A Trip to the Pierce Residence

We decided to see how far two car batteries could take the car.  Answer: about 3/4 of a mile.  Hilarity ensues.

Third Drive

We took the Corolla for a third drive, this time with Ms. Robertson of the Virginia Gazette at the wheel.  I don't think she believed that the car is safe.  Probably something to do with the sparking batteries by her feet.

Post Drive

The batteries went dead after a few minutes, since car batteries aren't meant to move the car.  The setup created lots of sparks and heat by my feet!  Here is the melted battery terminal after the jaunt.

The Corolla's First Electric Drive

The first drive!  We used 2 car batteries conveniently located near my feet to drive the car down the street.  The 24 volts pulled the car pretty strongly, but didn't allow us to get out of first.  It should be better with the 48 volt golf cart batteries.

Testing the New Coupler

The Coupler

Aidan and his grandfather constructed this lovely coupler!  Thanks!

Grinding the Clutch Spider

"It almost burned a hole in my pants" - Aidan

The spider was reused as part of the coupler.

Aidan Manning the Lathe

Round and round and round it goes...

Electrifying News!!!!!

Sorry about the lack of updates, but much has been happening with the Electric Corolla this weekend. Today, we finished the motor mount and the shaft coupler from the motor to the transmission. After hooking everything up, we attached a battery to the motor. It Worked!!!!!!! Now, we just need to buy electric stuff such as batteries and a controller, and the Corolla will be a bona-fide electric car. The videos of the progress will be posted in the coming days.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Ben and I wish you a happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Coupler!!!!

Today, our chief machinist, Grandpa Rogowski, and I went on a five hour expedition through the VA peninsula. We eventually emerged victorious with a 3 inch diameter, 4 inch long piece of metal that will become the coupler between the engine and transmission. We began to machine it, but tomorrow it will start in earnest.

Electric Motor "Rebirth"

We got the motor back today!  Thanks Howard and the folks at EMC for your generous contribution to our project.  We spun the motor with the almost dead car battery as you can see in the video.  It spins much more freely now that the bearings have been replaced and the commutator cleaned.

Parts Sale/Welding

Today we listed the extra parts on craigslist.  Want a 1995 Toyota Corolla power steering pump, radiator, intake manifold, A/C condenser, alternator, A/C compressor, water pump, or distributor?  If so, click the link.
http://norfolk.craigslist.org/pts/2059793127.html

We also fooled around with the welder in Aidan's garage.  Welding was surprisingly difficult.  It took a while, but we eventually stuck two pieces of metal together.  We burnt a hole through the table we were welding on, and I used a fire extinguisher for the first time.

Since EMC is still working on the motor, our next item on the to do list is to buy new tires.  Two of them are bald, and one has the steel belt poking through the side.  Hopefully, the motor will be done by Thanksgiving, so we can design its mount and go battery shopping.

Time to Start Buying Stuff!

Aidan and I have not worked on the Corolla over the past month.  This weekend, that will change.  We are going to start pricing batteries and controllers, and we are going to sand the car down to be repainted.  We will either
A: paint the car with a can of Rustoleum (it should look okay)
or
B: make people pay to paint it at Fall Festival (which would help purchase the aforementioned parts)

Sorry about the lack of progress on the Corolla, but getting back to school has occupied the bulk of our time lately. We should, however, soon be picking a new color for the car as well as retrieving our freshened motor from EMC.

-Aidan

Yesterday, we took the motor to Chesapeake, where the nice people at Electric Motor and Contracting Co. agreed to clean it for us.  Hopefully it will be ready within a week or two!

Test Fit

After the motor arrival, we decided to see if it fits.  It does!  We still have to take off the strange little drum brake, though.

MOTOR ARRIVAL

The motor arrived on a giant truck.  We towed it into the garage and inspected it.  Can't wait to test it and pop it in the car!

Shift Cable Repair

YAY!
We fixed the shift cable with some duct tape.  Now 3rd, 4th, 5th, and reverse gears should work.

Progress!

The motor we purchased from Atlanta Liftruck Salvage is coming tomorrow.  The employees were especially helpful with motor selection.  SO EXCITED!  Also, thanks to Pearson Toyota for their generous contribution.

