I am putting in a few electrical parts and was shorted a part, so I will finish that step when I get the new part from ElectroAutomotive (or run off to Radio Shack if it takes too long). I was dreading this step, because there are a lot of little wires to hook up and other tedious tasks, but it is going okay, so far. I notice that the next step is to hook up the electric engine to the transmission. Wow, I wasn't expecting to be doing that for awhile. As soon as I get that done, I'll order the batteries, as it will free up some space in my garage.
I have a solar guy coming by this week to give me an estimate on putting up solar panels. I'm not sure that we can afford it at the moment, but this will give us an idea of the price, the number of panels and where they would be placed. I'll put up a post with all the details when the estimate comes in.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Oops - Forgot a step
Someone e-mailed me recently and mentioned removing the battery tray. I realized that I had forgotten to pull that out of there. I have added a step and fudged on when I did it (today), renumbering a couple of steps to put it in more logical place. You can go to that step (now step 5) here:
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Step 7: Installing the Potbox
Description: Mounting the potbox onto a mounting plate on the front of the engine compartment (Driver's Side).
Estimated Time: 2 hours.
Tools needed: drill, Rivnut tool, various wrenches, flat-head screwdriver.
Caveats: Your vehicle, like mine, may vary from that pictured in the instructions.
Purpose of This Part: The purpose of the potbox is to work as the go-between for the gas (accelerator) pedal and the controller. As noted in the controller installation, the controller controls the electrical amperage that is sent to the engine. The potbox signals how much more or less amperage the controller should put out. When you push on the gas pedal, it will pull the accelerator cable as it always did, but instead of telling the gas engine how much gas to burn for increased acceleration, it will pull on the potbox lever, causing the potbox to signal electrically to the controller how far the pedal is being pushed. The controller increases or decreases the amperage based on whether you push or let up on the pedal. In other words, when you step on the gas pedal, the car goes faster (just as always).
Stuff Needed:
When I looked over the work space, I knew there would be a bit of a problem, this time.
This is simply not the same configuration as that shown in the instruction manual picture. There is less room and the ridge used as an edge for the template is in a different location, so the template could not be used. 
Here is their picture. The black object (I think that's the brake cylinder) is much higher and closer to the center. This forced me to make a couple of modifications. First, since it is sitting lower, the drilled holes (top and bottom) don't go through to the passenger compartment and I needed to use rivnuts for all four mounts.
Secondly, I needed to drill two new holes in the mount in order to to get it to line up in a place where I could put rivnuts (due to the donut hole indentation on the sheet metal, right where the pre-drilled holes on the left would be placed for bolting).
I don't know whether this will be a problem, but I did get it mounted with the modifications mentioned. I might use a few different sized screws and remount it, but here is how it it mounted to date:
For comparison, here is the installed potbox in the manual.
You can see that it sits much higher. I notice, by the way, that they had a couple of unused holes drilled right where I did mine, so obviously, they had it set up in the past for that modification and lost that plotline at some point.
Estimated Time: 2 hours.
Tools needed: drill, Rivnut tool, various wrenches, flat-head screwdriver.
Caveats: Your vehicle, like mine, may vary from that pictured in the instructions.
Purpose of This Part: The purpose of the potbox is to work as the go-between for the gas (accelerator) pedal and the controller. As noted in the controller installation, the controller controls the electrical amperage that is sent to the engine. The potbox signals how much more or less amperage the controller should put out. When you push on the gas pedal, it will pull the accelerator cable as it always did, but instead of telling the gas engine how much gas to burn for increased acceleration, it will pull on the potbox lever, causing the potbox to signal electrically to the controller how far the pedal is being pushed. The controller increases or decreases the amperage based on whether you push or let up on the pedal. In other words, when you step on the gas pedal, the car goes faster (just as always).
Stuff Needed:
When I looked over the work space, I knew there would be a bit of a problem, this time.
This is simply not the same configuration as that shown in the instruction manual picture. There is less room and the ridge used as an edge for the template is in a different location, so the template could not be used. 
Here is their picture. The black object (I think that's the brake cylinder) is much higher and closer to the center. This forced me to make a couple of modifications. First, since it is sitting lower, the drilled holes (top and bottom) don't go through to the passenger compartment and I needed to use rivnuts for all four mounts.
Secondly, I needed to drill two new holes in the mount in order to to get it to line up in a place where I could put rivnuts (due to the donut hole indentation on the sheet metal, right where the pre-drilled holes on the left would be placed for bolting).
I don't know whether this will be a problem, but I did get it mounted with the modifications mentioned. I might use a few different sized screws and remount it, but here is how it it mounted to date:
For comparison, here is the installed potbox in the manual.
You can see that it sits much higher. I notice, by the way, that they had a couple of unused holes drilled right where I did mine, so obviously, they had it set up in the past for that modification and lost that plotline at some point.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Step 6: Installing the Controller
Description: Mounting the Controller and shunt to mounting plate on the front of the engine compartment.
Estimated Time: 5 - 6 hours.
Tools needed: drill, hex wrench, hammer, Rivnut tool, various wrenches, wire cutter, wire stripper, heat gun, crimper, anti-corrosion compound, heatsink compound.
Caveats: Patience required.
Purpose of This Part: The controller controls how much electricity is put into the motor at any one time. The shunt measures this electrical output and will connect to a guage in the car so that you can always tell how much electrical amperage is being put out by the controller. This will, among other things, tell you when to switch gears if you have reached max output from the controller (presumably used in the same way a tachometer is used in a combustion engine).
It was nice to really get started on the installation. This part took a long time for a few reasons, but mostly because there was a bit of a learning curve for several things. I am sure I could do it again in less than half the time.
From this point forward, I am using the ElectroAutomotive instruction manual for the conversion and I won't just rehash that on here. I'll just stick to the highlights and anything I think needs more explanation.
