RE: my very heavy and lossy EV Land Cruiser idea... :-)

["Byars, William" <wbyars@MPCProducts.com>]

> Robert McDonald wrote:
> Bill Dube wrote:
> 
> >         This vehicle should not be much different from Bob 
> and Rod's Electric Land
> > Cruiser. Get the actual data from them instead of trying to 
> calculate it.
> > They have been driving this vehicle for years.
> > 
> >         Contact them at <carguys@evparts.com> or check out 
> their web page at
> > <http://www.evparts.com>
> 
> Bill,
> There's a big difference... Bob and Rod's EV 4WD is a SWB Series III
> Land Rover, not a LWB Toyota Land Cruiser.  A SWB Series III 
> Land Rover
> weighs 2,950lbs or about 1,300kgs whereas a LWB Toyota Land Cruiser
> weighs 4,500lbs or aroung about 2,050kgs.  A SWB Series III Land Rover
> has a payload capacity of 1,000lbs or 450kgs, where as a LWB 
> (80's Troop
> carrier - they're the only ones I'm familiar with) Land Cruiser has a
> payload of fairly close to 900kgs or about 2000lbs.

Robert,
	Bill's actually not far off in that comparison. Mine is a '79 SWB
FJ-40 LandCruiser, approx 90" wheelbase, 2-door hardtop. GVW 4888lb, but
front GAWR is 3065lb and rear GAWR is 3600lb or so, putting actual axle
carrying capacity up around 6,700lbs or more. Wet weight with hardtop and
some misc. stuff is around 4500lbs as it sits now. The 'Cruiser differs from
the Rover in that it has a bigger engine, bigger gearbox, bigger axles,
heavier frame and heavier steel bodywork. Otherwise it fits in about the
same space and is used for much the same things when new. Payload is roughly
1,000lbs including people for the soft-top version, but they take
overloading rather well. Heck, people routinely swap out that 125hp I-6 for
a 300hp V-8 without replacing any driveline parts! Stout setup. 
	For a conversion I'd lose the hardtop and strip out all the stuff
for the ICE and lots of other misc. "things". Might even go so far as to
replace the steel rollcage with an aluminum one, make the spare-tire mount
quick-disconnectable, and a few other things. Hmm, wonder what it would take
to get a custom aluminum rollcage designed to act as a pressure vessel for
CO2... A tank about the size of a small SCUBA tank filled with CO2 will
change lots of tires and fill lots and lots of them and even has the punch
to reseat a few beads. 

> 
> On a side note:  Will, does the '78 Landcruiser have a similar kind of
> shape to a Land Rover?  Or is that model older or newer than yours?  I
> remember there's a model that looks distinctly different to a 
> Land Rover
> - much more boxy and completely different, I thought it was a 
> late 60's
> or early 70's model, however now I've remembered the ones that look
> quite like a Land Rover and I don't know where they fit into the
> chronological order of things???

Take a look at http://www.tlca.org and look around for the FAQ, might be in
the Links section. Should find some pictures of the various models, but I'll
give a short synopsis here.
Mid 50's saw the "Toyota Jeep" SWB with B-85 I-6, basically a copy of the
Willys, and a trademark infringement on same.
Early 60's we got FJ-25's and then FJ-40's, both SWB, difference being the
more CJ-5 Jeep like doors on the 25's. Somewhere in the 60's the FJ-45 SWB
and LWB pickups and wagons came available. Frontends all the same, rearends
different per application. About '68 or '69 the FJ-55 Wagon took over from
the 45 wagon. There's a red and white one in the movie Lost Boys driven by
the mother of the family that moves in at the beginning of the movie. 1980
gave us the FJ-60 Wagon to replace it. 1984 last year for SWB in the US, no
more FJ-40's. 1988 FJ-62 wagon, same as 60 but with quad square headlamps
instead of the round headlamps. 1992 FJ-80 wagon, "roundy" shaped luxury
SUV. 1998 FJ-100 wagon, "New" roundy luxury suv. Hope that helps!
-Will

> 
> Cheers,
> Rob.
>