Zach’s Electric Diablo

Here is the data I collected last weekend. For the tests, I started in first gear and went through each up to fifth.  Next time I run this test I will make sure to get to the same RPM in each gear.  For the wheels down test, I was driving around a very large parking lot.  I would estimate I hit a top speed between 35 and 40mph.

After having the big bad wolf… I mean wind come and blow my tent down (one too many times), I decided the that the car needed a new home. So, I purchased a 24′ Hicube (these are 9′ tall instead of the standard 8′) shipping container.

I also paid a few extra dollars for them to put a roll-up door on the side.

It is sweet! No more worrying about the next wind storm. I also got a little time to work on the car this weekend. I mounted the speed sensor on the tail end of the motor.

I built a bracket and mounted the accelerator pedal.

And, I started to plumb the line that runs from the clutch master cylidar back to the transmission. However, I think I over tightened one of the brass fittings and will need to order another.

Yesterday was very productive. I cut and welded my transmission mounts and added some tabs to attach the motor plate to the chassis.

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Once the transmission and motor were mounted, I decided to take it out for a quick test ride. I wired up a single 12v battery and hopped on:

My friend Joe jumped on the back to share in this momentous event.

The tires and rims are on the chassis:

I spent some time figuring out where to put the motor and transmission mounts. The easiest way to do this was to attach the motor to the transmission and drop it into the chassis:

I made it to the metal yard and got some raw material. Here’s the piece of 6061 that will soon be a flywheel:

Before I can turn the flywheel, I need to machine the hub (this is what attaches the flywheel to the motor shaft). The hub is a bit complicated as it has a taper-lock taper on one side and the flywheel hole pattern on the other. There is also a locating feature to center the flywheel on the hub. Two tries and 8 hours of machining later I had my hub:

I will start machining the flywheel next…

For about a month I have been sitting here with a big beautiful motor just sitting in a box. Today, I decided I wanted to see it spin. I picked it up with the forklift and connected it up to a 12volt battery.

Man is that motor smooth…
I also did a little more work on the brakes. I successfully made 4 flares and a number of bends (yeah, I get excited about even the small accomplishments). I would have taken some pictures, but it got dark very quickly. Winter is coming and our days are getting shorter…

The “big motor” was delivered yesterday afternoon:

It weighs about 270lbs. Good thing we have a forklift.

During my lunch break, I went down and started fitting some of the fiberglass parts to the chassis. I found that my chassis had an unusually large center console to accommodate an extra large gas tank. Seeing that I am going electric (no need for a gas tank), I figured I’d do a little trimming.

Just a little more trimming and the original fiberglass center console should fit over this area.