My initial impression of the manual is that it is generally quite good and detailed. It could use a little elaboration in places, though. For example, they have you bolt the controller onto the mount, then they tell you to take it off, again. They could explain that you are just doing it temporarily to set the correct orientation for a particular wire. Anyway, if you just plod through the instructions, things make more sense while you are doing them, even if they seemed a bit confusing when I read them over beforehand.
Here is the place where the controller is installed. It is the front of the engine compartment, directly behind the passenger seat of the car. A mount is set out from the wall so that the controller can fit snugly. Note the little piece of metal ribbon right in the middle, there. I ended up chiseling that off.
ElectroAutomotive provides templates to tell you where to drill the holes for the controller mount. They suggest you use a center punch, but I just marked through it with a magic marker. I made back-up copies of these templates in case I screwed up. Once you have the holes marked, you drill through to the passenger side, using progressively larger drill bits.
This requires safety goggles, which I didn't have, so I ended up using my swim goggles. Okay, that's kind of dorky and they fogged up a lot, but they did provide a nice blue tint to the work environment.
The bottom drilled holes are not accessible from the passenger side, so you need to set in rivnuts to screw into the blind holes. What are rivnuts, you might ask? A rivnut has a small thread with a bit of soft metal above that. When you use a rivnut tool on it,
it causes that soft metal to collapse on the other side of the sheet metal, preventing it from being pulled back out, while still keeping the screw threads. It basically allows you to screw something right into sheet metal or other spaces where you don't have access to the other side to put in a nut and washer.
Here is a pre and post rivnutted rivnut (post is on the right). These rivnuts are for one of the mounting standoffs, which is used to set the mount out to where the controller can be attached. 
Here it is attached to the wall, with the two rivnuts in the outer arm. The instruction manual doesn't make this clear, but you will need to drill the outer standoff holes bigger to fit the required rivnut. 
You then install the left standoff using a similar method and eventually the mounting plate that the controller will be mounted on. This is a little out of order, because you first need to set up the wire that will run from the controller to the shunt. For that, you need to cut of piece of wire, strip the end, put on a lug filled with anticorrosion goop and crimp it to the wire. Then you use a heat gun and cover up the lug/wire attachment with some heat shrink tubing. Here is a photo collage of that procedure:
Finally, you put the controller on the controller mount (First you add some heatsink zinc to the back to protect it).
This is the completed project. The slanted piece above the controller is the shunt. The wire connects the top left negative terminal to the shunt. One thing I should point out is that the instructions just say to screw the mounting bolts in and they do screw in tight, but I added some locking nuts to the bottom bolts to make sure the bolt mounts are kept in place (I'd do the same for top, but they aren't very accessible). Also, the "high performance" 1231C controller (which I am using), has 5 bolt mounts rather than 4.
I even had time to do a little fishing. Here is the catch of the day. I finally got that fuel pump and filter out of there!
Estimated Time: 5 - 6 hours.
Tools needed: drill, hex wrench, hammer, Rivnut tool, various wrenches, wire cutter, wire stripper, heat gun, crimper, anti-corrosion compound, heatsink compound.
Caveats: Patience required.
Purpose of This Part: The controller controls how much electricity is put into the motor at any one time. The shunt measures this electrical output and will connect to a guage in the car so that you can always tell how much electrical amperage is being put out by the controller. This will, among other things, tell you when to switch gears if you have reached max output from the controller (presumably used in the same way a tachometer is used in a combustion engine).
It was nice to really get started on the installation. This part took a long time for a few reasons, but mostly because there was a bit of a learning curve for several things. I am sure I could do it again in less than half the time.
From this point forward, I am using the ElectroAutomotive instruction manual for the conversion and I won't just rehash that on here. I'll just stick to the highlights and anything I think needs more explanation.
My initial impression of the manual is that it is generally quite good and detailed. It could use a little elaboration in places, though. For example, they have you bolt the controller onto the mount, then they tell you to take it off, again. They could explain that you are just doing it temporarily to set the correct orientation for a particular wire. Anyway, if you just plod through the instructions, things make more sense while you are doing them, even if they seemed a bit confusing when I read them over beforehand.
Here is the place where the controller is installed. It is the front of the engine compartment, directly behind the passenger seat of the car. A mount is set out from the wall so that the controller can fit snugly. Note the little piece of metal ribbon right in the middle, there. I ended up chiseling that off.
ElectroAutomotive provides templates to tell you where to drill the holes for the controller mount. They suggest you use a center punch, but I just marked through it with a magic marker. I made back-up copies of these templates in case I screwed up. Once you have the holes marked, you drill through to the passenger side, using progressively larger drill bits. 
This requires safety goggles, which I didn't have, so I ended up using my swim goggles. Okay, that's kind of dorky and they fogged up a lot, but they did provide a nice blue tint to the work environment. 
The bottom drilled holes are not accessible from the passenger side, so you need to set in rivnuts to screw into the blind holes. What are rivnuts, you might ask? A rivnut has a small thread with a bit of soft metal above that. When you use a rivnut tool on it,
it causes that soft metal to collapse on the other side of the sheet metal, preventing it from being pulled back out, while still keeping the screw threads. It basically allows you to screw something right into sheet metal or other spaces where you don't have access to the other side to put in a nut and washer.
Here is a pre and post rivnutted rivnut (post is on the right). These rivnuts are for one of the mounting standoffs, which is used to set the mount out to where the controller can be attached. 
Here it is attached to the wall, with the two rivnuts in the outer arm. The instruction manual doesn't make this clear, but you will need to drill the outer standoff holes bigger to fit the required rivnut. 
You then install the left standoff using a similar method and eventually the mounting plate that the controller will be mounted on. This is a little out of order, because you first need to set up the wire that will run from the controller to the shunt. For that, you need to cut of piece of wire, strip the end, put on a lug filled with anticorrosion goop and crimp it to the wire. Then you use a heat gun and cover up the lug/wire attachment with some heat shrink tubing. Here is a photo collage of that procedure:
Finally, you put the controller on the controller mount (First you add some heatsink zinc to the back to protect it).
