Now it's spring 2025 and I am keen to
get the little red car back in shape for *this* year's
Microcar event!
Hope springs eternal.
I have, on hand now, the replacement transmission (thank you Gabi B for putting me in touch with the seller, and thanks to the seller, Amin S, who gave me a sqare deal and a new beginning!), and a new motor from EVWest, a NetGain Micro 880 paired with a HyPer-Drive X125 controller. It's a 100V, 250A combo capable of delivering 10 kW continuously (about 13hp which compares favorably with the output of the original two-cylinder, two-stroke 399cc motor).
And this represents another weight-loss step: This motor is 40 lbs. Less still than the 65 lbs of the shunt-wound from the last two iterations, and way less than 185-lb forklift motor from the professor's conversion.
I will also be using lithium battery modules from an Ioniq 5 battery pack. I will use eight modules in two strings of four, 100V nominal. More on that later.
Note that I opted not to use a Golden Motor set-up. Great price, and good specs for continuous power output (about the same as the NetGain), but the torque was a relatively light 24 ft-lb compared to the 98 ft-lb of the NetGain though still 20% better than the 20 ft-lb of the original internal-combustion motor (at 2200 rpm).
I am going to have to be careful about torque; I have to protect the little transmission! As mentioned above, I'm on my first replacement already.
I've started the machining: I built this shaft coupler-to-clutch hub adapter with deliciously little runout (about .004").
Hope springs eternal.
-Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man
I have, on hand now, the replacement transmission (thank you Gabi B for putting me in touch with the seller, and thanks to the seller, Amin S, who gave me a sqare deal and a new beginning!), and a new motor from EVWest, a NetGain Micro 880 paired with a HyPer-Drive X125 controller. It's a 100V, 250A combo capable of delivering 10 kW continuously (about 13hp which compares favorably with the output of the original two-cylinder, two-stroke 399cc motor).
And this represents another weight-loss step: This motor is 40 lbs. Less still than the 65 lbs of the shunt-wound from the last two iterations, and way less than 185-lb forklift motor from the professor's conversion.
I will also be using lithium battery modules from an Ioniq 5 battery pack. I will use eight modules in two strings of four, 100V nominal. More on that later.
Note that I opted not to use a Golden Motor set-up. Great price, and good specs for continuous power output (about the same as the NetGain), but the torque was a relatively light 24 ft-lb compared to the 98 ft-lb of the NetGain though still 20% better than the 20 ft-lb of the original internal-combustion motor (at 2200 rpm).
I am going to have to be careful about torque; I have to protect the little transmission! As mentioned above, I'm on my first replacement already.
I've started the machining: I built this shaft coupler-to-clutch hub adapter with deliciously little runout (about .004").
1-1/8" I.D. shaft coupler mated to
the clutch hub from the original clutch disk. Not yet
welded. One thing at a time. Note that it's in a
four-jaw chuck. My three-jaw has a runout of about
twenty thousandths.
Big moment 5/5/2025
Got that rear drive all put back together WITH the e-motor and its coupler. Looking pretty good.
At this point, the diff/transmission needs oil, and I need to attend to the speedo cable (still attached to the car) as it has a kink. But it's near ready to be reintegrated with the vehicle.
Shaft coupler is in the shadow
between the plates, lower center of image.