The Conservative Cave

Interests => Around the House & In the Garage => Topic started by: Chris_ on February 15, 2008, 08:18:33 PM

Title: 16-year-old builds electric truck for $6000
Post by: Chris_ on February 15, 2008, 08:18:33 PM

The electric engine uses the existing transmission and drivetrain (with a little work).  He is also doing the same conversion to a 1992 Toyota Tercel.  He says the truck has a 40-mile range and will run at 50 miles per hour. 

Quote

To start off, here's a picture of my truck before conversion to electric power. It's a 1988 Mazda B2200. It's somewhat rusty, but not too bad. It's got a lot of miles on it, so the engine smokes pretty badly (especially on startup), but the rest of the truck seems to be in good mechanical shape. This is pretty much ideal for a conversion.

The idea is to convert the truck to 100% electric power, as a zero emissions vehicle. This will be done by removing the dirty internal combustion engine components and installing an electric motor, batteries, etc. in their places.

Quote

My 1992 Toyota Tercel has been warmly welcomed to the garage, and is undergoing the conversion process. This great little car weighs right around 2000 lbs.- perfect for electric conversion. It came with a 5-speed and a 1.5L EFI engine.

Engine, exhaust, gas tank, etc. have all been removed. At this point I'm thinking I'll run a 144v system with 12v batteries. I may upgrade later on to 156 or higher- we'll see. I want to get "zippy" performance out of this thing. I'm currently waiting for the motor to arrive. Should be an impressive motor. It's another Kostov, only a little bit bigger. It's a 10.5" dia motor, vs. the 9" Kostov in my truck. It should be able to handle the amps a little better, not to mention putting out a lot more power!

http://greenflightev.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc52/greenflightev/Mazda%20EV/S3000003.jpg)

(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc52/greenflightev/Mazda%20EV/Motor%20Rebuild/012.jpg)

(http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc52/greenflightev/Mazda%20EV/S3000002.jpg)

Title: Re: 16-year-old builds electric truck for $6000
Post by: franksolich on February 16, 2008, 12:56:56 AM

You know, there's a lot to be said for the old-fashioned (circa 1950-1970) Popular Mechanics "gee-whiz" stuff.

I'll bet this kid is one of them.

Title: Re: 16-year-old builds electric truck for $6000
Post by: Bondai on February 17, 2008, 11:06:45 AM

Battery technology seems to be what is holding everyone back...or I should say the lack off.