This is the completed project. The slanted piece above the controller is the shunt. The wire connects the top left negative terminal to the shunt. One thing I should point out is that the instructions just say to screw the mounting bolts in and they do screw in tight, but I added some locking nuts to the bottom bolts to make sure the bolt mounts are kept in place (I'd do the same for top, but they aren't very accessible). Also, the "high performance" 1231C controller (which I am using), has 5 bolt mounts rather than 4.
I even had time to do a little fishing. Here is the catch of the day. I finally got that fuel pump and filter out of there!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Puttin' Stuff In
I finally got the nuts and bolts I need to start putting electric vehicle parts into the car. I had run out of stuff to take out a long time ago (although I found the hiding place for that fuel pump today and will remove the little rascal shortly). I started putting in the controller today and I'm about halfway through. I should have that first task completed with pics sometime later this week. I'm not 100% sure what a controller does, but I will try to discuss the function of each thing I install to the best of my understanding.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Step 5: Removing the Battery Tray and Tray Stand
Description: Removing the battery tray and tray stand where the old 12 volt battery used to sit. There will still be one regular car battery (in addition to the 20 golf cart batteries to be installed), but it will be in a different place.
Tools Needed: Hammer and Screwdriver or chisel.
Estimated time: 5 to 10 minutes.
Caveats: See note below.
Note: I actually did this after putting on the controller and potbox, but it would be better to do it before, so you don't have to worry about getting your controller all dusty, so I let's pretend I did it here. This is at the point where you jack up the car and get it ready for installing parts. This makes it easier to get at the tray from inside the engine compartment.
Not much to this step. The tray is riveted in and you can just pount your screwdriver in to pull it from the engine compartment. I pulled off the tray first, then the stand. Quite easy. Here's some pics:
This is the battery tray. Like with most old Porsche 914's, this is the rustiest thing in the car.
I removed the tray first. Good riddance to that rust trap!
This gives good access to the tray stand for removal.
Here it is without the tray or tray stand. This needs to be done to make room for the battery containers.
Tools Needed: Hammer and Screwdriver or chisel.
Estimated time: 5 to 10 minutes.
Caveats: See note below.
Note: I actually did this after putting on the controller and potbox, but it would be better to do it before, so you don't have to worry about getting your controller all dusty, so I let's pretend I did it here. This is at the point where you jack up the car and get it ready for installing parts. This makes it easier to get at the tray from inside the engine compartment.
Not much to this step. The tray is riveted in and you can just pount your screwdriver in to pull it from the engine compartment. I pulled off the tray first, then the stand. Quite easy. Here's some pics:
This is the battery tray. Like with most old Porsche 914's, this is the rustiest thing in the car.
I removed the tray first. Good riddance to that rust trap!
This gives good access to the tray stand for removal.
Here it is without the tray or tray stand. This needs to be done to make room for the battery containers.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Dashboard Repair
Like most old cars, the dash on my '71 Porsche 914 is quite cracked and faded. When I bought it, there was a "dash topper" on the dash, which is basically a synthetic looking cloth material that was velcro-ed on to cover up the cracks and didn't look much better than the old dashboard.
I bought a dash/vinyl repair kit for it and tried to cover up the cracks. They give you a miniature iron and some sort of goop to apply. Maybe this requires a skill that I don't possess, but it ended up looking worse after the "repair."
I thought about buying a new dash, but I don't know if they are even for sale. I looked for old dashboards on ebay and found a few, but they are old and usually have a crack or two of their own and they are bit expensive anyway. Then I found a company that makes dash shells for Porsche 914's (and probably a lot of other cars) and decided to try that.
Basically, it's a thin plastic/vinyl shell that fits over your regular dashboard. I tested it out and after some initial wiggling, it fit like a glove, so I put the included glue on the back of it (goes around the outer edge, about a half inch in from the edge) and fit it back on the dash. 
You need to put something on it to hold the glue in place until it dries. I used some 4 X 4's and duct tape. The instructions recommended bungy cords, but I didn't have any.
Anyway, I think it looks alright. Here is the finished product.
Not quite perfect, but a big improvement, I'd say. The purists might scoff, but I'm turning the car into an electric vehicle, so I'm not a purist.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Step 4: Removing the Seats and Backing
Description: Removing the two seats and the vinyl backing and center cushion behind the seats.
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Tools needed: One phillips head screwdriver
Caveats: None to mention
Okay, this was an easy one. No tool is even needed to to remove the seats. They come right off the rails. I started with the passenger seat. Just pull up on the loop that adjusts the seat forward and back. At first I couldn't get the seat all the way off. There is one little trick for which I consulted the 914 Club website. The Seat has a release for the rail nearest the door. If you pull the seat almost as far forward as you can (leaving maybe a half inch), you can feel the rail release on the seat preventing it from coming all the way off the front. Just reach in from the front and depress that rail release and the seat will come off.
This is a close-up of the rail release.
Here is the full bottom of the seat. Note the loop to adjust the seat on the front of one track and the rail release on the other track. The same technique can be used for the driver's side seat. In my case, it was a little sticky and I ended up using a pick ax handle as a lever to help me push it forward. I will take the advice on the 914 Club site and grease the rails before I put the seats back on (if I remember).
To remove the backing behind the seats (which is necessary for drilling on the controller and pot box, you simply unscrew the 4 bigger screws and 2 small ones in the center. They are all near the bottom. Up top it fits into a couple of connections, so once you have pulled out all the screws, pull down on it and this will almost remove it completely (it is all a single piece):
I say almost because the little latch for the engine compartment release prevents it from coming off completely. Rather than mess with that, I've decided to leave it as is. I'm pretty sure I can access that area by just pulling it back when needed and I'm running out of space in my garage for all this stuff.
