Bumblebee in Car Show

[jonathan_dodge@juno.com (Jonathan L Dodge)]

Hello List!

It has been a while.  I'm back on the list again finally.

The Bumblebee, my '74 electric Porsche 914 has over 300 electric miles on
it now.  I drive it every day to work and to run errands.  It is running
just great.  I had all four wheels alligned the oher day.  Wow!  Big
improvement.  As I was backing it off the lift, someone said "It didn't
start!".  The owner said, "Yeah, it's electric."... "Wow!"  So fun.

I got a postcard in the mail for emissions testing.  I called about it,
and was told to take it to a test station and have it inspected.  They
would then reclassify the car, free of charge.  So I took it to a test
station.  The guy said "It's in the back, right?".  I said "Well, it used
to be, it's electric"... "HOLY SHEEEESH!!  Open it up!  I've never seen
one of these before.".  The "inspector" said he didn't even know what to
look for.  I said it was just to make sure I wasn't trying to trick
anyone with an old worn out car.  He said "I'll classify it as
alternative fuel".  Close enough.

There was a big car show last weekend as part of the annual Boise River
Festival.  There were over 300 cars, all show worthy, no primer specials.
 It was my first car show with the Bumblebee.  There was a lot of
interest in the car.  It looks pretty good.  It won't ever win "best of
paint", but it's presentable as a 914 alone.  But being electric
generates a lot of interest.  There was almost always someone looking at
the car, usually several people.  WHAT FUN!!  I noticed that more people
looked at it and looked closer when I was gone.  I left flyers on the
roof.  Over 40 flyers were taken.

I need to get a better holder for the flyers so it's more obvious that
they are for taking, and a lawn chair so I can sit around and people
won't be afraid to look at it.  I did like being around just to answer
questions.  There were a few who were very very interested and mentioned
always wanting to convert a car, or at least that it made a lot of sense
to drive electric.  In fact, the overall response was very positive.  No
negative comments.  Almost everyone liked it.  I have to tell you, it
made me feel really good, especially after all the work and money I put
into the car.  I'm glad I did it.  It's a dream come true.

OK.  Time for some technical details.

>>>> The clutch <<<<
I put a new "heavy duty" clutch in the car.  (It was only heavy duty
because the catalog I ordered it from said so.  It was the same as the
original.)  The original engine was a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder thing.  The
clutch was sized for it.  Well, I think it is safe to say the Kostov
motor can easily deliver twice as much torque as that 1.8 liter engine
could (plus the car is heavier now).  I had debated on whether to send my
brand new clutch in to be beefed up.  I decided not to, after all it is
"heavy duty".  WRONG ANSWER!!!  I can slip the clutch, fully engaged, in
any gear higher than first (maybe in first too, I don't know; I never use
it).  The clutch is properly adjusted, and slipping isn't a problem
unless I floor it from a dead stop (or close to it).  The motor winds up,
slows down a little, then winds up again as the car catches up with it. 
I only did this a couple times before I figured out why it sounded that
way.  It's OK.  I just have to be careful about flooring it, which makes
showing off a little tricky but still quite possible.  This car moves
just fine!  Plenty of power.  Faster than the original I'm sure.

>>>> The allignment <<<<
The allignment was way off, which was expected.  Racing springs all
around and extra weight.  I thought it coasted OK before the allignment,
but now it seems like it is being pulled as it coasts.  My energy use
dropped noticeably.  It's really only a slight difference in how well it
coasts, but it allows me to let off the throttle MUCH sooner than before.
 A small change in rolling resistance really has a big impact on how you
can drive the car to save energy (in addition to saving energy in the
first place).

I still have old gas car driving bad habits, like pushing in the clutch
as I come to a stop.  And even though I tell myself "OK, I can coast a
long way up to a stop sign", I often let up on the throttle later than I
could.  But I'm improving.

>>>> The batteries <<<<
My Russco charger works great!  It's nice having a powerful charger. 
(Actually, I don't really know what a wimpy one is like.  This is my
first EV.)  I can charge in four hours, often less.  But... I recently
realized I have probably not been charging to a high enough voltage.  I
have been going to 2.35 volts per cell or so.  I should probably go all
the way up to 2.4 volts per cell or maybe even higher.  I also need to do
a good equalization.  I thought I had done one before, but Randy
Holmquist explained it to me better, and I didn't even come close to
running it long enough to equalize the pack.  It needs it.  It's running
an equalization right now in fact.

I have added water once.  You know, I fit 8 group 27 batteries around a
Kostov motor in the engine bay of a 914.  The trick was leaving access to
water them.  Four batteries are down low, two on each side of the motor. 
Four batteries run across above the motor.  I spaced the upper batteries
apart so that I could access the caps of the batteries below.  It worked!
 I could get the caps off easily, and using a mirror could tell when the
cell was full.  There are only 4 cells in the pack that I have to use a
mirror on.  I used to inspect aircraft, so using a mirror is like walking
for me.  It's natural.  Anyway, I was pleased (and relieved) that my
battery arrangement with batteries almost stacked on top of others is in
fact easily maintainable.  If the weren't the case, it wouldn't be the
end of the world.  The four upper batteries are easy to remove, along
with the rack that is held in with several bolts (not welded in).

It was so fun at the car show to listen to people count the batteries. 
"8 up front and four in the back".  "I counted 5 in the back".  "12
batteries"  "14 batteries", all kinds of numbers, but seldom 16.  The
four batteries straddling the motor tucked away quite nicely.

>>>> Top Speed <<<<
People ask me "How fast will it go?".  Well, I don't really know.  I
haven't opened it wide up yet, except at low speeds.  I have had it up to
65 miles per hour with PLENTY of power left.  I wasn't on the freeway, so
I didn't go any faster.  I drive on a highway every day, to and from work
at 60 miles per hour.  The real answer is, it's plenty fast.  Nobody
driving around me knows that it's electric.  I like it that way, at least
for now.  Of course any excuse will do to show it to someone or take it
for a ride.  I'm very happy with the tradeoffs that I made: high voltage
but flooded batteries (can't afford sealed batteries yet).  While it's
true that a 192 volt car with sealed batteries could eat my lunch, my car
has PLENTY of power.  I can't smoke the tires (well, if I turn as I start
I can spin the inside tire.  8 batteries over the wheels keeps them from
spinning very easily).  I couldn't beat very many people in a drag race,
and I'm not really interested in trying.  I actually thought the car
would have more power than it does.  It's funny though, the more I drive
it, the more I reallize that it has plenty and to spare.  For some reason
(all in my head), it seems to have more power now than I thought it did
when I first got it running.

Enough for now,

happy EVing!!

Jonathan Dodge

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