Build Session 8 (4 hours): Let the Battery Rack Build Session Begin...

Jared and I stopped by Professional Plastics and Specialty Metals on the way home from work to pick up my order placed on Tuesday. Both businesses are located in Kent, WA within a few mile of each other. It seems like you can find just about anything fabrication related in Kent, Washington.

Both orders were a bit pricey...it seems like steel has doubled in price since that last time I fired up my welder!



I wasted no time as I was anxious to begin one of the installation build steps as opposed to the engine removal work. Yes, I am wearing my OSHA approved glasses, gloves, and flip flops. Actually most of this conversion thus far has been honored by the presents of my trusty old flip flops. (Don't try this at home kids...I am trained flip flop professional)


The first battery rack support is tack welded in place. I plan to complete all of the welds after most of the rack is built...just in case some of my calculations are flawed.

I hope the neighborhood dog walkers had the forethought to bring their welding helmets with them...I would hate to damage anyones retinas as they are strolling by.


The second piece of 1.5 inch tubing is positioned and welded into place. Dang...its getting dark already.



Once it became too dark to continue I decided to move into the garage and remove the clutch disc and take some measurements...both of which I will send to the machine shop in the morning. They will use the data and disc to mill out an adapter plate for mating my electric motor to my existing transmission. Man I wish I had a CNC mill...someday. :)

Battery Box Rack Design

Tonight I planned out most of my battery layout and put together the following materials list.
Upon my request, Bob from EV America was kind enough to provide me with some basic battery rack plans. It looks like I will have to modify them to fit my truck year and the fact that I plan to use 24 batteries instead of 20. However, the plans are a great starting point.

I plan to put in the order tomorrow morning. Yes, this is a little more than I need but I hate running out during a build session and I plan to use the extra on the Porsche racks.

Battery Racks:

• 6-10' x 2" x .25" steel flat bar for front bracing and rear U band supports
• 3-10' x 3" x .25" steel flat bar for rear box center and longitudinal supports
  
• 4-10' x 1.5" x .125" steel square tubing for rear battery racks main suports
  
• 1-1' x 1' x .25" steel plate for front of middle box bracing to frame
• 2-10' x 2" x .125" steel angle for engine compartment battery rack
  
• 1-10' x 1" x .125" steel square tubing

Battery Box:

• 2-8' x 4' x .25" polypropylene (white) for battery box walls
  
• 1-8' x 4' x .5" polypropylene (white) for battery box lids and main control board

These are the batteries that I plan to use. They are supposed to be one of the best deep cycle sealed lead batteries.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/Products/T-1456V.aspx

I also ordered some POR15 ChassisCoat which is a very high quality resin based paint that I plan to use on my frame and battery racks.

That's it for today...

Build Session 7 (7.5 hours): Filth and Putrescence!

The first thing that I notice when I crawled under this truck, a few weeks ago, was the overwhelming amount of oil and grease accumulation on EVERYTHING! It looks like the lower front engine seal was blown. Based on the amount of filth under this truck I'm guessing that it was using about a quart of oil every two weeks. Seriously...I have had to wash my coveralls almost after every work session and have gone through about 100 pairs of latex gloves (I hate grease under my nails). :)

So...I spent over 7 hours on Saturday with my pressure washer degreasing. It wasn't much fun but was oddly satisfying once I realized that this truck as pure electric will never be this greasy ever again.


Before:



After:




After several hours of working alone I decided to speed my progress and ensure a before-end of day completion by initiating the draft and making this task a "family project". Thanks Matt, Reece, and Kenzie! :)

Build Session 6 (5 hours): The Engine Is Out

My good buddy Jared and I struggled for a several hours after work to get the engine and transmission out. My original plan was to remove them together. Ultimately this idea proved improbable and so we dropped the transmission separately...which was no easy task. In fact we had to lift the engine slightly and pull the transmission down in order to gain access to the upper bell housing bolts before we could remove the transmission completely.

Jared working the hoist...and a cold beverage.



This is my ecstatic face...finally the engine has been pried from its stronghold.


Its out! No more gas, motor oil, or antifreeze for this vehicle ever again. :)


The engine compartment...I left the master brake cylinder, power steering pump, and AC systems intact.

Build Session 5 (2 hours): Whoops... Dang it!!! :(

Situation: I need to move the truck out of the garage in preparation for pulling the engine in the more roomy driveway...and no one is around to help me.Proposal: No problem...I simply attach the bed to the hoist again and carefully move the bed over to the grass on the side of the driveway.

Seems simple enough, right?

Wrong! Everything was going as planned until one of the hoist wheels hit the grass and the bed swung forward, snapped one of the straps, and dropped the bed two feet onto my 2x4's...denting the forward bottom panels on both sides! Let me tell you, I have never been so angry with myself. Impatient stupidity! At least no one was hurt...


After my blood pressure subsided, I pounded out the dents as good as I could. I plan to fix and repaint the bed later. Also I am going to install a factory body kit at some point that will cover the problem anyway.

The factory body kit will look something like this:

I did get finally get the truck out of the garage, removed the final transmission mounting brackets, and positioned the hoist for the coveted engine removal on Friday!

Build Session 4 (3 hours): Fuel Tank & Driveline Removal

Vacation at Lake Tahoe with the family was a blast! After I got home, I spent my last day of vacation pulling out the fuel tank and that was fun too! :)



I also disconnected and removed the driveline in preparation for the engine / transmission removal.


...and the center console and stick shift. Look how filthy the carpet was under the console. I'm glad that I ordered new carpet. Actually I am going to replace the entire interior to make the vehicle feel brand new.



I also unbolted the transmission mounting points but I don't have a picture of that.

Battery Chargers Arrived

Two chargers like the one pictured below showed up while I was on vacation. Very exciting... :)

One of the chargers is a standard 110 volt for slower opportunity charging while the other one is a quick charging 220 volt charger. I plan to configure 24 six volt batteries in series for a total of 144 volts. At this point I'm not sure how fast the 220 volt charger will charge the battery pack...I'm looking forward to finding out.