Anyway, here is the car without the seats (ignore the sledgehammer).
I finished this quickly enough that I also decided to do a side project: a quick and dirty dashboard repair job. The glue is drying, but I'll post that up tomorrow. I am going to label my side projects not related to the EV conversion as "side project."
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
Tools needed: One phillips head screwdriver
Caveats: None to mention
Okay, this was an easy one. No tool is even needed to to remove the seats. They come right off the rails. I started with the passenger seat. Just pull up on the loop that adjusts the seat forward and back. At first I couldn't get the seat all the way off. There is one little trick for which I consulted the 914 Club website. The Seat has a release for the rail nearest the door. If you pull the seat almost as far forward as you can (leaving maybe a half inch), you can feel the rail release on the seat preventing it from coming all the way off the front. Just reach in from the front and depress that rail release and the seat will come off.
This is a close-up of the rail release.
Here is the full bottom of the seat. Note the loop to adjust the seat on the front of one track and the rail release on the other track. The same technique can be used for the driver's side seat. In my case, it was a little sticky and I ended up using a pick ax handle as a lever to help me push it forward. I will take the advice on the 914 Club site and grease the rails before I put the seats back on (if I remember).
To remove the backing behind the seats (which is necessary for drilling on the controller and pot box, you simply unscrew the 4 bigger screws and 2 small ones in the center. They are all near the bottom. Up top it fits into a couple of connections, so once you have pulled out all the screws, pull down on it and this will almost remove it completely (it is all a single piece):
I say almost because the little latch for the engine compartment release prevents it from coming off completely. Rather than mess with that, I've decided to leave it as is. I'm pretty sure I can access that area by just pulling it back when needed and I'm running out of space in my garage for all this stuff.
Anyway, here is the car without the seats (ignore the sledgehammer).
I finished this quickly enough that I also decided to do a side project: a quick and dirty dashboard repair job. The glue is drying, but I'll post that up tomorrow. I am going to label my side projects not related to the EV conversion as "side project."
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Nuts 'n Bolts
I was just talking to someone about the "nuts 'n bolts of life," probably inspired by my electric car conversion. There is the idea of having an electric car and cruising around town and feeling all "green." Then there is the process of putting the thing together, the occasional screw-up, the frustrating delays, etc.
I wanted to get started on some of the installation this weekend after retrieving a large pile of parts from EA. I went through the instructions for installing the pot box and controller and realized that I don't have the little bag of nuts and bolts to attach the parts to the car, or the paper templates to tell me where to drill holes. Without those, I can't put anything in. Shari assures me that she will send them down shortly.
In the meantime, I notice in the manual that I will have to remove the two seats from the car to get access for that installation. So I at least have a project for this weekend which will be to remove the two seats. I'm hoping it's not that much harder than removing the hoods and engine compartment. I believe there is a how-to in the Haynes Manual and I'll try to get some pics and add the removal as a technical post while I wait for the nuts 'n bolts.
I wanted to get started on some of the installation this weekend after retrieving a large pile of parts from EA. I went through the instructions for installing the pot box and controller and realized that I don't have the little bag of nuts and bolts to attach the parts to the car, or the paper templates to tell me where to drill holes. Without those, I can't put anything in. Shari assures me that she will send them down shortly.
In the meantime, I notice in the manual that I will have to remove the two seats from the car to get access for that installation. So I at least have a project for this weekend which will be to remove the two seats. I'm hoping it's not that much harder than removing the hoods and engine compartment. I believe there is a how-to in the Haynes Manual and I'll try to get some pics and add the removal as a technical post while I wait for the nuts 'n bolts.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Second Driveway on the Right
So I headed up to Electro Automotive yesterday. The idea was to get some of the parts so I could get started on the project and to make it a nice road trip. Sometimes I forget just what an aesthetically unpleasing drive 101 can be from here to Salinas. It is a windy, desolate strip of highway that offers little in the way of sightseeing. We decided to stop for lunch in Soledad, so that we could see their Mission. After a few wrong turns and a break for lunch, we did finally find it. It is a quaint little mission. 
For those of you not from this area, there are a string of missions along the California Coast, each within a day's ride by horse and carriage from the next one along a trail that was (and is) called El Camino Real. We have our own mission right here in San Luis Obispo.
Electro Automotive is north of the city of Santa Cruz, so the fastest way to get there is to cut through Castroville, a town which I now know has it's own claim to fame:
Artichokes! Apparently, it is the "Artichoke Center of the World," an honor which may or may not involve a lot of competition from other artichoke-based towns. I used to fear the artichoke in my youth, but I have now come to terms with this amazing, three-dimensional geometric creation and we were tempted to stop off for a some fried artichoke hearts, but miles to go...
Eventually, we hit Route 1 and the trip became more scenic as we cruised north along the Pacific Coast until, of course, we hit the narly traffic of Santa Cruz. Electro Automotive is about 10 miles North of Santa Cruz (off Bonny Doon Rd. for those who know the area). It is in the mountains along a scenic twisting road, through forests that have a few scattered Redwoods. It is a nice drive up there. When we arrived, I realized quickly why things move a little more slowly than I might like.
This is quite the "Mom and Pop" place in the country. There is no sign indicating that you are arriving at a business. The only clue is that there are several cars of various levels of wear and tear parked out front. The "mom" is Shari, who greeted me at the door. She was casual to the point of barefeet and I was instantly envious of their little place out in the country. Shari was busy with one of their two employees putting my parts together, so in the meantime I was introduced to the "pop" of the mom and pop, Mike, who gave me the "nickel tour." Here are the two of them in Mike's office: 
The place is small, constituting two rooms and the small office where Mike has his computer. Mike handles the technical side and Shari the business side from what I could gather. I spoke with Mike for awhile. He is originally from Nebraska and came to this area in 1964. He worked as an auto mechanic for Volkswagen for many years. He chatted about Volkswagens for awhile. He was a fuel injection expert and I told him about my crazy old '72 Volkswagen 412, a strange car that never really took hold in the U.S. He informed me that the Porsche 914 has a very similar engine. I once took that 412 across the country, running into some trouble in Minnesota, where the Volkswagen repairman said he hadn't seen or worked on one in 10 years. I kept it my parents' garage for a year while I was in medical school, until my father called me one day and said "get that piece of crap out of my garage." I finally sold it.
Mike went into the electric car business in '79, and has been in 3 different locations in this general area since that time. He explained that one of the primary functions of the business is to create interface plates between electric motors and the transmission of just about any car. He uses a high quality digital photo and CAD software to design this for the transmission and was working on a transmission while we were there. If you want to convert a standard car to an electric engine, this is crucial. Mike is a bit of a pioneer in the field of electric cars and I doubt there are many people more knowledgeble on the subject.
He noted that they have been swamped with orders of late. I don't get the impression that this is driving them to expand the business or hire more workers (I don't know where they'd find them out there). They seem content where they are and don't seem to be pushing for more customers. They both seem very passionate about electric cars and they really want to put together a good quality product, but expect some delays...
Shari got all of the parts they had ready for me (I might have to make a second trip later this summer for the rest unless I'm more patient and willing to wait for them to ship). This should be enough to get me rolling on the project.
On the way back, we decided to go further down Highway 1 to Carmel before getting back on 101.
I was tempted to cruise the Big Sur Coast, but it was getting late and I know from experience that it isn't much fun cruising that highway in the dark, so we stopped in Carmel and had a nice Italian dinner, then took a walk to the beach.
Hopefully, I can get started next week on the installation. I will start with the controller and pot box and I will explain more about those in another post (when I figure out what they are).
For those of you not from this area, there are a string of missions along the California Coast, each within a day's ride by horse and carriage from the next one along a trail that was (and is) called El Camino Real. We have our own mission right here in San Luis Obispo. Electro Automotive is north of the city of Santa Cruz, so the fastest way to get there is to cut through Castroville, a town which I now know has it's own claim to fame:
Artichokes! Apparently, it is the "Artichoke Center of the World," an honor which may or may not involve a lot of competition from other artichoke-based towns. I used to fear the artichoke in my youth, but I have now come to terms with this amazing, three-dimensional geometric creation and we were tempted to stop off for a some fried artichoke hearts, but miles to go...Eventually, we hit Route 1 and the trip became more scenic as we cruised north along the Pacific Coast until, of course, we hit the narly traffic of Santa Cruz. Electro Automotive is about 10 miles North of Santa Cruz (off Bonny Doon Rd. for those who know the area). It is in the mountains along a scenic twisting road, through forests that have a few scattered Redwoods. It is a nice drive up there. When we arrived, I realized quickly why things move a little more slowly than I might like.
This is quite the "Mom and Pop" place in the country. There is no sign indicating that you are arriving at a business. The only clue is that there are several cars of various levels of wear and tear parked out front. The "mom" is Shari, who greeted me at the door. She was casual to the point of barefeet and I was instantly envious of their little place out in the country. Shari was busy with one of their two employees putting my parts together, so in the meantime I was introduced to the "pop" of the mom and pop, Mike, who gave me the "nickel tour." Here are the two of them in Mike's office: 
The place is small, constituting two rooms and the small office where Mike has his computer. Mike handles the technical side and Shari the business side from what I could gather. I spoke with Mike for awhile. He is originally from Nebraska and came to this area in 1964. He worked as an auto mechanic for Volkswagen for many years. He chatted about Volkswagens for awhile. He was a fuel injection expert and I told him about my crazy old '72 Volkswagen 412, a strange car that never really took hold in the U.S. He informed me that the Porsche 914 has a very similar engine. I once took that 412 across the country, running into some trouble in Minnesota, where the Volkswagen repairman said he hadn't seen or worked on one in 10 years. I kept it my parents' garage for a year while I was in medical school, until my father called me one day and said "get that piece of crap out of my garage." I finally sold it. Mike went into the electric car business in '79, and has been in 3 different locations in this general area since that time. He explained that one of the primary functions of the business is to create interface plates between electric motors and the transmission of just about any car. He uses a high quality digital photo and CAD software to design this for the transmission and was working on a transmission while we were there. If you want to convert a standard car to an electric engine, this is crucial. Mike is a bit of a pioneer in the field of electric cars and I doubt there are many people more knowledgeble on the subject.
He noted that they have been swamped with orders of late. I don't get the impression that this is driving them to expand the business or hire more workers (I don't know where they'd find them out there). They seem content where they are and don't seem to be pushing for more customers. They both seem very passionate about electric cars and they really want to put together a good quality product, but expect some delays...Shari got all of the parts they had ready for me (I might have to make a second trip later this summer for the rest unless I'm more patient and willing to wait for them to ship). This should be enough to get me rolling on the project.
On the way back, we decided to go further down Highway 1 to Carmel before getting back on 101.
I was tempted to cruise the Big Sur Coast, but it was getting late and I know from experience that it isn't much fun cruising that highway in the dark, so we stopped in Carmel and had a nice Italian dinner, then took a walk to the beach.Hopefully, I can get started next week on the installation. I will start with the controller and pot box and I will explain more about those in another post (when I figure out what they are).
Thursday, June 21, 2007
IF THE MOUNTAIN WILL NOT COME TO MOHAMMED...
MOHAMMED WILL GO TO THE MOUNTAIN!
Waiting for something to happen is just not my style. Rather than sit around hoping for a package of parts to arrive in the mail, I've decided to head on up to Electro Automotive in Santa Cruz and get the parts myself. It's also an excuse for my wife and I to take a road trip up to Santa Cruz, which should be a nice 3 to 4 hour drive. I'm also curious to see the mythical Mecca that is Electro Automotive and I will try to take some pictures. Stay tuned...
