Out Comes the Motor
Hoisting out the old Starion engine.
This is the old motor is being hauled out of the engine bay. Some of these I’ll find useful as spares for my other Starion.
As you can see, the engine bay has plenty of room for the new motor along with about two thirds of the batteries (the rest will be counter-weighted at the rear of the vehicle). I’ll need the lower engine bay area de-greased as it’s pretty festy right now.
The machinist said the gearbox was a sturdy one, as Starions are built for hard use (having been many a rally car driver’s preference). The clutch was worn and would have to be replaced, unless I go for the semi-automatic option.
Starion gearbox pre-restoration.
Many EV conversions for manual cars consist of no clutch pedal, effectively making the car a semi-automatic. The gearbox synchronisers can typically handle gear changes without the need for a clutch plate (and the removal of the clutch plate also means less weight, as weight considerations are crucial for efficient EV performance).
All Cleaned Up
As my electric motor is larger, I need to consider if I want the clutch to assist in better gear-changing. This is unknown territory for me at this stage. Although the machinist says the gearbox can probably handle it, I need to consider extra expense and weight for a new clutch as the old one was apparently abused by previous owners of the Starion. At least for now, my gearbox is nice and clean.
Starion gearbox, cleaned.
Will probably try without, and then retro-fit a new clutch if there are problems with synchronisation. As an electric motor is high-torque, I’ll typically drive around town in 2nd or 3rd gear only (and possibly 1st gear if I really wanted to drag a Skyline at the lights (not that I would do such a thing!)).
Electric Cars for Everyone 