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Welcome to the Electric Car Weblog. In addition to links, news, and tips about electric cars and other forms of alternative transportation we are publishing an on-line diary of our current EV project. Started in August 2005 the chronicle follows the conversion of a gas powered Ford Probe into an Electric Car.

You will find articles organized by categories, along with recent comments, along the right hand column of the website. If you are just getting started with the idea of converting a gas car to electric be sure to check out Your First Electric Car .

Welcome and enjoy!
  -Jerry

Still Crazy After All These Years · 8 June 08

Still Crazy

First off, as a weak defense, most folks don’t plan to start a project and then have it delayed for a couple of years. But life comes at you in ways you can’t always control. You make the best of a bad situation, lemons to lemonade, etc…

All of that being said life is still crazy and yet I managed to get in a whole weekend of work on Eve.

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Baby Steps · 29 July 07

Baby Zane

I realized the other day that if gas prices keep going up there’s going to be a big shake-up in the baby raising “industry.” Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to, including my Mom, says that they took their baby for long drives whenever it was colicky. What to do when gas prices go north of three bucks a gallon? Long walks? Simulated cars (think rumble seat on a treadmill)? Fewer babies?

“Our baby is only getting 18mpg!”

Maybe continue the car ride therapy using smaller, more efficient automobiles? I imagine a baby would snooze just as well in an electric car as in any other; there’s still road and tire noise, potholes, and jostling. And it’s not like you need hundreds of miles of range to put a baby to sleep.

Usually.

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Battery Tools · 20 June 06

Odyssey PC2150

Hey, we’re getting closer to settling on a battery! Those who have been following the comments elsewhere may have read that I started looking into the Odyssey Hawker PC2150 battery. More expensive (nothing like NiMH/Lithium prices) and from everything I’ve read they are well built (mil spec) and able to take or dish-out lots of power.

Of course John Westlund then jumps into the comments and mentions another, cheaper battery and doubt sets in…

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Parts Placement · 23 May 06

Firewall parts mounting mockup

Excuse the somewhat lame attempt at a 3D rendering using a 2D photo editing program. Let’s call it an artist’s rendition. ‘:^)

What I am working on here is a possible approach in laying out the main electronics for Eve. Last week James recommended covering all of the firewall holes with metal plugs and, just like an echo down an empty tunnel, it bounced around my mind for the rest of the evening.

Why not cover all of the firewall?

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Eve, the video · 15 May 06

Eve, the video

It was a weekend of non-stop rain here in New Hampshire, with over three inches falling Saturday and Sunday (southern parts of the state had up to 15”!). Thought about trying to make it to the Tour de Sol but the rainy weather and desire to get some more work done on Eve won over.

I borrowed a camera from work and shot a little (well, 4.8MB) movie of this weekend’s action.

Enjoy!

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Stuck at B · 8 May 06

Probe front caliper

I’ve been supporting the local economy lately: buying up lots of their old car parts and then paying a local shop to press them into place.

Last week marked the end (well, almost) of the brake and bearing work. As for the rest of the items in the “B” alphabet we are still stuck on the Battery part, but making some progress.


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The Battery Dilemma · 10 April 06

Optima Yellowtop

Now that the weather has started warming up and my other projects are winding down I’ve cracked open the garage door and started measuring Eve for her spring wardrobe.

I know, I’ve been putting it off: stalling, dawdling, jerrymeandering, going to the thesaurus to look up alternatives to procrastination just so I don’t have to actually think about them.

Them?

Batteries. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, ya gotta have batteries in an electric car.

Upated: 4/10/06

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Car Heat · 31 January 06

Heater Mouth

I’ve pretty much wrapped up Eve’s heater work, at least the installation into the air duct part. Thankfully it wasn’t anything at all like the duct-work in the movie Brazil.

There’s still a little bit of electrical wiring to do under the hood: wire up a couple of high voltage relays, fuses, and find an enclosure to keep it all clean and dry.

Kind of has a bug-eyed look to it, eh?


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