Waiting for something to happen is just not my style. Rather than sit around hoping for a package of parts to arrive in the mail, I've decided to head on up to Electro Automotive in Santa Cruz and get the parts myself. It's also an excuse for my wife and I to take a road trip up to Santa Cruz, which should be a nice 3 to 4 hour drive. I'm also curious to see the mythical Mecca that is Electro Automotive and I will try to take some pictures. Stay tuned...
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Communication...
I e-mailed Electro Automotive again yesterday and finally got a reply, so it looks like I might be in business soon:
I apologize for my lack of communication. We got slammed with a load
of orders just as my office assistant went out of town for two weeks,
and my packing and shipping guy just stopped showing up.
I will get a load of parts packed up for you tomorrow, which will
include suspension, adaptor, motor mount, controller, DC/DC, potbox -
most of the major components. I am still waiting on racks and boxes
from the fabricators.
I am also getting backordered on the Netgain WarP 9 motors from the
factory until mid-July. (I am hearing similar stories from all my
suppliers - they are buried in orders.) I can get the Advanced DC 9"
motor (which was the standard in the kit until recently) more
quickly. I wanted to let you know the situation and let you decide.
I have a feeling that the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is causing a bit of a rush for this stuff, when they used to only get the occasional order. Anyway, that e-mail sounds promising, so I hope I'll get the stuff in the next week or so. I'm not sure about the engine change and wrote back asking if there was a substantive difference between the two. If not, I'll switch. Anyone know anything on this subject? If so, leave your opinion in the comments or e-mail me.
I apologize for my lack of communication. We got slammed with a load
of orders just as my office assistant went out of town for two weeks,
and my packing and shipping guy just stopped showing up.
I will get a load of parts packed up for you tomorrow, which will
include suspension, adaptor, motor mount, controller, DC/DC, potbox -
most of the major components. I am still waiting on racks and boxes
from the fabricators.
I am also getting backordered on the Netgain WarP 9 motors from the
factory until mid-July. (I am hearing similar stories from all my
suppliers - they are buried in orders.) I can get the Advanced DC 9"
motor (which was the standard in the kit until recently) more
quickly. I wanted to let you know the situation and let you decide.
I have a feeling that the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is causing a bit of a rush for this stuff, when they used to only get the occasional order. Anyway, that e-mail sounds promising, so I hope I'll get the stuff in the next week or so. I'm not sure about the engine change and wrote back asking if there was a substantive difference between the two. If not, I'll switch. Anyone know anything on this subject? If so, leave your opinion in the comments or e-mail me.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Out on the Yard
Since it appears from what I'm reading from other electric vehicle builders that Electro Automotive is in no hurry to deliver my goods, I'm trying to catch up on my yard work. After 2 years away in New Zealand, I returned to a veritable jungle last year. My "dwarf" lemon tree was 12 feet high, the rosemary bushes had overwhelmed the front yard, etc. I really spent much of the last year just hacking away and now I'm trying to set up something that isn't so high-maintenance. I'm using mostly drought-resistant plants and ground cover that can also choke out weeds.
Here's the left side of the house. I'm going for a kind of "desert dream" effect.
Things need to grow in more before I can tell whether I am pulling it off, but I think this is a good start.
Here it is from back to front. I recently added some solar powered lighting which makes it visible at night, mostly in a kind of shadow effect as the lights are not overly bright.
I'm staying with a desert motif on the other side, but more of a mediterranean/desert look.
I just planted some Giant Bird-of-Paradise plants that get 10 feet tall next to the palms (The big leafed plant you can barely make out behind the brown flax). As the palms get tall and more distant from the rest of the landscape, I think these will keep a tropical feel to it. I got the idea from the prison where I work. The landscaper there has a real talent (I'd take some pictures, but of course they aren't allowed). The bougainvillea against the wall is starting to make a comeback. A lot of it died off in unusually cold spell this winter. I'm planning to put a wall fountain between the two cacti. I'm thinking a Mexican tile fountain, but I haven't found anything that I like. Maybe I'll make my own, but that's yet another project...
Here's the left side of the house. I'm going for a kind of "desert dream" effect.
Things need to grow in more before I can tell whether I am pulling it off, but I think this is a good start.
Here it is from back to front. I recently added some solar powered lighting which makes it visible at night, mostly in a kind of shadow effect as the lights are not overly bright.
I'm staying with a desert motif on the other side, but more of a mediterranean/desert look.
I just planted some Giant Bird-of-Paradise plants that get 10 feet tall next to the palms (The big leafed plant you can barely make out behind the brown flax). As the palms get tall and more distant from the rest of the landscape, I think these will keep a tropical feel to it. I got the idea from the prison where I work. The landscaper there has a real talent (I'd take some pictures, but of course they aren't allowed). The bougainvillea against the wall is starting to make a comeback. A lot of it died off in unusually cold spell this winter. I'm planning to put a wall fountain between the two cacti. I'm thinking a Mexican tile fountain, but I haven't found anything that I like. Maybe I'll make my own, but that's yet another project...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
The Waiting Game
Electro Automotive said it would be 4-6 weeks before I get most of the parts for the electric engine, but it would be nice to get some sort of status report from them. I have e-mailed and called them a few times over the past few weeks and have not heard a single thing from them. Looking at other blogs, they are not known for being quickly responsive to inquiries, but when I send a $12,000 check to someone, it's a little disconcerting to hear nothing from them. The tone of my phone messages and e-mails is getting into the angry range, which is probably not productive. I think if I call again, I'm likely to lose it a little on the phone, so I'll hold back for now, try to keep it out of my mind and get working on my yard. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Back From the Home of My Ancestors
This is not really on the topic of electric vehicles, but while I await my parts from Electro Automotive (with whom I left a polite message today by phone and will also politely e-mail), I thought I'd do a "what I did on my Italy vacation" post.
