Probe EV Conversion

Good news and moving stuff around...

2009-07-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally landed a new job, and it's local so I wont have to move. All great news! Unfortunately, it will take me a few months to recover until I can even think about spending money on the Probe.

As it was, Penny was sitting under my attic, so one weekend morning I single-handedly took it off the jacks, moved all mine/my Dad's stuff to the other side of the garage, rolled it back inside the garage, cleaned up the mess and now I can park next to it and get at my attic!

Bit of a setback...

2009-06-10T16:03:00.001-07:00

Well, yesterday I was laid-off. Penny will just have to wait that much longer. :)

Electric Cars On The Way

2009-05-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hey, James I see your comments but I'm not sure how to respond to you... you can e-mail me at aikeru [at] gmail [dot] com

I think it's always exciting to see yet another manufacturer starting on a BEV :) here's a list of the ones I've found so far:

Who doesn't love the Tesla Model S sedan? 300mi. range with a 45minute "quick-charge" at $49,9k
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php
Tesla is also supplying Mercedes-Benz with batteries for their EV
http://www.leftlanenews.com/tesla-to-provide-lithium-ion-batteries-to-mercedes-benz.html
Remember the "Miles EV"? 80+mph, 120+mi range XS500 set to be $30k-$35k
http://www.zoomilife.com/2008/11/22/miles-automotive-introduces-xs500-electric-sedan/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/08/30000_electric.php
Subaru's sub-$20k R1e which can recharge in 15 minutes with a 124mi. range
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/03/subaru-electric-cars-r1e-g4e-new-york.php
Dodge's beautiful EV sports car 150-200mi., 0-60 <5sec. four hour charge at 220v
http://jalopnik.com/5053495/chrysler-unveils-dodge-ev-a-tesla+like-all+electric-sports-car
BMW's Electric Mini
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/bmw-electric-mini-cooper-california.php
Nissan's unnamed electric - it will be a 4 door, FWD hatchback. They have the interesting idea of leasing the batteries and having a reduced price for the car itself...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2009-05-07-nissan-electric-car-review_N.htm
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/23/nissans-2010-electric-car-in-u-s-will-be-price-competitive-wit/
Indian-made REVA Electric Car (75mi., 50mph, 90% charge in 1 hour)
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/reva-l-ion.php
Electric Tango 0-60 in 4 seconds
http://www.tangoelectriccar.com/
http://hackedgadgets.com/2009/01/17/tango-electric-car-good-in-snow-and-faster-than-the-tesla/
Mercedes-Benz developing BEV, plans to eliminate fossil by 2015
http://www.greencar.com/articles/preview-mercedes-bluezero-electric-cars.php
http://www.hybridcars.com/types-systems/mercedes-electric-cars-swiss-army-25359.html
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/23/electric-mercedes-benz-coming-in-2010/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/mercedes-eliminate-petroleum-7-years-2015.php
GM's Chevy Volt - well, it's not 100% BEV seeing as they added a gasoline generator to recharge the batteries, but for people who need 1 car that can refuel at a gas station on a long trip, it may be ideal.
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/27/what-will-the-chevy-volt-cost-depends-on-the-price-of-gas-at-th/
http://gm-volt.com/
Fisker's Karma is much like the volt, but at $80km, 125mph and a 50mi. range before gas generator
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/fisker-automotive-karma-detroit-center.php
Ford to bring pure Ford Focus BEV to market in 2011
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/ford-invests-550-million-michigan-plant-focus-electric-car-bev.php?daylife=1&dcitc=daylife-article
http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/20/autos/ford_electric/index.htm
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090202/AUTO01/902020354
Chinese BYD's E6 who Warren Buffet has invested in
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/13/technology/gunther_electric.fortune/
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/01/byd-shows-produ.html
Toyota FT-EV
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/toyota/2009-toyota-ft-ev-ar69094.html
http://www.hybridcars.com/vehicle/toyota-ft-ev.html
Mitsubishi MiEV
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=124867/pageNumber=1
Th!nk City electric car - a four-seater with 110 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials
http://gas2.org/2008/04/23/affordable-electric-cars-coming-to-us-in-2009/
Google invested in Aptera Motors, their Type 1 will sell for $27k
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/google-invests-aptera-motors-actacell-battery.php
Jeep EV and Chrysler Minivan EV
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/chrysler-electric-cars-prototypes-dodge-jeep-minivan-ev.php
Lightning GT 0-60 in 4 seconds, beautiful and very, very expensive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_GT

