Re: For Sale at any Price?...NOT!

[John Wayland <dat1200@europa.com>]

Hello to All,

1sclunn wrote:

> Steve Clunn wrote:
>      I see your point and having a car that ever time you pop the clutch it
> inspires somebody to go electric is something you don't want to sell. (I'll
> bet somebody reading your post is thinking about converting one now :-).

Everyone has their own thing that they do to promote EVs. Some do it by showing how a
range-oriented EV can really go more than the suspected 20-30 mile range, Dick Finley and
I did it with our 120 mile range Red Beastie, Sheer's doing it with his 100+ mile Honda,
and others do it, too. Some do it by making a minimalist type of EV or by driving a basic
CitiCar, to show that EVs can be inexpensive to get into and easy to work on. Some do it
by driving a basic conversion everyday, that regular folks see all the time, going about
their business whether running errands or commuting back and forth to work. Some do it by
touting the enviro aspects of an EV and downplaying performance. Some do it by buying or
leasing a factory EV...putting their money where their mouth is. All of these are or
course, valid, and each individual has their particular take on what works best.

For me, absolutely blowing away preconceived notions by having an EV with outrageous
performance (all EVs are slow), and outrageous stereo (you can't turn the radio on without
running the batteries down), a show car look and feel (EVs are all rolling science
projects), terrific cornering and braking (EVs are lethargic and handle poorly), and all
the interior and trunk space it had as a gas car (EVs are nothing but a bunch of oozing
batteries taking up all of the space), is the way I like to do it. When folks ask if it
can go 70 mph (as if all EVs are as slow as golf cars), I delight in lighting up the
tires, banging 2nd gear and doing it again, and rushing them up to 80 or 90 mph in a big
hurry (the car can actually bury its 100 mph speedo quite easily). Yes, this is a bit
radical, but they NEVER forget their breathless ride in an EV, and will no doubt tell the
tale over and over to their non-believing acquaintances. When someone asks me the goofy
question about a radio that might drain the batteries and run down the car in the middle
of the freeway, I sit them down in Blue Meanie and play the competition stereo system as
they go into shock that an EV could actually have such a sound system on board. When they
ask if my trunk is full of batteries, I delight in first, hitting a button on the 6
function remote and popping the trunk lid to reveal a spacious, carpeted and detailed
trunk...I then continue with the show and tell by lifting the false floor to display the
audio amplifiers and CD changer, again, neatly organized and looking clean and
detailed....then, and this is always the best part, I hit another button to activate the
remote controlled motorized rear battery tray, and as the motor hums away and the 7 extra
Optimas (caressed in stainless steel brackets, interconnected with gold plated hardware,
and covered with sparkling Plexiglass) roll out into view, they usually gasp....telling
them it doubles as a trash compactor is the icing in the cake!

Is all of this over-the-top stuff necessary? For me, yes! I like to make sure someone's
first EV experience, is one that will blow their socks off.

> But what if somebody brought you a Datsun just like the one you have .

Sadly, the possibility of somebody showing up with a clean and straight '71-'73 Datsun
1200, is pretty remote these days. I only see them at Datsun show & shine EVents, or
rarely, on the streets of Portland, as there are a couple of nice ones around. You have to
remember, that these 1200's were Datsun's cheapest econo-cars they offered, at $1795 in
1971! Though they were very rugged, well built little machines, they were pretty much
thought of as disposable cars, and most folks treated them this way, beating the hell out
of them and driving them into the ground. Most 1200's were bought by young, first time car
buyers, who quickly turned them into beaters in a year's time.

> What would you charge to make it just like yours (blue meanie 2) ?  Could you do
> it for less that 25k ? I think a lot of people after seeing you smoke the
> tires would take a Blue Meanie 2 over a ford Think.

It can be done for far less than that. Minus the custom paint job, custom interior, and
full blown sound system, it's really just a DCP 1200 Raptor, an ADC 9 inch, 13 Optimas, a
PFC20, DC-DC, etc., stuffed into a car that weighed just 1587 lbs. as a gas car. Anybody
could take about $8000 and a clean 1200 sedan (if they could find one), and minus the
extra weight of all the stereo stuff, motorized battery tray,
etc. that mine has, kick Blue Meanie's butt with a lighter and even faster version.  Keep
in mind, that for many folks, Blue Meanie's short range of 25 miles is unacceptable (range
per charge was never a big concern for me with this car, V8 performance was), but another
way to go, is do the same car but with 16 Optimas for a 192V system and about 30-35 miles
range. Using the lighter NiZN batteries, one could get perhaps three times the range, and
although at less performance, it would still be a pretty fun little car.


>  I don't know about you but I'm having more fun playing
> with my EV's now than I ever did 30 years ago when I was rebuilding gas
> cars.  Kids today don't have the opportunity to rebuild cars like we did
> years ago. Gas is just not fun any more (leaves a bad taste in your mouth
> ;-( .

Yes, I feel exactly the same way...have felt this way for 22+ years now :-) Before White
Zombie was the all electric 1/4 mile drag car it is today, I had made it into a pretty
radical gas street machine. I kept the factory 1200cc engine, but went from a stock 69 HP,
to about 150 HP. Along with a racing rear axle and a never-offered-from-the-factory 5
speed tranny, I beefed the motor up with 11.5:1 compression, custom Japanese-only fully
cc'd racing head with huge oval ports, custom intake manifold with a pair of huge, twin
barrel 45 mm Weber sidedrafts, gnarly twisted headers, 2.5 inch exhaust, racing
distributor, racing high lift, high duration, high pollution cam, etc. The thing
rumpety-rumpety idled at 1500 rpm, was OK from 1500-5000 rpm, and came on like a gang
busters from 5k-10k!!! It was a fun and fast gas 1200. However....I don't miss the stench
and mess of all that one bit these days. Once you cross over to electric, you never go
back. These days, I cringe at having to take my Insight in for an oil change!

See Ya........John Wayland