It’s Alive!
I took the bug to Bugformance Sacramento and had them fix my noisy wheel, wonky CV joint boot, and modify my suspension so the ride height is back to normal. It runs great! The wheel noise was because the drum brake was not torqued properly. The CV shafts were OK but I knew the messed up boots would let all sorts of road grime in.
Here's a video of the first half of my commute to work. I keep up with traffic pretty well. I am driving aggressively to keep up, though.
Installing the Electric Motor
I got a bit excited and installed the motor yesterday. I perhaps should have mounted the component panel first, but I wasn't quite sure where to put it. Now that the motor's in, I know where to put it but don't have enough clearance to get it in.
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- The component panel. I’m not sure that’s what you call it, but it’s where much of the expensive stuff is mounted. From left to right, DC-DC converter, battery charger, motor controller, two giant fuses. The throttle potentiometer is underneath the panel.
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- Here’s the first attempt at mounting the motor. I tried to see if I could get it in without removing the rear apron. I was pretty sure I’d have to remove it.
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- We used an ATV/Motorcycle lift to get the motor up there. It’s much more stable than a regular floor jack.
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- Here’s my awful job of cutting out the old apron. I wanted to leave some on there so I could make a clean cut later.
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- Holy crap, it got in there! It’s machined so precisely, we had to put the car in gear and spin the wheels slightly to get the splines lined up.
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- I’m getting the first bolt into the adapter from the transmission side.
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- Still screwing in that bolt!
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- I’ve got all the bolts in, now I’m just making sure they’re all tightened just right.
Rebirth Auto Kit Arrives
My kit from RebirthAuto.com arrived today! Way to send 2009 out with a bang.
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- Big Old Truck! The lift gate broke so it was parked out there for about an hour.
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- It’s Christmas in December!
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- There’s the motor, some padding, and on the right is the diamond plate with most of the components mounted on it.
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- Here are some goodies! Extra fuses, fuse blocks, an extra contactor, and the inlet port.
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- That’s a lot of copper!
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- Here’s the business end of the motor. Compare to the original VW motor in the next shot.
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- Here’s the gas engine a friend helped me remove from my bug. He has a buggy that can use some parts from this engine.
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- Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries! They are a fancier-pants version of the normal lead-acid batteries in most cars.
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- Here are my lame mock-ups next to the real batteries.
Patching the floor and installing a tow-bar
Today I finished cutting out the old battery tray and grinding it smooth. Then I took my replacement tray and started hammering it in to match the shape of the pan. Once it was as good as I could make it, I whipped out the arc welder!
I am a complete novice at arc welding. I bought a stick welder for $90 at Harbor Freight before Christmas and I have done only a few test welds with scraps of metal. Today I took the remnants of the old battery tray, cut it in half, grinded the pieces smooth, and welded them together. That turned out pretty well so I started in the car.
My practice run was not a valid indication of my proficiency. I botched the weld in the car. I did manage to tack it into place, though, so I proceeded with applying sealant around the tray. I'm sure I managed to botch that, too, but it's air-tight and it's not going anywhere. I lost my motivation part way through because it became evident that my entire pan has got rust problems and I will have to replace the entire thing eventually.
The tow-bar went pretty quickly as soon as I had all the parts I needed. The bolts required were no longer on the car, so I just had to track down some nuts, bolts, and washers to get it onto the car securely. Now it's ready to be towed and to have the engine pulled! That should be tomorrow, after the EV parts arrive.
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- The old battery tray was rusted through and had to be removed. Here it is after being roughly hammered out.
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- Here’s the battery tray installed poorly.
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- Here’s the tow-bar. Now I can have this thing towed to a friend’s house and remove the engine.
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- There are 6 bolts that hold the tow-bar to the body.
Body work and battery racks
Today, I began repairs on the floor-pan. The area by the 12V battery is a very common area for rust in Beetles and mine was pretty bad. There were small holes all over the area. I have some replacement sheet metal that I can drop in.
The first step in the repair is to clear the area. This involved removing the seats and kick panels, and also a heating duct on the side with rust damage. I won't be using the heating ducts, so I was a little more reckless than I should have been.
It's pretty cold outside, so I didn't want to work in the garage all day. I brought some cardboard into the house and made some scale battery mock-ups. I will have 10 batteries in the car, but I can get away with only 5 battery mock-ups.
The mock-ups fit so well, I'm worried about them being off by just a few fractions of an inch. If those batteries are any bigger than expected, I certainly won't be fitting 5 in this spot as planned.
The other five batteries are more tricky. Many people put three or four up front where the gas tank used to live. I will keep playing with the mock-ups to find the best way to store the batteries. The biggest consideration other than just making them fit is how their weight will affect the suspension and handling.
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- The battery tray before I did anything.
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- The battery tray area after I hammered and sawed away the rusted steel.
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- A fresh battery tray from Bugformance in Sacramento.
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- The storage area behind the rear seat. I should be able to fit five “Group 31″ marine batteries here.
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- The storage area containing my five battery mock-ups.