Even though it's not at all practical, if you've seen the super-fast "Eliica" electric car, they shoudl be making them for sale at about $255k ea.:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/team-hopes-to-build-200-eight-wheeled-eliica-electric-cars/

Honda seems to have a negative view of BEV or PHEV...
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/honda-poo-poos-plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicles-phev/
But Honda will be making a battery electric motorcycle
http://www.thebikergene.com/electric-hybrids/honda-electric-motorcycle-to-debut-in-2010/

Check out "Better Place" with their quick-recharge and battery swap-out stations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=iwsCmeS4mI4
They're already doing things in Australia, Hawaii, Israel and elsewhere!

Did you enjoy "Who Killed the Electric Car"? Well, there's a new movie coming out: "Revenge of the Electric Car"
http://revengeoftheelectriccar.com/

I don't really care for the NEV thing myself, but China's got a cheap one
Chinese "Fly Bo" 40mph with 70-150mi. range at $10k
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/12/16/video-fly-bo-a-150-mile-range-smart-look-a-like-ev-on-sale/
http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/fly-bo-6000-2-ev

I got some of my info here:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/17-electric-cars-overview-2005-to-2008.php
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/01/slideshow-gallery-23-electric-cars-evs.php?page=23

I'm also still eagerly awaiting the Automotive X-Prize :)
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams

Filling up

2009-05-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

This entertaining activity is something the whole family can enjoy! :)
Gas is $2.09/gal outside of my neighborhood and I saw as high as $2.15 on my way to work.
For people like me who are still stuck driving gasoline cars (for now), here's a great site MSN has for finding the best deal:
http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip&src=Netx

It also tells you the highest and lowest prices reported for the country (which is usually Alaska oh Hawaii but today it's California). Where I live is usually right about the average.

There was a time with $2.00 was outrageous -- now it's "not a bad deal".

Current Wishlist

2009-05-05T01:50:00.000-07:00

While I'll be shopping around for suppliers, here's my current wishlist to be updated as I discover I need more stuff and as I find better prices.

Electric Motor -- looking at a used GE motor or Advanced DC 4001
Transmission coupler + adapter plate to the electric motor
DC-DC Converter (to get my 120V to 12V power for windows, radio, lights, etc.)
http://www.evparts.com/prod-DC2420.htm
Vacuum Pump, Brake Vacuum Switch (like in Ep5 of evcapri)
Potentiometer for throttle
http://www.evparts.com/prod-PB2222.htm
Voltmeter, Ammeter, any other "meters" I may need
Curtis PMC 1221C controller
http://www.evparts.com/prod-CT2230.htm
Currently thinking 15 x 8V Flooded Lead Acid Batteries - thinking I may go with Interstate, I have plenty of time to decide
Probably 3x Chrome "Electric" Emblems
http://www.evparts.com/prod-AC2810.htm
Some kind of heater to replace the heat originally from the engine
http://www.kiwiev.com/11_2d_the_heater.html
Some kind of charging system and on-board battery charger stuff
http://www.kiwiev.com/17_2d_charging_system.html
While I intend to try and balance the load a bit between front and back (hmmm, do I really, really need that back seat? Not if I am building this for myself... hmmm) probably need to upgrade the springs/struts for additional support

And of course there's the cost of the custom motor mount, battery boxes that need to be made, etc.
Being a computer programmer, I have plenty of spare parts in that regard :) so of course I have a spare 12V computer fan or two that I guess I could use to ventilate the rear battery box.
Finally there's all the other odd bits and pieces like fuses and battery connectors.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

Exhaust Cut Off! :)

2009-05-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Although I'd only removed the exhaust from the engine prior, it's finally off and away!
I had some help from my neighbor, Cody.

I think I will spend another day removing what I can from the underside of the car (ie: gas tank)
I might know of a motor I can purchase but I'm not sure if the timing is right.
Regardless, I'll have some shopping to do once I've removed a few more bits and pieces!!
Exciting!

Iceless Probe!!

