01.31.10
Last Days of Jan 2010
12.06.09
Preparing for Break and Light inspection
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- EV1E in her Stall
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- Bus Tail Lights
Last time I made an entry I had driven to Atwater and back. My friend Dave followed me back home and made one comment. He said “you know when you use your directional light and push on the break pedal at the same time, both of your tail lights flash on and off.”
Enter the Signal Stat 900. Dave suggested I get a signal stat 900 as all of the functions for the lights takes place within the switch. This industrial strength signal switch has been used on 18 wheelers since 1947 and has been tried and true. I found one on Ebay for 19.95 (about 30.00 with shipping, and I’ve got to tell you, this is one of the best investments I have made. Worth its weight in gold. This switch and my friend Dave, saved me countless hours of frustration so now I have Headlights, Tail Lights, Parking Lights, Directional lights, and Hazard lights.
08.30.09
Evie Update 2
Just wanted to let my loyal readers know where we are with Evie, as well as where we are going and what needs to be done to get there. As you are all aware I have had some difficulties with the top and doors. I am happy to report that those challenges are being resolved and everything seems to be lining up properly. The door seals and rear hatch seal are only temporary to assure that there is a good fit before painting. After the car is painted I will re-install them with silicon. To that end; Once I am completely satisfied with the fit of the top and doors I will fill in the gap where the top meets the body and glass it in. My plan is to roll up some 9″ wide, resin soaked, strips of glass into cigar shaped pieces and fill in the gap. I have been advised that this would add strength and substance to the top. I will then sand smooth and glass over the bead and feather it at the body and on the sides of the top. The hope is to get the body and top to look like one piece. I will then start on the cosmetic stuff to make it look pretty while at the same time prepping her for paint.
There is still a slight rubbing noise when turning the car sharply. I will fix this problem by shaving off a little more of the wheel well I built up when installing the headlight housing. The hood latch still needs to be worked out and the wire harness still has be completed.
The interior is going to be done by Eddie and his crew down at Sew Creative in Turlock CA. I have decided to paint the car white with a blue GT stripe which ill be the same color as the carpet. The seats as well as the ceiling and door post will be white. The door paneling and dash board will be burled wood simular to the Jaguar… Ah but I am getting way ahead of myself. I have a lot yet to do but I feel I have less in front of me then I have behind me. Which reminds me, I have to check CA law requirements for registering a kit car. See you next time and thank you for your readership. “Keep On Pluggin”
08.29.09
Some Mod’s
I have been asked to include some close ups of the modifications I am making. One of my alert readers noticed that I have eight or more pictures of Evie from the outside. She, the alert reader advised me , people want to know what makes Evie Tick. So Belia… This is what makes Evie tick. Pictures 1-3 show the Fuse block and and console with the instrument panel. Note in the second picture, The rear hatch cover is now hinged and fits properly. That is rubber around the inside edge of all the doors. Pic 4-6 are various stages of opening the Instrument Cluster. I did this beacuse i realized the if I didn’t I would have to crawl under the Dash to see what wire goes where. It will now be very easy to replace light bulbs. The hinge is an old T-Bird glove box hinge I had and modified for my purposes. Of course evrything will be cleaned up and trimmed upon completion. Picture 7 shows the placement of the charger. 8 and 9 show the motor, 1/3 of the batteries, and the relay panel which will be enclosed upon completion. Lastly we have the gas cap. Yup, that is a household 110 outlet. I hope this satisfies and refreshes. See you next time. Enjoy and “Keep on Pluggin”
08.19.09
Evie Update
Here are more pictures of Evie. These were taken on the 17th after I readjusted the top and doors. The doors fit much better now. What you can’t see from the pictures, I had to shave off just a sliver of the inside fender well to allow better clearance for the wheels and tires. I have decided to mount the 12 Volt fuse block/wire harness on the center tunnel behind the emergency brake. This will give me easy access. This car has a center console and all I will have to do to check or change a fuse is lift the door on the console. The console also has channels built into it which I can run my harnesses through.
The push is to get her street legal so that I can start driving her to work. Some of the members of Team Evie are coming this weekend to help. There are many rivers to cross before we get there.
08.11.09
Windshield and Back Glass
On Aug 9th 2009 (yours truly’s birthday) I had a few friends over for a bar-b-que. Each one got to ride in Evie down the block and back again, for a total of 6 trips. The batteries are still ready for another run. I sent my battery charger to Sacramento for re-calibration. It was set up for 18 8V batteries, and I am using 12 12V batteries. When I get it back I will fully charge the batteries and see what this baby will do. I am wearing a large smile these days just knowing I am so close to seeing a dream become a reality. In case you are wondering what ever became of the two Bradley’s I was using for parts, here is the answer. I gave the rust bucket gray beast to Greg at Bugformance of Stockton as a core for the brand new transmission Evie is sporting now. I asked him at the time if he would let me have parts as needed and he could keep the rest. Well the darn thing sat in his yard for about 1 year I had taken the top and one of the doors off of it and then he finally he sold it or gave it away to a guy named Jon Connolly. He also told Jon about me and that I might have some “spare parts” for a Bradley. I had a whole car (remember the white one I bought for parts?) so I gave him the other Bradley… Actually that is not quite right, we bartered. He is going to paint my car. He has won awards for his paint jobs. I have decided to paint her Wimbledon White with a Blue GT 40 racing stripe. The pictures below were taken on the day I put Evie’s windshield in.
08.04.09
Today We Ride!!!
Today August 4th 2009 at 1435 PDT Evie moved on her own power. I threw a seat in her (didn’t even bolt it in and a steering wheel on her (again, no bolt) and started her up and drove her down the driveway and down the street and back. Then I backed her up the driveway and into her stall. I did this a total of two times. It has been a long road to get to this point but we are here. Here are some photos of Evie on her Maiden Voyage Day.
05.30.09
Oh Man! Just When It Looked Within Reach…
Check this out. The picture your looking at is of the plug which plugs into the DMOC (remember the one with all those wires), Notice pin 3 does not have a wire in it. Imagine my surprise when the schematic called for the wire from pin three! anyway we’ve come a very long way on the car since the 15th but I will not be able to reach my goal of being “operational” by the 31st. I sent the old one back today (wire harness) and should receive a replacement next week. At least we were able to hook up the high voltage system and check the voltages at my test points. I’ve also included a picture of the relay board we designed.
05.29.09
What a Goal, What a Day
Today and tonight we Tied up many loose ends. Jeff fabricated the lower rear body brace which will assist in keeping Evie’s butt from sagging. But we also hooked up the pack and got High voltage to the DMOC, In addition we fabricated a central control board and mounted it in the motor area behind and to the left of the DMOC. This control board has most of the relays. The Idea is to keep all of the wiring and relays in a location where, when it becomes necessary to change the pack, we will be able to do it without having to take the car apart again. The first and second pictures show the before and after hook-up of the DMOC. The next picture is Jeff displaying his newly fabricated “Anti Saggy Butt Bar” The fourth picture is of my girlfriend Belia, who came over and helped out with fabricating the jumpers used in the main battery pack. The last one I am checking the output voltage in the front pack. Tomorrow we see how the motor turns.
