Towing it home

I intended to get a honda civic hatchback but it was a honda civic wagon instead. We towed it home anyway. It is 2400 lbs instead of 2100 lbs so a larger motor may be needed. On the up side, it is a 5 passenger and has lots of room for batteries in the back and is in good shape.

The disassembly has started.

How fast, How far, How much

Speed
With a 72 volt system and 6 HP the top speed should be about 60% of the top speed of the original vehicles 80 MPH (guess), so 48 MPH. A guess at the sustainable speed between 25 and 35 MPH. With 6 12V batteries at 75 amp hours each, at 100 amps and only 80% of the battery capacity available before loss of power they should last 36 minutes. At 25 MPH that's 15 miles range.

Budget
A minimum budget of a very basic conversion of $2085. With a few upgrades like a larger motor and vacuum brake system the conversion should be $2621. There are a few other upgrades like a PakTrakr which will bring it up to about $3000.

Budgets

Minimalist Budget - This is a no frills budget for a very small car 1800 lbs and minimal performance expectations.

• 72 V Cloud Electric Kit $1279
• Shipping $88
• Adapter plate $80
• Lovejoy shaft coupler L110 grainger.com $26
• Soneil 72V 1.2A charger Electric Vehicle USA $120
• Donor car craigslist $100
• 6 - 27DC-6 batteries 115 amp/hr Walmart $372
• Aux. Charger Black & Decker 12V 2A Home Depot $18


• Total $2,084

"Realistic" Budget with motor and controller upgrades for vehicle extra weight (2400 lbs) and additional performance. This budget also includes machinist, heater, brake pump, and an aux. battery.

• $1,649.00 - Kit w/ADC L91-4003 and KD72500 (Cloud Electric)
• $88.83 - Shipping
• $75.00 - Adapter plate (local shop)
• $44.00 - Coupler Lovejoy L110 (grainger.com)
• $150.00 - Machinist
• $148.00 - Chargers 6 Soneil 12V 3A (Electric Vehicle USA)
• $17.76 - Aux. Charger, Black & Decker
• $58.00 - Aux Battery
• $100.00 - Donor Honda Civic Wagon (with blown engine)
• $74.76 - Towing expenses
• $372.00 - 6 x 27DC-6 115amp/hr Walmart
• $16.00 - 12v Ceramic heater Amazon.com
• $110.00 - Thompson vacuum pump
• $30.00 - Vacuum brake parts (evsource.com)
• $2,935.35 - Total

Justy research

To get some scope on the requirements a little research on the Subaru Justy will help. It was built with 2 engines.

• 1 liter = 47 hp @ 5000 rpm
  
• 1.2 liter = 66 hp @ 5200 rpm

ICE and Electric motors do not have the same HP ratings but there are many references that suggest a 3-4 X relationship. A 72 V system at 100 amps and .85 % efficiency would be about 8.2 HP. At 96V 10.9 HP and 120 V 13.6 HP. With a peak of 400 amps they would be 32.8 HP, 43.6 HP and 54.6.

So, a 72V system would be a little under powered compared to the original engine and a 120V setup would be a little over powered. More modern ICE engines have higher HP ratings for the same displacement.

Selecting a Donor

An AWD or 4WD EV would be handy when it gets nasty out. I think the HP required by the the additional differential would probably add up to more voltage or even a larger motor. Plus there are only a few really small AWD like the Subaru Justy and the Honda Civic AWD Wagon. So those are at the top of the list.

Commonly found on craiglist, with an approximate curb weight.

• Subaru Justy '89 -'93 : 2000 lbs.
• Ford Festiva : 1800 lbs.
• Geo Metro : 1600 lbs.
  
• Honda Civic '87 - '91 : 2200 lbs.

Less common and or heavier vehicles.

• VW Rabbit
• VW Bug : 2700 lbs.
• Honda CRX : 2100 lbs.
• Ford Focus : 2600 lbs.

A Mini Cooper would be great, but those are very expensive and relatively heavy.