Advanced DC 203-06-4001 8" motor: $1398 from KTA Services
Advanced DC FB1-4001 9.13" motor: $1592 from KTA Services

The 8" motor is rated at about 60 HP peak and the FB1-4001 for about 80 HP peak depending on who you ask. The use of the FB1-4001 would require a controller capable of handling 500 amps. I have seen charts that place the power generated by the 8" motor very close to the 9.13" motor at 120 volts. I suppose the source of the transmission adaptor will dictate which one I use.

I have found a machine shop in north west Arkansas (beautiful country) overseen by a friend who is willing to make a transmission adaptor in return for some programming. What a deal! The holes in this project keep closing one by one - it's really going to happen. Now for some design work. I plan to post a question to the EV list asking how other people have done it. This certainly beats the $675 option of shipping my tranny, clutch and flywheel to Ft. Worth Tx. to have one done there.

What this will consist of is a flat plate with a milled edge such that it fits exactly into the transmission bell housing, a sleeve to offset the motor by an inch or more, and a piece to join the motor shaft to the flywheel. I plan to attach an angle-iron cradle to the tranny adaptor plate that mimics the bottom of the original gasoline engine and mounts to the car's original engine mouting points.

Zapi HFM 400 is an Italian made MOSFET controller capable of handling 400 amps (160 continuous amps) at up to 144 volts. It has some neat features, most notably, built-in regenerative braking. It's also Italian, and that would go so good in a Fiat... $1333 from EcoElectric.

Auburn Scientific makes a solid-state controller that will handle up to 144 volts and 630 "Motor Amps" - I didn't know there were different flavors of Amps. If you get the liquid cooled option, it will handle 680 amps. $1325 from EcoElectric + $100 for the water cooled option (I'm trying to get RID of the liquid cooling system on the Fiat!).

Curtis-PMC makes a capable controller, the 1231C-8601, that can handle from 96 to 144 volts at 500 amps. It replaces the older 1231B, which wouldn't handle the ADC 9.13" motor from what I read. Although it is popular at $1075 from EcoElectric or $1095 from KTA Services, regenerative braking is NOT an option in the U.S.A., although Curtis-PMC does make a regen controller for sale elsewhere. Rumor has it that the litigious nature of our society is what's keeping them from selling regen controllers... but I hope there is a better reason than that.

I have about decided to go with 10 Trojan 5SHP 12-volt deep cycle batteries, which I can get for $140 a pop in Memphis TN. If anyone knows of a better / cheaper / closer outlet in central Arkansas for these, please let me know.

I've made the decision to go with 120 volts rather than the venerable 96 volt configuration for reasons of speed, acceleration and weight. While I could get better range with 16 6-volt batteries, the extra weight and decreased power would make getting up this hill a slower process. Here is the stat sheet on Trojan batteries in case you missed it.

I have a friend (Thanks Randy!) that has loaned me a 25 amp Variac for the next indefinite period of time. His words were "Either use it, or store it where it won't get hurt". I think his wife was really glad to get rid of it. And anyone who has priced a BHV (Big Honkin' Variac) will know how glad I am to get it under these terms! With some big honkin' diodes, this will make a great "dumb" charger. Perhaps with a stepper and a "Stamp" microcomputer I can turn it into a "set and forget" charger. And to those of you familiar with the conductive vs. inductive charger debate, I'll take a good solid cord and plug, thank you.

On a recent trek to Dallas, I found a bin full of old and variously marked meters for $0.50 a pop! These are the old round ones. I got several beautiful ones that I hope to put on my dashboard or at least on the charger somehow. 500 amp shunts can be had for under $25 to turn any one of these gems into a great main ammeter. A few resistors and a little solder will turn one into a nifty state-of-charge meter. I could even get fancy with some parts and scale it from the "empty" voltage to the "full" voltage, but I'm inclined to leave it as flat 0-140 volts (or whatever).

The existing fuel gauge will make an excellent state-of-charge meter. The Fiat dash also has a 12 volt analog battery meter that will come in handy for measuring the auxiliary battery's state of charge.

What I'd REALLY like to do here is mount a 14-volt 50 watt solar panel on the hood to charge a dinky marine battery during the day. I also have a few surplus PC power supplies that could be tweaked to supply 13.8 volts to the aux battery from the 120VDC battery pack. Either way, I could get around the expensive purpose-built DC to DC converters effectively. Not that solar panels are cheap - $300 or so last I checked. Anyway, the system has to be sized to handle the radio, lights, wipers, and contactor coils for the driving time of the main pack (probably under 2 hours going really slow).

2/0 welding cable, big-ass battery connectors, battery boxes made out of polypropoline and angle iron or similar materials, fusible links, main contactor, and a lot of hard work!

To find descriptions of some of this stuff or more information, you might want to browse my list of electric car links.

9.13" ADC motor:    $1592
Tranny adaptor:      $675
Auburn controller:  $1325
10 Trojan 5SHP:     $1400 
Charger:              $75 (for wires and plugs and diodes)
Instrumentation:      $25 (for a shunt)
Aux voltage system:  $350 (for solar + dinky marine battery) 
Miscellany:          $500 
Shipping:          add 5%, aim high (I hope) 
All my labor:        $zip 
-------------------------
================>   $6239

Wow, hm, don't have that kind of money just sitting around. But I've been saving since this time last year, and I continue to save... by August 1996 maybe I can afford to do this. If you or your company would like to help out, do check my sponsorship page.

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