WHO I AM
Hi, I am Stephan. I joined the Australian Electric Vehicle Association in Sydney. I am doing a second prototype build of this conversion car. I got a lot of support from friends at the car club. Without them there would not have been a project for me. It took me years to work besides my full time job, to convert my car. It started as a 2001 Mazda Tribute. It is now an electric car.
WHAT I DO
The V6 engine is taken out, including the auto gear box, replaced with Mazda 3 manual 5 gear, precision mounting of the new electric motor on the gearbox with an alu conversion plate and keeping the clutch, and installed a custom made HV battery. Sounds easy when you write it in one sentence!
After the wheels were turning, a few other bits and pieces needed to be installed to make it ready.
It is a great ongoing project. More education than anything else so far. The test drives are a pleasure. The design seems great and the build is reasonable quality.
I aim to end up in a safe car that drives me and my family for short drives up to 100km per charge.
Enjoy readying
LONG TERM EXPECTATION
I expect to keep this car at least another 15 to 20 years.
The car is designed for short range usage. It is also expected to drive a little slower. It has less range than many other cars but that is fine.
I got asked a lot: Is it worth starting a project like this? What is it worth? What is the fun? Why am I using mostly re-cycled stuff instead of bying new parts? Can I recommend it? Can I provide an estimate of Cost of ownership?
Some of this I try to answer in this blog.
Example Lesson Learned:
- to buy a relative expensive AC motor seems a good decision, but to buy the motor without warranty was a mistake.
- the original car had an auto gearbox. This resulted in a lot of extra work. For example, ODO and Speedo meter stopped working. Next time I will convert a lighter car with 'manual' gear box to start with which is much easier to convert.
HELLO,
MY NAME
IS STEPHAN
FOLLOW US
I’M ALWAYS HAPPY
TO GET TO KNOW MY READERS AND SHARE INSIGHTS AND IDEAS.