E-Stang Build Thread
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 153
From: So Cal
Well, Joe is making some progress. Although I'm frustrated by how slowly this is progressing, I keep reminding myself how complicated this all is. He sent me some more pics, and I can see from them how difficult it must be to get all these components (all from different companies) to work together. Add to that the fact that my battery pack is putting out 312V (and a LOT of amps), so if you make a wrong connection you don't get a little spark you get a big flash and a lot of heat -- and possibly a trip to the emergency room (or worse). So I guess I'll cut him some slack.
But man, I wish he'd get this done!
Here's the motor bay again, this time with the full front battery pack installed. There are 98 3.2V cells total, for a pack voltage of 312.6VDC. The cells are grouped into 24 packs of 4 (with one 2-cell half-pack). There are 14.5 packs in the front and 10 in the rear (under the trunk where the gas tank used to be). The front packs are in three groups. The smallest one is 2.5 packs (10 cells) which sits next to the contoller (with the "Azure Dynamics" sticker) and runs along the Monte Carlo bar. The other two groups are 6 packs (24 cells) each and sit in front of that, one on top of the other.
In this photo you can see the box that will hold the charger (the big green thing). This will go in the trunk with the rear battery pack. That will also put it conveniently close to the old gas cap, which will now be where I plug the car in.
Joe says he's just a day or so away from firing up the system and getting the car to move under its own power -- for the first time since 1982!
But man, I wish he'd get this done!
Here's the motor bay again, this time with the full front battery pack installed. There are 98 3.2V cells total, for a pack voltage of 312.6VDC. The cells are grouped into 24 packs of 4 (with one 2-cell half-pack). There are 14.5 packs in the front and 10 in the rear (under the trunk where the gas tank used to be). The front packs are in three groups. The smallest one is 2.5 packs (10 cells) which sits next to the contoller (with the "Azure Dynamics" sticker) and runs along the Monte Carlo bar. The other two groups are 6 packs (24 cells) each and sit in front of that, one on top of the other.
In this photo you can see the box that will hold the charger (the big green thing). This will go in the trunk with the rear battery pack. That will also put it conveniently close to the old gas cap, which will now be where I plug the car in.
Joe says he's just a day or so away from firing up the system and getting the car to move under its own power -- for the first time since 1982!
4th Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,692
From: Houston, Texas
If you're still looking for a transport company, I saw an ad for a company called Reliable Carriers, Inc. while watching an auto auction over the weekend. You might check them out. Here's a link:
http://www.reliable-carriers.com/
Sorry for the bum steer on Stewart Transport, I didn't know they just dealt with kit cars.
http://www.reliable-carriers.com/
Sorry for the bum steer on Stewart Transport, I didn't know they just dealt with kit cars.
Last edited by TexasAxMan; May 21, 2009 at 10:36 AM. Reason: fix link
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24
I just shipped my mustang from North Carolina to Washington with DAS (Dependable Auto Shippers). Great service, very competitive price. I paid extra for the covered shipping and it was worth it from hearing the condition some people's cars come in. The car was in great shape and they dropped it off at my new house. Keep up the good work on the electric stang. http://www.dasautoshippers.com/
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 153
From: So Cal
Ok, a couple more weeks have gone by and the car still hasn't moved. 
Joe and I had a serious conversation a few days ago and I think he's on board with finishing this quickly from here on. He's made a lot of progress in the past couple days. He's finished hooking up the front battery racks and he's installed the rear rack:
One concern I have about the rear box is that it hangs pretty low out the back of the box. It occupies the space where the gas tank used to be, but it is much deeper. Here's a shot from the rear of the car:
Here's another shot from the front. You can see the rack behind the differential:
I've talked to Joe about it and I think we can easily raise it 3-4" by installing a spacer between the rack and the bottom of the trunk, so that it sits a little higher. That reduces my trunk space, but it's more important to me to hide that rack as much as possible. I'll also paint it black so it blends in a little better. I'm not too worried about clearance -- Joe says it's about 7" now, and will be closer to a foot after the spacer is added. I think that should be good.
I've asked Joe to get video of the car's first move; he's said he'll try.
I've gotten several shipping quotes and the 'winners' so far are National Transport, which will ship door-to-door in an enclosed carrier for $1700. Dependable Auto Shippers has a terminal-to-terminal option that might work that would cut my cost down to $1250. The problem with the t to t option is whether the transporter will be willing/able to start and drive my electric car -- or if I want to trust them to!
By the way, Stewart did finally submit a bid (I guess they do ship regular cars) but it was for $1800 for an enclosed carrier.
Joe and I had a serious conversation a few days ago and I think he's on board with finishing this quickly from here on. He's made a lot of progress in the past couple days. He's finished hooking up the front battery racks and he's installed the rear rack:
One concern I have about the rear box is that it hangs pretty low out the back of the box. It occupies the space where the gas tank used to be, but it is much deeper. Here's a shot from the rear of the car:
Here's another shot from the front. You can see the rack behind the differential:
I've talked to Joe about it and I think we can easily raise it 3-4" by installing a spacer between the rack and the bottom of the trunk, so that it sits a little higher. That reduces my trunk space, but it's more important to me to hide that rack as much as possible. I'll also paint it black so it blends in a little better. I'm not too worried about clearance -- Joe says it's about 7" now, and will be closer to a foot after the spacer is added. I think that should be good.
I've asked Joe to get video of the car's first move; he's said he'll try.
I've gotten several shipping quotes and the 'winners' so far are National Transport, which will ship door-to-door in an enclosed carrier for $1700. Dependable Auto Shippers has a terminal-to-terminal option that might work that would cut my cost down to $1250. The problem with the t to t option is whether the transporter will be willing/able to start and drive my electric car -- or if I want to trust them to!
By the way, Stewart did finally submit a bid (I guess they do ship regular cars) but it was for $1800 for an enclosed carrier.
Last edited by sailfish11; Jun 3, 2009 at 03:53 PM.
Thread Starter
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 153
From: So Cal
The car still hasn't moved...but it's SOOOOOO close!
Joe has raised the rear battery box about 3" which should help keep it out of sight. He's also installed the main relay and fuse boxes, as well as the accessory battery (yes, EVs still need one of those).
Joe has raised the rear battery box about 3" which should help keep it out of sight. He's also installed the main relay and fuse boxes, as well as the accessory battery (yes, EVs still need one of those).