One thing I will say about electric vehicles is that Rome could certainly benefit from a change to electric scooters. The crazy streets of Rome are filled with the gas powered variety and they are quite noisy and polluting.
We started our trip in Rome and hung out for a couple of days near the Roman Forum, which was the center of ancient Rome. The ruins are quite amazing. Roman Emperors each would try to top their predecessor and build a new addition to the forum, which served as the main meeting place for Romans for markets, baths, religious ceremonies, important speeches ("Friends, Romans, countrymen' speech of Shakespeare fame) shopping, etc. It leads all the way down to the Colosseum and it's worth spending most of a day seeing all of that. We also managed to see the Vatican. I doubt there is a finer museum than the Vatican's. It ends with a tour of the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's famous ceiling. Pictures are forbidden, although I was one of the few who followed that and the "no talking" rule for the Sistine Chapel.
After 2 days, we headed down to the Amalfi Coast, where we stayed in the seaside town of Positano. If you head down that way, I recommend making this the base for your stay. It is a great little seaside town (albeit touristy), with an adequate beach, and easy excursions. We made two. The first was to the island of Capri, which is reached by a ferry. This is an amazingly picturesque island, but is absolutely jammed with tourists. Lisa and I quickly tried to run off on our own to get away from the crowds.
In one quiet little spot, we ran into this couple. We soon realized that he had just proposed to her (she answered in the affirmative). It was kind of embarrassing, but a nice moment.
Here, a cat lounges in the Garden of Augustus on Capri, licking its paw and seeking a moment of solitude before the onslaught of more German tour groups.
Our other excursion was to Ravello. I was quite excited about this, not only because Ravello is known to be stunning, but because I had rented out a scooter for the day and was going to ride the winding Amalfi Coast all the way there, with my wife holding on for dear life! I found out that morning that there was going to be a bike race along the coast and they would be closing the road for several hours. I was quite annoyed and tried to get through before that happened. Unfortunately, I had to stop at the town of Amalfi, just before the turn off to Ravello. This turned out to be a blessing, though, as Amalfi is a nice town for a break and a stroll.
Pictured here is the cafe we stopped at, which you could call the cafe with nothing. In the background is our waiter, who I think is the hardest working cafe waiter in Italy. The usual reason to stop at such a cafe, in addition to coffee of course, is to use their bathroom and get something to eat. This place didn't have a bathroom and very little to eat. The trick for the waiter was to get you to sit down and order something - anything. The American couple on the left asked him before they even sat down for "due prosciutto e fromaggio panini" (Basically, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, which I'm sure they were quite proud to order in Italian). "Si, si," said the waiter, seating them. The woman then asked to use the bathroom and the waiter came out with a key, handed it to her, and directed her to a bathroom across the square. She walked off, dazed. My wife and I then watched as he ran over to a nearby panini place and apparently purchased two sandwiches. The couple didn't even notice when he brought them back in wrappers, went inside and put them on two plates, coming back out as if he got them from the back. I will say that they made my wife a great cup of hot chocolate (hot chocolate there is more like melted chocolate with a little milk thrown in).
After a nice walk through a local market, where I was able to buy 4 pair of very cheap underwear to make up for a packing oversight, we walked down to see if we could catch a little of this bike race that was delaying our trip. As it turned out, this was the "Giro d'Italia", which is one of the biggest races in Europe. It was quite a production, with corporate sponsors and a huge crowd lining the street, just like you see on TV.
If you look at this picture squinting your eyes and count to 10, you have a pretty good idea of what the race looked like as a spectator. It's hard to figure what all the fuss is about, but it was fun to experience this little slice of Italian sporting life. With that, we were off to Ravello. Ravello is a picturesque town in the mountains with a view of the sea. It used to be a real hangout of for the rich and famous. I don't know if that is still the case. The highlight is the ruins/museum/art gallery/garden called Rufolo.
Here I am in the gardens of Rufolo. If my smile seems a little forced, it was because I had just confiscated my wife's scooter helmet after she dropped it on the cobblestones for the second time.
I believe this is the best part of Ravello, although our trip was cut a little short when it started to sprinkle and we hustled back on the scooter back to Positano.
After 4 days in Positano, we were very sad to be leaving, but it was time to head back to Rome. This time, it was a very different experience. I was meeting family, new and old. My father wanted to celebrate his 70th birthday in Rome and he came with some of our family and friends. In addition, we were meeting Italian relatives (sons and grandchildren of my grandfather's brother). My grandfather left his small mountain village in Southern Italy (Isca, Calabria) when he was 17 and headed for the U.S. via Ellis Island. He ended up working the coal mines of Pennsylvania for many years and eventually owned his own small grocery store. He put his brother through law school back in Italy, which helped pull them out of poverty. I think they feel a bit of gratitude and, like all Italians, welcome family with open arms. This made for a fun time in Rome, where we were able to get off the usual tourist trail and "do as the Romans do." I will never forget it.
Left to right: My father, his "new" cousin Franco, Franco's wife Rosella, and their son Saverio. Franco followed in his father's footsteps and became a lawyer (although rumor has it his real love was soccer) and Saverio added a third generation of Italian lawyers.
From front to back: Stefania - Saverio's fiance, Franco's daughter Teresa and her boyfriend Luca. They are journalists in Rome. An old American/Italian friend of our family - "Antonio" Salvato, my wife Lisa and family friends Pat and Elaine. Not pictured: Sal, my mother Janet, and Pat's wife, as well as my Uncle Ernie (anyone else on the trip who took better shots, please send me one). These were taken at a very old time Roman restaurant in the Trastevere section of Rome. It was decidedly untouristy affair beginning at 8:30 and going to past Midnight, with another hour wait to catch a cab.
Here is an old Moto Guzzi of the "cafe racer" variety for bike enthusiasts
The NBA is apparently popular in Italy, but maybe the details aren't as important to this Los Angeles "Lokers" fan.
