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.