The Major Components

Pictured here, before they are installed and not so easily seen are; (from 12: o-clockwise)

Motor, motor controller, battery charger, battery warming pads, DC-DC converter, kit for restoring vacumn to the brakes, lights & meters, control box.

Control box contains shut-off breaker, meter shunt, main contactor, barrier strips, fuses, key switch interlock relay, throttle potentiometer, heater relay & on cover - main fuse, 12V shunt, charger interlock relay.

Dang! The 'Market's Still Slipping

Various ind. lamps, fuses, fuse holders, hook-up wire & switches from Radio Shack

Previous TOTAL $5505
R.S. items $46

New TOTAL $5551

The Stock Market Tanked ...

... so I tried to help it today. Having the car weighed was $5 plus I needed various conduit fittings, connectors, glue, sheet metal, etc.

Previous balance $5355
Welder and acc. $110
4 trips to hardware $40

New TOTAL $5505

Oprah and Edna Trim Down

Edna's stripped down weight is 1640 lbs. She now stands 10 1/4" in the front and 13" the rear. See post of Jan. 10 for starting figures. Watch out Edna; you're gonna chub up soon!

Fun With The Dashboard

The Haynes manual says "be sure to allow plenty of time for the dash panel removal/installation". They have such a flair for understatement. I don't think that is required for A/C/Heater access in most cars; but I'm not sure. Anyway I've removed the A/C core and heater core and replaced the heater with an electric version. It will draw from the main battery pack and is a type that won't overheat if the fan isn't running. I have yet to finish reinstalling the dashboard. Whew, this post should be good for about a month.

Weekend Tinkering

Tinkerer -1, back seat - nothin'. After finding all the secret hooker snookers that held the back seat in, I wrestled it free. The fuel tank on the other hand fought me all the way. The hold up straps wouldn't give and I had to cut them. This led to the tank coming down at a tilt and spilling about a square yard of fuel on the floor. I had to scramble to shut off the heater and open both doors. Then after soaking up the spill with sawdust, scooping it up and rinsing the floor, I started on the fuel lines (of which there must be a dozen) and filter(s). Each object had another half cup of gas to dribble. 20/20 hindsight says find a way to totally empty the tank and complete this task out of doors. Having no witnesses to the contrary I will call it a draw.

I sorely miss the tools I had available at work, before retiring. I bought a small welder, auto darkening hood and accessories and an assortment of abrasive cutoff wheels. These will be used to build the battery containment frame. Of the $220 spent I will post $110 against the project.

An idea has just come to me; I will use the rear seat belts to secure the battery box cover.