2009-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Brad Pogue's help, the ICE is finally out!! Woooohooo!!

Adjusted EV Calculations

2009-05-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

You'll be happy to know I was off on my calculations about the electricity. According to my city's website, the highest price during winter for the first 2000kWh (they actually charge less after this) is 0.087 cents/kWh
This would take the EV cost per mile if at 0.44kWh / mile = 0.038 cents/mile for the electricity.
(12,000mi = $456)
My current car is more like 0.088 cent/mile for gasoline alone at $1.95/gal (12,000mi = $1,056)
If gasoline gets up to $3/gal again it would be 0.136 cent/mile (12,000mi = $1,632)

So I ought to save anywhere from $600 - $1,176 on fuel/year ($50 - $98/month).
Granted I'm not counting maintenance here (like oil, filters, coolant/antifreeze, etc. vs. battery replacement costs) but the ROI has potential if you continue to drive the EV.

I have read one using "$500/year" arbitrary figure for ICE maintenance costs and 3.3c/mile battery replacement but I don't know that I feel comfortable using those numbers.
Really that's not quite 1c/mile extra (+0.041 for ICE, +0.033 for EV) or $96/year savings.

If only solar and wind generators were cheaper for consumers...

Well I do not think electricity itself will get cheaper (quite the opposite) but I do believe batteries will from everything I've been reading in EV news, etc.

Oh, and if you can somehow charge from work... you can get even better savings.

I really believe there is an unquantifiable savings benefit to driving an EV that involves the lack of complexity. To just diagnose problems I've had with other cars, it can cost lots of money, since there are just so many parts and systems and they're buried and interconnected with each other. The more points of failure, the more chances for something to go wrong. Still, I can't think that way in my calculations and I'm not that much of a pessimist. :)

It's really interesting thinking about a car as something that could "pay for itself" (not literally unless I had a truly green solution like wind/solar).

Oh I will add, if your car really gets 50mpg (for the argument of say a Prius driven conservatively) you're more like 0.039 @ $1.95 and 0.06 @ $3 which cuts your overall savings but something to note about all those wonderful hybrid cars? Don't they need battery replacements, too? ;)

Slightly more empty engine bay :)

2009-05-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

My neighbor Cody came over and we hacked away at the engine a bit today. His Dad owns a saw and I talked with some other people that own or know people that own one and somebody is bound to make good on lending me one. :)

He cut some hoses rather hastily and we could smell coolant. I've been told that A/C really isn't worth it/isn't possible by some fellow EV'rs. I could live without it but it's a real shame if that's the case. Cody is also letting me borrow his socket set so I was able to tear into it some more. :)
He should be back tonight and we'll see how much farther we can go!

I've been recommended to get "Freeze Off" and some "Gator Grip Pliers" to deal with the stripped nut(s)... and a heavy hammer.

Shout out to the other EV'rs I've talked to - David, Steve, Mike and Cliff in case they read this. :)

Very little progress

2009-05-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well I took a couple of small pieces off the engine and tried with that same nut and the one near it.
Here's the stripped nut I can't get off:

So I thought maybe I could remove the one you can't see here

But that is proving difficult without a ratchet for that size nut, since mine seems to have disappeared and I don't have access to my Dad's tools. A friend of a friend might come by tonight or this weekend, although I'm leaning in favor of a local mechanic I've spoken with that seems like he can offer me a good deal and even do some limited welding work. We'll see what happens.

Perhaps this weekend I can purchase some tools to help accomplish my goals. :)

Getting my hands dirty

2009-04-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I rearranged the stuff in the garage. I wont be able to park in there now, but I have plenty of room to work on Penny. :)
The particular nut that gave me problems before is really stripped bad. I think there's another way to get it off -- the other side is attached to something ... I'll have to get a picture of it, but it's part of the removal of the drive axles.
If that fails, maybe I can cut the nut off or something ... appreciate any help or advice on this one.

Thoughts and figures

2009-04-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

OK if I read my electric bill right it's about 0.103c /kWh
Going with 0.44 kWh / mile (have no idea) x 0.103 / kWh = 4.5cents/mile
I read you also should add +3.3c/mile battery replacement so = 7.8c/mile

My current car is rated at 18mpg City / 26mpg Hwy (wow, didn't know it was that bad!) so let's go with 22mpg...
0.0454 gal/mi. x $1.95/gal (current price) = 8.8cents/mi.
at $3/gal = 13.6cents/mi.

