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Ahh a clamp, of course, makes sense. I see it now.
Thought for a moment there I saw a new tool that was a must have

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

You haven't started writing yet, have you?

Just kidding, I wasn't exactly sure what it was either.

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Trochu Motor League

Well, a long weekend saw just a couple of hours fabrication before my welding wire and gas ran out. Most of the weekend was spent building shelves and cabinets to clear work space. Made a start on the support arms of the rear suspension:





A test fit on the rear rim revealed that what I thought would be the tight spot, won't be. The arm at 3 o'clock that sets toe will be the closest, but still a good 5mm from the rim.

Nice well made arm. I don't know about this one, but for clearance, oems will sometimes shape an arm like a banana to get around things without compromising the location of the ends to ensure no contact through the range of travel. Not sure now the original arms look on this model. Something to consider.

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Miata UBJ: ES-2074R('70s maz pickup)
Ford IFS viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13225&p=134742
Simple Spring select viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11815
LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
Lotus7:115x39x7.25
Tiger Avon:114x40x13.3-12.6
Champion/Book:114x42x11
Gibbs/Haynes:122x42x14
VoDou:113x44x14
McSorley 442:122x46x14
Collins 241:127x46x12

Yes, thanks for the suggestion. The oem are straight too, but on an 18 inch rim, whereas mine are 17 inch. Should be good with straight arms (if I can make them straight!)

It's been too long since my last update! Been pretty busy in my spare time with the build. In short, I have finished reverse engineering the T3 rear end and am happy with the result. I decided to gamble with an adjustable rear link pick up point. From hands on measurements it seems I'll be able to adjust the amount of dynamic toe which will be interesting to play with. I have the motor mounts positioned, but not fully cross braced yet. You'll see I need some general triangulation to develop too.
In the electron world, I have taken delivery of a Chevy Volt battery pack. 360v and up to 1,200 amps gives ample power to see the limits of the TS motor. Pleasantly surprised to discover the Gen 2 pack that I have is only 310 lbs once the box it came in was removed. The modules will be integrated into the frame so that an independent box is not required. I went back and forth on the battery module positioning, but ultimately opted for decent seat width for both seats and shortening the wheel base to sub 90 inches (still working on that). I could easily have positioned the modules for perfect 50/50 in both directions but that would have compromised the seating arrangements. Let me know what peaks your interest from the photos!

First off, I know very little about electric cars. As for batteries, my knowledge is limited to RC airplane li-po's and chargers. A few questions from this old wrench puller..........
What type of battery is that li-ion?
Are they equipped with onboard smart charging technology or is it in the battery charger?
Whats the expected driving range?
What's the charge time on a battery pack that size?
I assume you will have a home charger?
Great build.

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Excellent progress

I really like my Chevy Volt pack - I was limited in space so I didn't fit all of it

I took the "lumps" apart and made two new "lumps" each with three 2khw modules and one 1kwh module

If had had just a few more inches of length I would have made one with four 2kwh modules and one with three 2kwh modules and two 1kwh modules

I drilled out the hundreds of welds holding the clamps to the armoured base of the battery and used them to hold the lumps into my "battery"

You can see the way I got the air out of the water system

I attached the pictures but no idea where they are - lets try copy and paste - that didn't work
How do I attach some pictures?

http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19629&p=244547#p244547
duncanmark
Here's a bit of a blurb on how to post pics. Lost the attachments in the great site crash.

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Thanks
Found out what I did wrong
File is too large and I did not see the message

Try again

There are enough cooling connector bits on the chevy Volt battery to rearrange it - then I used std plumbing bits

Yes, it is a lithium ion battery but I don't know the exact chemistry. I will be installing a battery management system and a charger. I still have to purchase them but will likely source them from EV West or Stealth EV which are both close by. The expected range of this build is a total guess. The Chevy Volt had a peak power of 120kW and a range of 50 miles or so. My peak power will be something in the order of 240kW. Hoping to get at least 35 miles but range was the one thing I don't want to dictate the build. I'll charge at home on a 40 circuit. Charge speed is all about how much you want to spend. 6 hours is my goal so I can charge overnight between autocross events.

Hi Duncan,
I did post on your diy electric car forum page thanking you for the push towards the Volt pack too. It is not that much different in weight compared to the LG Chem modules I was looking at as they needed cooling plates added. The Volt pack is nice and straightforward. I contemplated making one long pack - it would have fit, but chickened out and opted for keeping the modules as they are but in an orientation that shortens the wheelbase. I did see your plumbing pics on the other forum, I love the solution you adopted. If I remember rightly you have not installed a BMS?
BTW, I am a fellow Scot from the far north. Where are you from?
Martin

Very interesting packs.

I think you could do a bit better in plumbing to force a more balanced water flow as a result a more balanced temperature. Instead of that you might consider separate cooling systems with digital temp control?

This stuff scares me and I have designed commercial 1 - 4KWh battery packs, albeit that was some 30 years ago. I have seen what damage a short can make with virtually unlimited current.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

The green packs are not mine, Duncan shared his build. Hopefully he'll chime in on temperature management experiences. On my yellow packs there are thermistors at each end of each module that will be the location of the thermistors that will come with the BMS. I too am a little scared. What I've researched so far is that the Volt modules have fuses at each cell tap - they are on a flexible PCB on top of the module under the black covers. I believe the highest heat risk is during charge where the charger will need to work only when the coolant pump is active and BMS is happy. I have a lot of learning to do but am enjoying it.