rustymon

You are correct, this build is just for fun. When this project was dreamed up in early 2011, I was really trying to come up with a "no compromise" electric sports car - one that would be tons of fun to drive, have 4 seats to carry my 2 little ones, and would cost much less than a Tesla roadster. I'd always wanted a Porsche, and ended up going for a 1999 996 convertible because it was less exspensive than older models, yet still had most of the modern day conveniences and saftey features. Not much had been done with a 996 in regards to electric conversions, and so, the project began.

The initial goal was to spend about $30K during the conversion process, but as we worked on things, it became clear that another $5K would provide noticibly more performance and range. Of course, the project has taken much longer than originally anticipated, partly due to the amount of attention to detail, but also due to several other "outside" factors, and I think I'll end up at $40K all in, not counting the donor car.

Let me tell you this - you could definately build a car for less... you could do without A/C, power steering, brakes, etc. You don't need to have all stock gagues working, and there are definately ways to shave weight to eek out more performance (don't get a convertible for starters!), but I wanted it all. We'll even have a nice "nanny" switch that will only provide about 75% power so any valet (or wife) won't get too carried away.

In any case, once complete, I fully intend to enjoy the car as a daily driver. I hope to inspire others to buy or build EVs. I'd love to send more business to the ev building community, such as the folks at www.shiftev.com that are helping me with my build.

Sorry to be gone for so long... holidays will do that to you. I hope everyone is looking forward to a fast and fun new year!

I've got some new photos and updates to post shortly, so will take care of that next...

rustymon

Before the holidays all 3 rear battery boxes were installed and wired! Minimal bolts are used at this time, to reduce time if they unexpectedly need to come back out. The white connectors on the passenger side are taped to where the BMS master unit will bolt on. They'll plug-in right there. On the left, the green Zilla controller will mount. The air conditioner pump is temporarily resting on an aluminum plate (until the motor and shelf-mount are installed).





The last box to install is the one that goes in the gas tank area. That WAS waiting on temperature sensors, its lid , and a couple other small wires... but just after the holidays, most of that got done as well! Note the installed temp sensors on the copper connectors of cell's 434 & 398 pictured - they're the two small black wires. Sensors are under the black shrink tubing on the connector. This works nicely because the battery connections conduct the temperature of the battery from its center.




Also mounted were the last two temp sensors which are routed to the frunk box cells. A foam gasket was installed around the flat lip of battery box pictured... The main cables (orange) were fabricated that are mounted to the fuel tank box pictured - they'll poke through the frunk firewall & connect to frunk batteries when it is raised into position.

This is all exciting, as it means the last battery box is almost ready for mounting and focus will soon shift to final motor installation and low voltage wiring! I can't wait... I can almost smell the electrons...

niche

Looks good!

Imo000

How weatherproof is the entire setup? Those "power supply" looking boxes on the rear deck lid look like they are for indoor use.

rustymon

Well, we're certainly spending a good deal of time making everything so it can be driven in all conditions. We get a good bit of rain here on the Western side of Oregon, so care is being taken to ensure proper placement of weather adverse parts. Heck, we've got several months ahead of rain, so we'll be immediately be able to make sure our efforts pay off.

Those "power supplies" are the AC/DC converters which will charge the batteries. Everything above is sealed very well, and once we have motor installed below, they should be very safe.

rustymon

A few more pics to share...

A nice new charge connector under the gas filler flap!


A close up shot of the temperature sensor - The small black wire going underneath the black heat shrink on a copper battery connector, is a temperature probe. They are scattered throughout the pack.


The completed install of the front pack! Matching carpet will cover the polycarbonate panel, but will obviously be removed for show-and-tell.


Normally we use rubber grommet seals. But the box replacing the fuel tank needed some flexibility on cable location/angle because it mounts against a 45 degree wall, so a coarse air-filter material was used to keep the critters out while allowing minor ventilation. Plastic under body panels will protect from any splashing water.

alpine003

Are you eligible for any government rebates there? I know it was $5k here, even for conversions.

What are the legalities over there in driving and registering something like this(dot, EPA, etc)?

Have you checked into the insurance side of things yet?

rustymon

All very good questions, Alpine. Unfortunately, although Oregon does have state tax incentives for purchasing electric vehicles, they do not have any for do-it-yourself projects.

