OwnerTom Cox
LocationLos Angeles, California United States map
WebWebPage
Vehicle1985 Chevrolet S-10
This is my first electric conversion project. Done for fun, mental and physical exercise and hopefully to become a full time commuter vehicle.
MotorAdvanced DC FB1-4001 Series Wound DC
Bought new
DrivetrainOriginal "top loader" four speed, rear wheel drive, no clutch.
ControllerCurtis 1231C
Bought new
Batteries20 Trojan T-145, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
Bought new
System Voltage120 Volts
Charger PFC 3000
I bought this from Elcon. It is a new model that accepts dual voltage, 110/220. Don't know the actual mfg.
Heaternone (at this time)
DC/DC ConverterZivan
Instrumentationvoltmeter, ammeter, "fuel gauge" and tachometer
Top Speed65 MPH (104 KPH)
I've driven at 65 mph and still had pedal left.
AccelerationAs good as the old 4 cyl. at the low end. Sluggish on hills.
Range30 Miles (48 Kilometers)
I've had it up 40 miles with power left if I use it everyday, but usually only get 30 miles.
Watt Hours/MileHow do I calculate this? I see about 200 amps, in my 120 v system at 30 mph. Ammeter is installed between the controller and the motor.
EV Miles
Start:273,780 Miles (440,512 Kilometers)
Current:274,453 Miles (441,594 Kilometers)
Total:673 Miles (1,082 Kilometers)
 
    As of 8/26/2009
Seating Capacity3 adults
Curb Weight4,200 Pounds (1,909 Kilograms)
This is a guess, my local scale closed. Original car weighed 2680. I removed the old engine but added the motor, controller, battery boxes and 1,440 pounds of batteries.
TiresThe donor car came with nice tires with plenty of tread but they are different brands, front and rear. Goodyear "trailer" tires in back and no names in front.
Conversion Time8 months of Saturdays plus a few evenings; approximately 250 hours
Conversion Costabout $10,000
Additional FeaturesTilt bed to access rear batteries.
I finished the conversion only three weeks ago. I was thrilled that this thing actually worked. It has performed very well during the first 10 outings. However, I was really expecting much greater range. I'm hoping to find something wrong that will give me the range I need for my daily commute.

Plus, I started with a 24 year old vehicle with over 270,000 miles on it, so I'm not expecting a Porsche at this point.

My main goal was to have a successful project that I could drive and see if I'd like to make something a bit "cooler." Right now, I'm testing El Ohmbre, exercising the batteries and fixing small mechanical problems. I still have to make the pickup bed tilt to get access to the batteries.

The body is in pretty good shape. If it seems viable, I plan to get a nice paint job on it.

My daily commute is 46 miles if I take the freeway but only 35 miles if I take surface streets. If it seems reliable, I will attempt to take it to work.

There's a contact page on the website if anyone wants to get a hold of me. I'm a little behind on the web page journal.

code by jerry