AScholtes

Interesting. Im gonna bookmark it and follow along time to time...

Robin W.

My new favorite thing about an electric 944, you can install the motor through the bottom without having to remove the crossmember/steering/suspension.

And the best part, the car moves on it's own now, no more pushing in and out of the garage!

Van

Lookin' good! How much does that motor weigh?

I saw this web page the other day: http://dvice.com/archives/2011/04/protean-electri.php

Robin W.

The motor is 223 lbs, one of the bigger ones for EV conversions.

Wheel motors are cool in theory, but can you imagine 70lbs of extra unsprung weight per wheel + the wheel/tire/suspension????? Many companies have come up with a wheel motor design, however once it gets past the press release they just vanish without a trace. It's like the companies find out that it just doesn't work, has a problem, isn't nice to drive, isn't reliable or something.

I think the ideal setup is 1-2 motors built into the rear suspension with integrated gear reduction in a nice small package. Like the Tesla Model S.

pontifex4

Looks great, Robin. You have it moving under its own power??

AScholtes

Is it mounted to the front cross member at all, or it is all supported by the torque tube?

Robin W.

It moves slowly, 5-10km/h off a crappy 12v battery just to get it in and out of the garage. I'm putting together a 50v setup with the actual motor controller so that I can move it around properly while I work on everything. Wouldn't give me much range, but will let me move it when I need to.

There is a bracket under the motor that holds it to the cross member for the moment, it will get a full set of brackets that attach to the stock motor mounts soon. The motor actually holds up the torque tube, it sits a hair higher than where it sat attached to the stock engine. (or perhaps it sits where an engine with fresh engine mounts would sit)

DaveCinCT

Robin, how goes the project? I was thinking about the clearance issues and thought I'd admit to one detail of my project. There was only about an inch of clearance between the motor and the cross member, and, if I remember correctly, there's a power steering tube that also is in the way. For now my power steering is disconnected, but not a problem to drive. Also, the little black vent tube that equalizes pressure between the two side os the rack was getting old and kept falling off. Where am I going? Well, I didn't know how much the motor might drop if I hit a bump and the mount flexed. I didn't like the idea of it hitting the cross member. So I found a 1 inch thick rubber stopper from Home Depot, about 2 inches in diameter. This sits nicely on top of the cross member and acts like a bumper if needed. But I didn't know how to hold it in place. The brainstorm came with the vent tube. I replaced it with some clear vinyl tubing from the hardware store, except I used a piece long enough to make one loop around the stopper to keep it in place. It's been riding under my motor since last year with now problem. I don't think the motor mount has flexed enough to let it hit the bumper, but it's there just in case. And it's pretty invisible, so no sees my hack.

DAC

Robin W.

Hi Dave,

I have a similar setup right now, but only about 1/2" above the crossmember, I used some MLV (mass loaded vinyl for car audio sound deadening) between the motor and the crossmember.

I am swapping in the manual rack from my '83 into the electric car as soon as I get a chance, and give power steering to the '83 for my fiance.

I haven't finalized my bracket design, I may consult a mechanical engineer friend of mine to get his $0.02 on a solution. Either way I will probably retain that safety "bumper" to stop the motor from hitting the cross member.

Now to make the hard decision on batteries....

DaveCinCT

I'd started swapping to a manual rack too, but got stalled along the way. I bought a manual rack (just the rack, not the ends, etc.) but I'm not sure if it is really a 944 manual rack. Mine might be VW or similar. It doesn't look like it has the right mount points. Know of any sites that could help ID a manual rack?

Let me know what you decide on for batteries.

DAC

Robin W.

Right now the electric car is really easy to drive with no power steering since I only put 240lbs back in the front, but removed a good 400+ however part of my battery pack will live up front so the power steering ratio is probably too high.

I have no idea how to identify a manual rack, I just know I have one in the '83 I'm sure are 100's of people on here that could answer that question, but unlikely they will pop in this thread and see it.

For batteries, I've decided on the A123 20ah pouch cells, 310v nominal 40ah to start. That will meet my range needs at the moment. Then I can add on to the pack or switch to something better in the future as battery technology evolves.

The battery will weigh around 225lbs including terminal connections but excluding the box itself. If I had gone with a 9" motor my conversion would have come in well under stock 944 weight. However doubling the power and coming in right around or just below stock weight should perform pretty well.

Did you cut out the hatch floor for a rear battery box?

AScholtes

Im still following along. I have also found yuour thread over on DIYEC as well and am following over there. I cant post yet because I never received and email to activate my acct....

Van

The manual rack has the same mounting points as the power rack - the driver's side rubber bushing is exactly the same, but the passenger side bushing has a smaller diameter, because the manual rack is a little skinnier.

The manual rack also needs a slightly longer steering shaft.

Post up a pic of what you have.

blown 944

subscibed

AScholtes

I was trying to follow your thread over on DITEC but since the admins either dont check the site mail, or dont care, I never got authenticated... so please keep us updated over here...