If you add oil say $30/oil change x 4 times a year x 12,000mi. = 1cent/mile
so that + filters/etc.

Hmmm... do these figures sound right? I might be off a bit on my kWh price depending on how you're supposed to read the bill (they bill me for water/electric/trash all on the same bill).

I also called around some shops to see what the cost for pulling the engine would be like. I don't want to give up or take the easy way out but I also want to make progress on this.
Well, I found someone who owns their own shop and quoted me $45/hr for labor and said he thought he could remove the engine in about 4 hours easily, but since the transmission wouldn't have any support, I'd have to have it towed back to my house.
Interesting... Also can't have the engine just sitting there so I'll have to convince one of my friends to let me borrow their truck and drop it off at a salvage place or something.

Anyone want to buy a Ford Probe engine? :)

This project is still alive.

2009-04-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

I know. I haven't been around or saying anything. Truth is, I really don't have money for this right now. I intend to change that. Stay tuned.

When I started the project, my Dad was also helping me. He's since moved to Minnesota, so I find tearing apart a massive, heavy object somewhat intimidating, but I can't let that stop me. :)
I also had plans to offset the cost by having a roommate (my Dad, or more recently another individual), but that too isn't working out.
I'll have to find a way to budget this thing. :)

I plan to post soon some calculations on the total cost of the vehicle, technical specs on how far it could actually go and how fast/etc., how much money I'll be saving and all that.

Now and then my coworkers and friends ask, "So what are you going to do with that car?" or "What have you been doing...?" Hopefully next time I'll have something to say. :)

Intermission

2008-09-03T12:22:00.001-07:00

We were able to disconnect the exhaust, but of course not remove it. It will have to be cut. I was unable to get some nuts off the trans-axle area near the CV joint (don't really know what it's called) and will need a tool to break a stripped nut as well.

Step 1: Removing the ICE -- Part 1.3

2008-08-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, sparks flew tonight, but not so much with the romantic bliss of progress.
While we were able to drain the fuel tank and deposit its contents into the other two ICE cars my Dad and I own, the rest of the day was spent in futile attempts to remove the exhaust.

I guess this is the "cheap-y" way -- I bought a dremmel, under advice that it would be sufficient -- and 4 discs later we were scratching our heads. We tried again with the bent "cheat" bar, to no avail.

After beating it with a hammer, I suggested my Dad use a lock cutter I owned, and still the bolts remain firmly in place.

Tommorow we'll head down to AutoZone to loan the breaker bar again. If that doesn't work, it's likely the car will see a SawzAll. :)

Step 1: Removing the ICE -- Part 1.2

2008-08-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever seen so many spiders all in one place. We started with getting the car up on jacks and removing the wheels.

Here I am vacuuming all the spiders, webs, and spider egg things...

Next to go was the hood. A lot easier to work in the engine without it. As you can see, the previous owner(s) tore into it a bit in trying to see how difficult it would be to fix the ICE...
Makes my job easier, I suppose. :)

We then removed the battery, battery bracket and radiator...

Then we removed the starter motor and solenoid...

To remove the radiator coolant reservoir, we took off a panel in the front driver side...

We also drained most of the oil ...

Unfortunately, aside from getting the trans-axle bolts off, we didn't get much farther in getting them off altogether but in order to get that far we had to head down to AutoZone and loan a 24" breaker bar and a 32mm socket.

We did, however, succeed in creating a "cheat rod" that inevitably bent in trying to pull off the exhaust. At this point, it was getting dark and time to call it a day. Not as much progress as we would've liked, but there's still Sunday and Monday to go!
May need to buy a tool to cut off the exhaust ... but I have a pretty tight budget in the short-term for this project. :)

Step 1: Removing the ICE -- Part 1.1

2008-08-28T19:57:00.001-07:00

Well, thank goodness it looks like that wasn't entirely accurate! It sounds like a chore, but dpringle has let me know he has successfully removed the engine up-ways rather than down-ways.
I'm beat from helping a friend move and after all, it is Thursday, so Friday I'll be making a shopping list for tools and perhaps start there.

