price, range, speed and load capacity of electric cars today fit as much as 80% of the driving needs of commuters in the United States.

This is a journal of my attempt at...

A 4CV to 4EV Conversion

3 May 2005

Bob Batson of EVA suggested I next make a cardboard mock-up of the motor to plan its placement in the car. Before starting that, I think I'll put up a little table.

Things you give up to own an EV	Things you put up with to own an EV conversion
1. Buying gasoline	1. Lower range
2. Buying oil	2. Nightly recharges
3. Buying anti-freeze	3. Mass - heavier means more sluggish handling and braking
4. Buying belts	4. More tire wear
5. Buying hoses	5. More brake wear
6. Replacing starters	6. More suspension wear
7. Replacing mufflers	7. More steering wear
8. Replacing exhaust pipes	8. Big battery expense every 2 - 5 years
9. Replacing oil filters	9. Regular battery checks
10. Replacing air filters	10. Lower payload
11. Replacing spark plugs	11. Replacing motor brushes approx. 40,000 miles
12. Replacing ignition cables	12. Inventing things to buy at service stations so you don't feel guilty just inflating the tires
13. Troubleshooting ECMs (electronic control modules)	13. Funny looks from mechanics
14. Replacing coolant sensors	14. Having car dealership service managers forget your name
15. Replacing waterpumps	15. Forgetting the latest price of gasoline
16. Replacing alternators	16. Listening to suggestions to put a windmill on the car
17. Replacing heater cores	17. Using the heater reduces your range
18. Replacing smog control devices	18. Venting while charging
19. Exhaust	19. Following smoky cars
20. NOISE	20. Tire whine

Why make a model out of carboard if you have tools and some scrap lumber laying around? There are legitimate reasons for making it from wood. It will withstand more abuse; it can be drilled or bolted to other things; it won't flatten when I trip over it; and once it's hanging in the engine compartment, I can point to it and explain that the car is just sitting because the hamster escaped.

This is the beginning of the model. Dimensions are taken from a technical drawing Bob emailed to me. The motor is 8.01 inches in diameter, but I ignored the .01 part. If things get that tight, my project is already in deep trouble. It consists of 2 discs cut from scrap 3/4 inch plywood and 8 pieces 1 1/2 x 1 3/4 x 13 inches. Actually, I squared off 4 pieces of 2x4, cut them to 13 inches and then ripped each piece. The 8 pieces are attached to the plywood discs using #6 x 1 5/8 inches drywall screws (these have nice sharp points and a self-countersinking "bugle" head).

The motor model is roughly 14.5 inches long. The shaft (see the duct taped protrusion on the right in the photo) is 1.125" in diameter and 1.90" long. The two terminals for the field windings, S1 and S2, are approximately 2.75" from the front of the motor. The armature terminals are A1 and A2 and are approximately 11.75" from the front of the motor, rotated 8 degrees offset from the S terminals. All are 5/16-NC18 bolts, just as they are on the real motor.

The shaft is just a stack of 1 1/8" diameter discs cut from plywood: 2 pieces from 3/4" thick plywood and 1 piece from 1/2". The duct tape kept them aligned while I used a #8 x 3" screw to attach the stack to the model.

An end view of the model. Not included are the bolts attaching the end plate to the motor on the X and Y axes, along with some other details not needed to plan how to mount the motor. The S terminals are located 45 degrees around the circle from the end plate attachment points and the A terminals are at 53 degrees. On the motor, but not on the model, 3 inches out from center along each of the four 45 degree radial lines is a mounting hole drilled and tapped for 5/16-NC18 bolts.

That's all I had time for today. Other stuff keeps getting in the way.

Carrying on...

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