I've already re-registered the car and have my new plates "OHM AGE" and the kind folks at the DMV really didn't know what to do, but fuel type ELECTRIC does show on the registration card now. They didn't charge me anything out of the ordinary, nor did anyone bring up concerns... and I asked!

My State Farm insurance guy wasn't sure how to handle it either - and as I'm not on the road with it yet, we haven't fully figured it out. The last conversation was along the lines of using a declared value to insure it or considering the conversion "add-on equipment" that could get insured additionally. So, we shall see.

perfectlap

Cool. You still have more trunks space than the Macca P1.

p.s.
can you use one of those Tesla Superchargers with this?

rustymon

Hilarious - comparing trunk space is why I built this car!

Sadly, no... Teslas are proprietary. I have looked into a CHAdeMO high-speed charger connection that would allow me to recharge in 30 min or so using the high-speed network of chargers up and down I-5... at first blush it looks like mounting it behind the rear license plate might work best (see initial test image below) but due to additional costs involved, I'm going to hold off on that for now, but we've wired in the ability to easily add this in the future!

rustymon

Been a while and I'm overdue for an update... wiring and more wiring... ever read about how many miles of wire are in a new car? Believe it! Making everything as nice as can be... and almost ready to mount the motor!

Main pack DC cables, one of two pack fuses & safety cover. The plumbing is coolant lines for the speed controller, which use the stock radiator. The wires are for heater system power, AC to the chargers from the J1772 connector. Note the silver powder coated metal box... that is the battery pack fit into the area vacated by the stock gas tank! Very soon, all this gets covered by the stock under-side plastic panels.


Some of the cable & wire routing under the rear, where the transmission will mount up into the car. The black corrugated “wire loom” contains all small wires that needed to be routed in this area. As you can see, they all need to be figured out & loosely routed before it can be buttoned up like this. Notice the “other” big main pack fuse and it’s cover, in the lower right of the picture. And the two unused bolts in the lower right are screwed into rivet-nuts we installed. After the motor/transmission is in. These bolts, plus another bracket will secure the power steering pump. The blue line is the hydraulic clutch line.


View of “wired” passenger side charger from underneath - There are 2 chargers, one mounted behind each rear wheel. This enables high-speed charging and offers redundancy in case one charger fails.


A test fit of the detailed front covers, to confirm the new auxiliary 12V battery & front BMS (battery management system) fit with plenty of clearance – and they do.


Finally! Here’s how she’ll look assembled in the front, with battery cover in place. There’s just a little bit of wiring left to do under these covers before screwing them down. The rear will be just as pretty soon.


That's it for now... had hoped to have the motor and transmission mounted this past weekend, but that is a 2 person job and we had a huge snow storm preventing help from arriving. I hope you all are fairing better in the crazy weather. I hope to have photos of the motor/transmission in place late this week or early next!

Seeeu911

Tremendous fun! Lots of work. Thanks for the update she's looking good.

NineEreven

so... much... work...

Cool but it might be a while before I own an electric car (minus the new supercars if one fell inmy lap soon haha)

rustymon

The motor is in! Still more mechanical connections to be made, but I'm so excited, thought I'd share a LARGE photo...!


Other stuff done recently, along with more wiring... put this in the "just-in-case" category... steel shields produced this week. There are a few large wires passing under the chasis (to the inner-rear fenders) where the chargers are. The path of the wires are 5” farther inside than the inner-most part of the tire. They’re also much farther back than the tire. So not in-line with debris or water splash. But these shields add an extra layer of protection just in case. Before/After photos:

rustymon

Well, once the excitement of having the motor in wore off, it was time to do some quick testing. It became apparent that something wasn't right and the motor wouldn't spin freely. Turns out one of our several custom fabricated pieces was off by less than 1/10" - fortunately all we had to do was shave down a small part, and everything was good to go. Of course, this entire process of troubleshooting meant we lost several days and in the end, had to remove the motor and new clutch assembly and put everything back together again. The positive note is that everything seems to be in order now, and the fix was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.

Now, on to the new stuff! Last week we fitted the power steering into position and found that we'll have to re-make a simple bracket, but it should be installed this week. Routed several small 12V wires necessary before the controller could go in. Mounted the Zilla controller box & connected all the high voltage –high current cables to it, and to the main contactor. Mounted the power steering reservoir (in the pic below, right behind the Zilla controller), rear cable shrouds are on, and some of the plastic trim that goes under the car was also installed… Here's a photo of the rear as it stands now...