Casey BMW

Thanks to the fine folks at Casey BMW for agreeing to sponsor our car!

http://www.caseybmw.com/

This morning, an exciting thing happened. The Project, and Ben and I were on the front page of the Virginia Gazette thanks to Susan Robertson, the inquisitive reporter that came and interviewed us on Monday. We are extremely pleased and hope that the publicity will drum up some more support for the project. The article can be found on the front page of any Wednesday, July 14th edition of the Virginia Gazette, or online at
http://www.vagazette.com/articles/2010/07/14/slide_show/doc4c3cfb90c2f23254210886.txt
- Aidan

The Rest of the Exhaust Removed and Electrical Problems Solved

The lights, windows, locks, and radio didn't work all day!  No Village People!  After an entire day of fiddling with the wires, Aidan discovered that we had forgotten to reconnect a chunk of wiring harness.  Problem solved!

Engine Removal Attempt!

This is a sad first attempt at engine removal.  It's out now, but it was incredibly frustrating.

Drive Back From the Airport

This is after we borrowed tools from the airport to remove the axle nuts.  Apparently, I drive too quickly.

Publicity

This week, the electric corolla has gotten its first morsel of publicity. Desiree Parker from the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily came to see the car last week and to talk to the two of us. This week, her article for her weekly Ecofreak blog was about the electric corolla. Check it out at www.wydaily.com and feel free to post your comments.

On Tuesday, the engine was removed from the car. Also, the reporter from the Williamsburg/Yorktown Daily came to interview us. We must've had a lot to say because the lady wrote over 3 pages of notes in her notebook. Our project will appear on both the Tide Radio 92.3 FM and the reporter's Eco Freak blog. Yay for publicity.

Weekend

Over the weekend, my grandfather came down from Pittsburgh with his mechanical expertise. He and I did some work on the car and completely prepped the engine and transmission for removal from the car. On a different note, after sending some emails to some local press outlets, a person from the Tide Radio, 92.3 FM, and the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily is coming on Tuesday, tomorrow, to interview Ben and I about the electric car. Hopefully this will generate some publicity and maybe some much needed sponsorship from the local community. That's all for this weekend.

-Aidan

Strong work Ben, that is technically correct.

-Aidan

Removed the Power Steering and Air Conditioning

Today we removed the power steering and air conditioning.  First, we tried to disconnect the axle, but we broke the ratchet.  Then, we tried lift the engine after detaching the transmission, but it didn't work.  Guess we'll have to disconnect the trans. from the axle and lift the entire thing out tomorrow.

Sweet Paint!

While Aidan removed heat shields, I busied myself painting with our can of fluorescent green spray paint.

Gas Tank Removed

We (Aidan) removed the gas tank while I randomly unplugged vacum lines and air sensors.

Giant Engine Hole

Here's some footage of the gigantic engine hole!

Car Tear Down (continued)

Today, not that much was accomplished. After finally getting the car onto the ramps, the gas tank was removed, and all lines and wires from the chassis to the intake manifold either detached or cut where applicable. In addition, the plastic bit on the rear and the grill were painted with a special color that can be seen in the videos to be posted later on this evening.

- Aidan

Car Tear Down

After spending the afternoon ripping into the car, taking a bath in 15 year old coolant that reeked of old fish, and expelling a string of obscenities at the poorly designed alternator bracket, the corolla is now 50 pounds lighter. Now comes the hard part, removing the engine/transaxle and the fuel tank.

-Aidan

Tearing the Car Apart

We removed the radiator, alternator, air intake, and most of the exhaust system.  We also cleaned all the junk out of the car.  Highlights: Village People and MC Hammer tapes along with an entire nativity scene.  More to go later!

Got the Car Home!

The car's sitting in the driveway!  Can't wait to start disassembling!

Bringing it Home

Last week we picked up the Corolla at the dealership.  The front tire was peeling apart, the engine made a horrendous knocking noise, and gears 3-5 didn't work.  I set off for the multi-mile trek with Aidan behind me in the Land Rover.  After just a mile, the engine self destructed and blew a giant hole through the bottom of the block.  Aidan then towed the car back home.