Echo and the Funny Men

While my car waits for some final parts, the Echo conversion is progressing well and we hope to have it drivable very soon. There’s an EV show coming up and the Echo will be perfect for it, taking pride of place amongst the smaller vehicles and some funny guys riding funny go-carts etc – yet demonstrating what can be done with the new generation of lithium phosphates. Small cars will be a big feature, with lots of folks contending for the ‘smaller is better’ stakes – hah-hah.

Like the Getz, the Echo is reasonably easy to convert (and a lot easier to work with than the angular confines of my Starion) and if such things were mass-produced as EVs to start with, the price would be a lot lower than a converted car (in fact comparable to a gas equivalent).

Rear Battery Tank Welded

Partly Completed

Battery tank housing now welded.

Now the welding is partly completed for the battery compartment and positioned under the cut-out as shown below.

The old tank drop distance.

As you can see, the mounting lip is yet to be done and welded to the hatch area floor. The tank should sit at the same drop-depth as the original gas tank, as shown in the images here.

Tire Well Removed, Ready for Battery Tank

Holy Hatch!

Gas tank removed at last! Nathan’s now cut out the tire well for the battery compartment. It’s quite large. You can see from the image how the wheel arches affect available space.

Great gaping cut-out!

The beauty with the Starion is that there is a more room to play with for housing batteries, a charger unit and battery management unit (essential for the lithiums I am using) in the rear hatch area. Other sports cars may have difficulty squeezing extra batteries in this area and I hope to have available space for more batteries should I need them.

Manual or Automatic?

A conversion can be done for either a manual or automatic transmission though manual is preferred for efficiency reasons (I’ll get to automatic in a moment). In many manual EV conversions, the clutch pedal is removed rendering the car a semi-automatic; due to the high torque characteristics of the motor – I could drive around in 2nd or 3rd gear only which is neat as a semi-automatic, especially if the clutch pedal is removed.

Gas Tank Issues

Problems Removing the Gas Tank

The guys had difficulty removing the old gas tank as the tow bar was in the way. The tow bar weighs a few kilos and weight is an issue in EVs, however I may still keep the tow bar as it offers some form of protection in event of a rear collision, and I may want to tow something anyway as electric motors have a lot of torque; hauling such a load would not be a big issue in itself, but the compromise is a shortened range.

Electric Starion fuel filter cut-out.

Someone mentioned towing additional batteries and solar panels – the energy/weight/range cost would be too great using current state-of-the-art solar panels (and although the latest lithium polymers are much lighter, their cost is still high). With solar power received, averaged over 24 hours on a modestly sunny day you could get an insolation yield of say 5kWh/m2/day (depending on where you are, less if further north in northern hemisphere or further south of here in Sydney for example). You’d need a lot of panels to get the energy to run your car for say 80 miles if, say an electric car used 4kW-hours per kilometer. Solar panels are better on the roof of your house for now!

Curtis Controller & Cooling

Curtis Instead of Zilla

I’m going to use a Curtis motor speed controller for now (as the Zillas have a long waiting list (and cost more)). These can get a little hot if there is excessive demand (like driving up a steep hill). The controller has a safety cut-out at around 75 degrees C which can cost power. To overcome this, various cooling methods can be used, including heatsinking of the controller to the car body, adding fans and so on, to ensure longer high-performance driving when needed. Some people are using unique methods of cooling and a special cooling block prototype will be used for my car.

The Batteries I’ll Use

Thundersky Lithium Batteries

After looking at various battery types such as deep cycle lead acids, I decided to go with Thundersky Lithiums as on spec they provide stability, longer range and a much longer cycle life. Hope to get over ten years of life with proper battery management. News about the nano-titanate batteries are promising as they can handle more cycling at a faster rate with very little particle fatigue, but currently they are very expensive and it may be a few years before they become affordable for the average Joe.

Thundersky lithium battery, model TS-LFP160AHA.

Pulling Out the Motor & Gearbox

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.

The Electric Motor

Oh No!

I had originally placed an order through Convert Ur Car for an Advanced DC 9-inch motor which would have given me the power that I wanted for my Starion, with good performance.

Like Warp Motors, the Advanced DC is efficient and comes in a range of sizes for small and medium cars. For some reason they stopped making the 11-inch high-performance motor, but I believe this is a short-lived thing as gas prices go up and demand increases for electric motors.

Kostov electric motor, before restoration.

But bad news… due to the demand, I’d have to wait a considerable time to secure my motor. Nathan offered to fly one in, which was a lovely gesture, but as it turns out, a suitable motor was found closer to home.

Interior Woes & Power Steering Considerations

Interior Issues to Address in EV

While the photos of the interior looked appealing, there were many issues to address, such as the trim with gashes and holes in a few places, and so on. These will be fixed in time as I have several spare Starion parts lying around. But while I was searching information on the ‘net regarding EV conversion, I just had to address some of the dash problems.

Starion console, before restoration.

The indicator assembly was faulty, minus a washer button; trivial perhaps, but I had to replace it, which meant removing the steering column. I was soon to discover a messy wiring loom, broken column housing and various other issues. Even the fabric on the steering wheel was coming apart, so I decided to buy a replacement.

My Beautiful Mitsubishi Starion

My Electric Starion EV, before conversion.

Yes it’s a Mitsubishi Starion – I love these cars – they perform so much better than many new cars on the market today. I chose the Starion for a number of reasons…

• As a challenge to match performance of the original turbo engine.
• Parts are becoming increasingly rare.
• The car is now a classic and much sought-after; good condition Starions are rare because owners thrashed them, put stupid blow-off valves on them, and so on.
• It’s a good mid-sized car with a body-size that is equal to many cars on the market; which means it’s a good trial car for a production sports electric vehicle without going to the expense of a Tesla Roadster.

Some info on the Starion history can be found here: http://autospeed.com/cms/A_0588/article.html

Possibly the World’s Only Electric Starion!

Wherever I go, I hear that electric cars are a few years away – and I have been hearing this line for years now. Yet they were around in LA in the 1990s, then quashed by auto-makers, gas giants and red tape. The technology was available then – and it’s even better now as more people convert their own cars.

This site will prove that most gas guzzlers can be converted into a cost-effective, clean, efficient means of transport. My gas guzzler happens to be a Starion! Keep reading the posts as the conversion progresses. …