One thing I will say about electric vehicles is that Rome could certainly benefit from a change to electric scooters. The crazy streets of Rome are filled with the gas powered variety and they are quite noisy and polluting.
We started our trip in Rome and hung out for a couple of days near the Roman Forum, which was the center of ancient Rome. The ruins are quite amazing. Roman Emperors each would try to top their predecessor and build a new addition to the forum, which served as the main meeting place for Romans for markets, baths, religious ceremonies, important speeches ("Friends, Romans, countrymen' speech of Shakespeare fame) shopping, etc. It leads all the way down to the Colosseum and it's worth spending most of a day seeing all of that. We also managed to see the Vatican. I doubt there is a finer museum than the Vatican's. It ends with a tour of the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo's famous ceiling. Pictures are forbidden, although I was one of the few who followed that and the "no talking" rule for the Sistine Chapel.
After 2 days, we headed down to the Amalfi Coast, where we stayed in the seaside town of Positano. If you head down that way, I recommend making this the base for your stay. It is a great little seaside town (albeit touristy), with an adequate beach, and easy excursions. We made two. The first was to the island of Capri, which is reached by a ferry. This is an amazingly picturesque island, but is absolutely jammed with tourists. Lisa and I quickly tried to run off on our own to get away from the crowds.
In one quiet little spot, we ran into this couple. We soon realized that he had just proposed to her (she answered in the affirmative). It was kind of embarrassing, but a nice moment.
Here, a cat lounges in the Garden of Augustus on Capri, licking its paw and seeking a moment of solitude before the onslaught of more German tour groups.
Our other excursion was to Ravello. I was quite excited about this, not only because Ravello is known to be stunning, but because I had rented out a scooter for the day and was going to ride the winding Amalfi Coast all the way there, with my wife holding on for dear life! I found out that morning that there was going to be a bike race along the coast and they would be closing the road for several hours. I was quite annoyed and tried to get through before that happened. Unfortunately, I had to stop at the town of Amalfi, just before the turn off to Ravello. This turned out to be a blessing, though, as Amalfi is a nice town for a break and a stroll.
Pictured here is the cafe we stopped at, which you could call the cafe with nothing. In the background is our waiter, who I think is the hardest working cafe waiter in Italy. The usual reason to stop at such a cafe, in addition to coffee of course, is to use their bathroom and get something to eat. This place didn't have a bathroom and very little to eat. The trick for the waiter was to get you to sit down and order something - anything. The American couple on the left asked him before they even sat down for "due prosciutto e fromaggio panini" (Basically, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, which I'm sure they were quite proud to order in Italian). "Si, si," said the waiter, seating them. The woman then asked to use the bathroom and the waiter came out with a key, handed it to her, and directed her to a bathroom across the square. She walked off, dazed. My wife and I then watched as he ran over to a nearby panini place and apparently purchased two sandwiches. The couple didn't even notice when he brought them back in wrappers, went inside and put them on two plates, coming back out as if he got them from the back. I will say that they made my wife a great cup of hot chocolate (hot chocolate there is more like melted chocolate with a little milk thrown in).
After a nice walk through a local market, where I was able to buy 4 pair of very cheap underwear to make up for a packing oversight, we walked down to see if we could catch a little of this bike race that was delaying our trip. As it turned out, this was the "Giro d'Italia", which is one of the biggest races in Europe. It was quite a production, with corporate sponsors and a huge crowd lining the street, just like you see on TV.
If you look at this picture squinting your eyes and count to 10, you have a pretty good idea of what the race looked like as a spectator. It's hard to figure what all the fuss is about, but it was fun to experience this little slice of Italian sporting life. With that, we were off to Ravello. Ravello is a picturesque town in the mountains with a view of the sea. It used to be a real hangout of for the rich and famous. I don't know if that is still the case. The highlight is the ruins/museum/art gallery/garden called Rufolo.
Here I am in the gardens of Rufolo. If my smile seems a little forced, it was because I had just confiscated my wife's scooter helmet after she dropped it on the cobblestones for the second time.
I believe this is the best part of Ravello, although our trip was cut a little short when it started to sprinkle and we hustled back on the scooter back to Positano.
After 4 days in Positano, we were very sad to be leaving, but it was time to head back to Rome. This time, it was a very different experience. I was meeting family, new and old. My father wanted to celebrate his 70th birthday in Rome and he came with some of our family and friends. In addition, we were meeting Italian relatives (sons and grandchildren of my grandfather's brother). My grandfather left his small mountain village in Southern Italy (Isca, Calabria) when he was 17 and headed for the U.S. via Ellis Island. He ended up working the coal mines of Pennsylvania for many years and eventually owned his own small grocery store. He put his brother through law school back in Italy, which helped pull them out of poverty. I think they feel a bit of gratitude and, like all Italians, welcome family with open arms. This made for a fun time in Rome, where we were able to get off the usual tourist trail and "do as the Romans do." I will never forget it.
Left to right: My father, his "new" cousin Franco, Franco's wife Rosella, and their son Saverio. Franco followed in his father's footsteps and became a lawyer (although rumor has it his real love was soccer) and Saverio added a third generation of Italian lawyers.
From front to back: Stefania - Saverio's fiance, Franco's daughter Teresa and her boyfriend Luca. They are journalists in Rome. An old American/Italian friend of our family - "Antonio" Salvato, my wife Lisa and family friends Pat and Elaine. Not pictured: Sal, my mother Janet, and Pat's wife, as well as my Uncle Ernie (anyone else on the trip who took better shots, please send me one). These were taken at a very old time Roman restaurant in the Trastevere section of Rome. It was decidedly untouristy affair beginning at 8:30 and going to past Midnight, with another hour wait to catch a cab.
Here is an old Moto Guzzi of the "cafe racer" variety for bike enthusiasts
The NBA is apparently popular in Italy, but maybe the details aren't as important to this Los Angeles "Lokers" fan.
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