Heater CoreMotor BayRear Patch Panel Rear Patch Panel Fitted in placeFiller PlugShe's Orange!
OwnerCosta Tzalis
LocationMelbourne, Victoria Australia map
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Vehicle1989 Mazda Miata / MX-5
Original 1989 Japan delivered Eunos Roadster.
Restored then painted Orange/Black with Chrome
MotorNetgain WarP 9 Series Wound DC
DrivetrainFront Engine/Rear Wheel Drive through a 5 speed
gearbox. Stock clutch mechanism.
ControllerZeva MC600S
Australian Designed and built.
144V/600A max DC controller
Batteries45 Thunder Sky LYP90AHA, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerKingpan KP-KL 2000W
HeaterCeramic heater mounted into original heater core
DC/DC Converter HP DL320 Server Power Supply
Converted HP DL320 Server Power Suppply.
Simply bypassed the bridge rectifier to
connect up the the 144V traction battery.
Biased up the 12V output to 13.4V and
connected the logic so it turns on.
Used a 12V/144V relay so it runs only when the
car's keyswitch is set to ON.
InstrumentationAnalogue Amp/Volt meters where the oil pressure
and engine temp dials used to be.
Fuel Gauge Coulomb counter drives the original
fuel gauge
Top Speed75 MPH (120 KPH)
Tested up to 120km/h on the freeway here.
Felt like it had a bit more in her but with
all the traffic cameras in this city it's a bit hard to test!
Acceleration0-60km/h (0-40mph) better than original
60-100km/h (40-60mph) is not bad but not as good
as original ICE. Still testing
Range45 Miles (72 Kilometers)
My commute is about 22km (14 miles) each way
so still have plenty left in the tank each
day.
With all the space left in the rear and front,
if I did it all over again, i would use larger
batteries so that I would get to
100km/60miles.
EV Miles
Start:162,023 Miles (260,695 Kilometers)
Current:165,025 Miles (265,525 Kilometers)
Total:3,002 Miles (4,830 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity2
Curb Weight2,420 Pounds (1,100 Kilograms)
Original car weighed in at 1000kgs
After the conversion it weighs in at 1100kgs.
Maintained a 53F/47R weight ratio
Very happy with that.
Planning to remove the air conditioning
radiator and pump from front so that will
improve slightly as well.
TiresWide/Sporty... the opposite to low resistance
Conversion Time3 years of weekends on and off.
Conversion CostEV components approx $15,000
Car restoration approx $15,000
Additional FeaturesCar came with Power Steering and AirConditioning.
In the process of removing the A/C.

Added in:
Chrome Power Mirrors
Central Locking
Remote Boot Release


The conversion was a much longer, more involved process than I
thought. I almost gave up so many times :0)

Now that it's all (mostly) done, I love it. The car is quiet but
powerful and with all the batteries between the axles, is a dream
to drive. The EV grin is real and is alive and well down under..

I love taking people for drives in it and watching their faces
when we come to the first intersection and the whole car goes
eerily quiet, as if it's broken down. It seems to freak people
out even more than the initial take off.

Aside from the electrical conversion, the auto restoration came
out a treat. The car never fails to turn heads even before the
bonnet comes up to reveal the electrical power train.

code by jerry