Hopefully I can get the ICE out in a weekend. We'll see how overly optimistic that is. Photos and maybe some video to come.

Step 1: Removing the ICE -- Part 1

2008-08-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Well, as I've said time and again to anyone I talk about, "The hardest part is removing the engine," and while I'm not speaking from experience, it seems that may definitely be true of the Probe.
In my wanderings trying to see how this might be done, I've found a few others who share/shared my conundrum, like Jerry's post on "Engine Removal"

I have to say if you're thinking about joining me, you NEED to read this blog:
http://probeev.blogspot.com/ -- it practically gives step-by-step instructions on how to tear the car apart. This post in particular.

dpringle ( http://www.harrisburgev.com ) told me that "Ford apparently assembles their engines on the crossmembers, then hoists them up into the frame from the bottom..." -- oh, so instead of pulling the engine up and out, I'll have to drop it through the bottom... after removing brakes, struts, etc.

I bought a Haynes repair manual yesterday and my Dad and I managed to push the car all the way around to back it into the garage after cleaning the garage up quite a bit. Through the night it's been sitting there with a piece of cardboard I slid under it, since it seems what little oil it has left may be leaking.

In my spare time I'm also shopping for parts, researching battery information, etc. The trouble is that most of everything I've read is foreign to me but I am learning a lot (relative to what I knew before ;) as I go and ask questions and get answers.

Seems the first order of business will be to get some proper jacks or something to raise the car whilst we work.

Penny's first wash

2008-08-27T16:00:00.001-07:00

As soon as I got home from work and mowed my lawn, I started washing my (old) new car. There were tons of grass clippings and various fodder all over it.

And here's the finished product:

I have yet to start on the interior. It's a pretty Penny, really. :)

My interest in electric cars -- a big rant

2008-08-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

My interest in DIY conversion began back when I saw videos on YouTube about HHO gas and cars "running on water". I'm not really sure what to think about all that, but I learned about other alternatives like bio-diesel, hydrogen/electric, methane, ethanol, batteries, etc.
I found out about the Automotive X-Prize competition and determined to follow it closely to see if any of the participants would release products to the public that I could buy and afford.

It wasn't too terribly long until I learned about the EV1, years after its demise. It's amazing that I lived in California in 2003 and didn't know anything about it, or CARB, the lawsuits or the Bush Administration's hand in the whole mess. Anyway, this is NOT a political or environmentalist-ish blog. I finally managed to see "Who Killed the Electric Car", I strongly recommend it.

So, why batteries? Why not the oh-so-popular hydrogen or bio-diesel or ethanol?
My primary reasons were simply that it's tried and true, the technology is already on the road and it's getting better as time goes on (Lithium Ion, Integrated-Cell, EEStor capacitor, Firefly, new longer-lasting, lighter Lead-Acid batteries...) and cheaper as more companies gear up for mass production, giving more competition on the market.

It's true that the BEV I'll be converting is not for everyone - but then I have the luxury of already owning another car I can use for long road trips and once the prices have come down I can switch to lithium or something with better range and less weight.

Although the benefits for the environment are nice, the bottom line is that at current gas prices I'll save over $1000/year on gasoline, not to mention maintenance as very little is required for an electric motor. I'm told gasoline will plummet again as OPEC or "big-oil" or whoever will realize that alternatives are becoming available and affordable and try to keep their customers - but it would have to be well below $1/gallon before I'd stop saving a significant amount of money.

I'm also tired of big promises undelivered, political games and the like and the project itself will be fun to undertake, so I've decided to do something myself.

'96 Ford Probe has found a new home

2008-08-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

This blog will document mine and my Dad's conversion to all-electric with a 1996 Ford Probe GT 5-speed manual transmission car. :)

Here's a shot of the car before I picked it up. For some odd reason, the hood was left propped open, even though it shuts fine. I got a great deal for it, all things considered.

Well, like many/most DIY EV's, it needed a name. For now, we're calling it "Penny" as in "it takes but pennies to run."

I estimate this project will probably take at least 6 months, part-time, to do. It's really awesome that I get to spend this time working alongside my Dad, who has plenty of experience tearing engines out of (and putting engines back in) cars. :)