09.29.09
Posted in Body and Fender, DMV, Design, Sub Frame at 1:20 am by Administrator

According to CA state vehicle regulations, in order to register Evie, I have to have bumpers mounted on Evie. I have come up with a suitable design for Evie’s rear but I am having difficulty with the idea of punching a hole in the sculpted front end which I worked so hard to create. The rendering is what i feel the rear bumpers will look like. the design is simple. two vertical steel sheets, shaped, and with sheets of recycled rubber laminated in between them. Two bolts or rivets to hold them together and welded on two 1.25″ square steel tubes which slip into the sub frame and are pinned like a trailer hitch. As far as the front goes…
… your guess is as good as mine.
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08.19.09
Posted in AC 24, Assembly, Batteries, Body and Fender, DMOC, Design, Drive Train, High Voltage System, Low Voltage System, Relay Board, Restore, Road Test, Sub Frame at 5:56 pm by Administrator
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.

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08.04.09
Posted in AC 24, Aquisition, Assembly, Batteries, Body and Fender, DMOC, Design, Drive Train, High Voltage System, Low Voltage System, Relay Board, Restore, Road Test, Sub Frame at 6:43 pm by Administrator
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.

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05.25.09
Posted in AC 24, Assembly, Batteries, Design, High Voltage System, Sub Frame at 6:47 pm by Administrator
Since the batteries will be here the day after tomorrow, I decided to create a place for them so I don’t spend days tripping over them. The previous boxes were a good idea if the body was off of the chassis but with those boxes secured to the chassis, there was no way of placing the batteries into the boxes. This is what I came up with, sort of a Chinese puzzle. Since the batteries are Gel filled I do not have to worry about acid spills. I thought about setting the batteries on there side before but now the practicallity of that idea is real. I built these boxes in two parts. Part A. is the base and holds two batteries (on they’re sides) Part B. is the lid to part A and has a battery box on top of it. The idea is to be able to load the batteries as easily as possible and yet have them contained in a firm manner. The surprise is, I started placing all of the equipment in “Evie” to see how it all fits. Surprisingly, there are only three major items to place. They are The AC controller, the on board charger, and the DC to DC converter. The AC controller is the big box in the first and second pictures.

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03.29.09
Posted in AC 24, Aquisition, Assembly, Batteries, Body and Fender, DMV, Design, Drive Train, Restore, Sub Frame, Teardown, Time Off at 5:49 am by Administrator
It has been one year since the The California Air Resources Board Voted for me to build an electric car… Lets review. The big 3 auto industry was not helped by the decision as hoped. Tesla however is still on track in spite of the decision CARB made last year. We have voted out the money grubbing, war waging greed mongers. In desperation for an identity, Rush Limbaugh has become the voice of the Republican Party (Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha). We have voted in a man with a vision, intelligence, fortitude, and a realistic plan…Finally! As for the car, The chassis is 98% finished, The body is 50% finished, and I have all of the Parts to finish the entire unit. I have had some wonderful support from friends and family and would now like to thank them.
Thank You
Don and Dolores Bush
Belia Hawkins
Joel Hawkins
Tom Ceirante
Dave Haggland
Greg Hawkins of Bugformance of Stockton
Nancy
Mike and Sheri of Electro Automotive
Jim Cullen
Sean Ryan
Ken Henn
Bruce
Frank
All of the kids across the street
My dog Molly, and her cats, Manx, Tiger, El Sluggo, TC, and Sable
I truly value your love and, the support you have shown throughout this process so far. Thank You from the deepest of my feelings. “Keep On Pluggin”
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10.27.08
Posted in Assembly, Batteries, Design, Drive Train, Sub Frame at 12:57 am by Administrator


I have been spending most of my time in the learning curve. The fiber glass and body work learning curve. It was such a nice sunny day though, I decided to wheel the chassis out of the garage so that you can see the progress. These pics were taken by a professional videographer who happened to drop by. That’s me in the photos. Oh and yes, you noticed correctly, the front brake lines are missing in this photo. I have decided to replace them with the stainless steel woven ones.
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