Throttle Adjusted

Well I posted before that I was unable to drive in 1st or 2nd due to such high torque. It was because the throttle cable was connected to my throttle lever on the top most connection hole which caused the throw to be quite short. After calibrating it all worked just fine but that torque issue was a problem. So I went back and reinstalled the cable to a lower connection hole on the lever so the throttle throw was much longer. I re-calibrated the controller to match the new throw and I can now drive in 1st, 2nd without the nasty wheel hop. I can smoke the tires easy in 2nd even with 72 volts. Top speed is still lame with 72 volts. That won't change until we get our voltage higher. We will be jumping to 185 volts but we still have a few more tests to perform before we go there. This sucker will be a screamer at 185 volts.

Pete :)

Synkro

I upgraded my firmware this evening successfully and also installed my 13 volt lithium battery and took the Bug for another ride. This time I had no controller shut down because of low Aux battery. I took my iPhone along because I did not trust the speedo in the car to give an accurate speed reading. I was correct. I got an official 47 mph in 4th at 72 volts. The car has fat soggy tires and a bone stock transaxle. Second was just impossible to start in because the car would just jump and jerk because of so much torque in second gear. I put it in 3rd and it just took right off. But being limited to only 72 volts I hit the peak speed real fast and then dumped into 4th. It runs well and pretty smoothly if I do say so myself. I measured the commutator temp after my run and had a temp reading of 150 F. Pretty good knowing the outside temps were still hanging around 104 F. I did a bunch of hard runs too. Not fast but hard.

Pete :)

66 Bug

Kostov installed, ground issue resolved and another issue crops up. This time the 12v Aux lead Acid battery. My controller requires a minimum of 11.6 volts to operate. Below that it cuts off. When the battery is near that zone it cuts in and out and each time cuts out the contactor. Bummer. So I ripped out the lead and I am now charging my 12 volt 100 AH Hi-Power Lithium Aux Battery. Once charged I will install it and make another test. The car squeals real good in reverse. Jack Rabbits in second when I start from a dead stop. In third it jumps pretty good but goes flat real fast. So 72 volts is just as much junk with the Starter/Generator as it is with the Fat Kostov. So it is a must to have more voltage for any street driven car. 96 must be considered bare minimum for the street. It is not freeway capable with 72 volts.

Ghia was another ....................

The Ghia was another pos. Decided to pass on the pos. Nice paint got ruined while sitting and not being taken care of and the front drivers side wheel well had a open area that allowed water to get into the heater channel which will and was starting to rust the rocker on the drivers side. The pan was clean and dry as was the rest of the vehicle but the nose was bumped at one point and the repair was garbage and bondo slathered on to cover it up. Not even a good smoothing job on that one. So there was major rust growing in the drivers rocker and a nose that was poorly repaired. It had rust and bubbles coming through in areas low on the body and that would mean a new repaint. Paint had oil spilled and that would soften the paint and ruin it over time. So I did not buy. Oh well. I look but nothing good. So forward with the Roadster and Bug. GE motor is still good. cleaning the casing and getting it ready for paint. Replaced a few externally rusty little bolts. Clean under but the surface is kinda rusty. Replacing with stainless.

GE Motor

I got my GE motor back today. It was dirty and had some hoarders in the motor at one point and used it for holding a stash of acorns. It was not nearly as bad as I thought and upon further inspection the motor is in excellent condition. Needs cleaned and painted. Brushes and commutator look excellent and the motor runs very well. These motors have constant pressure springs unlike the Warp motors and ADC motors. Most of the other motors use arcing springs to hold the brushes and they are not constant pressure springs. GE puts them on all these motors. They are excellent springs. I would not want any other. So now I have tow GE Bradley GTE motors and this one is actually advanced. I think my other motor is a very early version of the setup as the end plate is not aluminum but steel but it is still very much the Bradley GTE motor. Being an early one the motor is not advanced. The one I have has an aluminum end plate and advanced brushes. So this motor will actually be much better at running at higher voltages. I am hoping to get some Helwig brushes for the motor. I will do some testing. I can now check temp and AH but I can't check RPM.

More good news. The person is going to sell me the Ghia after all. They just had to ponder the issue a bit and realize that it will really just sit around doing nothing for another 20 years. Best to let go and let some one else do something with it. I will let them see the vehicle after we are done. I need to find a color paint close to the color of the Ghia. Not sure if I can match it.

Have a look at the motor as I got it. 

As it looks now. Getting there. 

Constant pressure brush springs. A must have if you can.

Bradley Tag.

Adapter/End Plate. 

Specific to the old Air Cooled VW is is meant to retain the stock clutch. 

The flywheel end is only held with 4 dowel pins and single center bolt. 

Not designed for being a Hot Rod but a cruiser. 

You could Hot Rod the motor if you went with 8 dowel pins. 

64 Ghia Again

Well I am at it once again. A 64 Ghia is coming my way. Going to use the coming GE motor for the Ghia. Looks like I will get the Ghia on the road right away. It is needing the carpet installed which comes with the vehicle and the seats are already done as is the paint job. I am getting a project that was abandoned but in excellent condition. So the current owner does not want to finish it. I do. It has been sitting in the garage for awhile and a bit dusty right now. Photos I have are not HD but good enough. So a  low cost GE motor made for VW and a low cost Ghia and a low cost Controller and Lithium cells. So lets see.

Motor/adaptor plus some other goodies: $800
Ghia with complete interior and exterior: $1500
Synkromotive Controller: $1600
100AH Hi-Power Lithium Cells: $3600
Custom Transmission: $1200
Custom Disc Brakes: $1200
DC DC: $120

So even with being frugal the cost to build a decent EV can still be expensive. $10,020. Costs add up quickly. I could trim some without the trans or brakes but those have already been purchased. This car will be 192 volts. I forgot to mention that I have a nice DC DC. No extra charger will be required. I can charge on wall power from low power to high power. I can charge from straight DC power and from any Solar Back Up. Working on J1772 for all of those. For now if I want J1772 I will need a separate charger. Ain't gonna happen until it is figured out.

Now to surgically piece it all together to make a nice daily driver EV to show off to everyone.