| Owner | Matt Kenigson | ||||||||
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| Location | Nashville, Tennessee United States map | ||||||||
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| Vehicle | 1987 Nissan Hardbody Standard Cab, Short bed Nissan hardbody pickup truck. Was originally "electric blue" but was repainted to a very nice light silver-blue recently. New paint, new rims (may need to replace with lighter rims for LRR tires). Immaculate condition. Hood and front grille have been replaced with newer versions to give the truck an updated look. Will be working on replacing the vinyl flooring with a factory carpet kit. I'm also looking for a new bench or I may replace it with bucket seats if I can ever have some change left over from the rest of the projects I have planned for her. | ||||||||
| Motor | Advanced DC FB1-4001 Series Wound DC The bracket for the motor is particularly nicely done. This was a class act. | ||||||||
| Drivetrain | Original 5-speed manual transmission. | ||||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1221B Nice mount, nice heatsink. Curtis potbox. | ||||||||
| Batteries | 20 Trojan T-125 (may go with T-145s), 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded These batteries have been badly abused by lack of use. I'm going to try to rehabilitate them as much as I can, but I will be buying a new pack soon. Update (04/2007): I just got the go-ahead to buy a new 156V pack. I'm wringing my hands about whether to stick with the Trojans or to go AGM. | ||||||||
| System Voltage | 120 Volts | ||||||||
| Charger | K and W BC-20 with LB-120 Boost Transformer | ||||||||
| Heater | She's cute and married to me, so don't get any ideas. | ||||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Sevcon Funny thing is, the first time I saw it it had its label intact. I still have a picture of that. The next day, the owner cleaned out surfaces in the engine compartment with a spray solvent and it "erased" the label. | ||||||||
| Instrumentation | Battery pack voltmeter and Curtis "fuel gage" in the dash. Motor voltmeter and ammeter in center console. Need new instrumentation. Got some used stuff you want to sell me? | ||||||||
| Top Speed | 75 MPH (120 KPH) Spedometer is messed up and current battery pack is long past its prime. I've gotten it up to highway speed (sometimes passing other vehicles!), which around here means around 75 MPH. | ||||||||
| Acceleration | Abysmal with the current battery pack. I exercised them for quite a while and got it fairly decent on the rare flat surface, but I have a lot of hills around here and the batteries have steadily gone downhill since a couple of battery-killing incidents. I don't think they trust me any more. | ||||||||
| Range | 25 Miles (40 Kilometers) When I first got her, she had trouble going 2- 4 miles. At the peak of her (now defunct) abused battery rehabilitation regime she was getting to and from work just fine with about 20-30% SoC left in her. That was a 21 mile commute. Right now, she's back to about an 8- mile range. I'm really hoping that with new batteries she'll have about a 30-mile usable range. Ironically, it was the trip downtown to get her certified for registration that marked the beginning of the end, due to working her too hard that day. | ||||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | Unknown. I'll test this thoroughly over the coming weeks (to document whether I can "awaken" the batteries) as well as when I get the new battery pack. Update: I'll hold off on posting this until I get the new batteries. It would just be depressing right now. | ||||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 3 (or 7 very friendly and light) people, plus a few in the bed, why not? It's Tennessee. | ||||||||
| Curb Weight | 0 Unknown. I'll get her weighed soon. | ||||||||
| Tires | Invicta, showing their age (some very small cracks in sidewalls). I need advice on what to replace them with. | ||||||||
| Conversion Time | No idea how long it took, but according to Ken at KTA, it had to have been built between late 1993 and early 1994, due to the components used. | ||||||||
| Conversion Cost | Unknown. I purchased it fourth-hand. The parts, however, are almost EXACTLY the same as outlined in the book "Build your own Electric Vehicle" by Bob Brant. The sample invoice in that book comes out to between $7000 and $8000. | ||||||||
| Additional Features | Wooden battery box, wooden stand for charger, electrical-tape-wrapped tools, thick 20' electrical cable with twist-lock connector. Big EV grin. | ||||||||
| I completely lucked into buying this truck and getting my first EV. I happened to chat with a fellow at a stop-light who told me he knew someone with an electric vehicle he might be willing to sell. Given I'd been contemplating purchasing EVs over 1200 miles away, finding one in my back yard was divine providence! According to Alex, the very nice guy who sold it to me this truck was converted by a professor at Western Kentucky University who later passed away and left the truck to his assistant. The assistant sold it to a fellow in this area who had enjoyed doing vehicle modifications but lost interest in this truck. Alex has quite a collection of trucks and made his friend an offer he didn't expect would buy it and found himself to be an EV owner. He liked it as a novelty but didn't use it much and only took it out once a month at best. Fortunately, he kept the batteries mostly charged, so they weren't completely ruined. I'm trying to rehabilitate them now but I'm sure I will be buying a new battery pack soon, perhaps AGMs in anticipation of upgrading the controller. It is important to me that people be impressed with the performance of the truck even though I'm going to use it primarily as a commuter. I want to use it as a vehicle for activism so it needs to impress folks. I'm so in love with this truck and so looking forward to the projects ahead. Topping the list: - Heater (winter is not so far off) - New batteries (maybe buddy-paired AGMs) - Upgrade the charger to something smart that can handle more current. - BMS or watering system depending on what batts I end up with. - Perhaps move some batts into the engine compartment to improve handling characteristics. (on the other hand, the very empty engine compartment has a lot of wow factor) - Upgrade the controller. 600A+ would be nice. - Belly pan and other aero mods. - AC before next summer. - Hard cover on the bed. The snaps are a pain. - Bed mods so I can hinge it and put the batts under the bed. - Alternately, a sealed batt box that's easy to work with. ...and many more Update (04/2007): Went through the first winter without a heater and will probably try to brave the summer without AC, too. I started to rip out the dash but chickened out. Seemed like a bigger job than I have time for. I'd sorely love to have someone who could help me do these things so it would be less intimidating. I'm slowly getting braver, but it will take a while. Perhaps once I've built my own EV I'll be a bit more cavalier about it. Looks like I'm about to buy new batteries and order a new controller. Once the controller comes in, I'll buy a new charger, too. Until then, I'll have to rotate the 6 spare batteries out of the 156V pack every few weeks so that the pack stays balanced. | |||||||||
1987 Nissan
“Quicksilver”
Last Updated 09-25-2007
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey