Starting to Put Things Together

We have quite a collection of parts now, and are at the point where we can start putting it together. Expecting the batteries to arrive tomorrow.

Today we dropped the sway bar to make room for the nose rack and did some other assorted cleanup.  Almost have the manual steering rack in place.  The transmission adapter is a little more DIY than I expected, and we need to trim it up quite a bit before making it fit, then need to locate the holes.  I'm going to match drill 2 pins from the outside to locate it, since that was part of the engine, and all the bolts are a loose clearance fit.

Sway bar dropped with black square tubing lowering block

Empty Compartment - Have refrained from cutting excess wires off just yet

Tesla Distraction

I've been a bit distracted by the Tesla Model S which I reserved last June (for the days you don't want to drive a 2 seat convertible).   We received a surprise "Invitation to Configure" email 2 weeks ago, which is a nice way of saying "Lock in and commit now or lose your 2012 pricing".  So Lauren, Joan and I took a little road trip to Chicago this weekend just to pick out colors:-)

 Joan evaluating the seat comfort.

Lauren picking out her 16th birthday present early.

I was delighted when the Product Specialist, Zarina,  invited us to take a test drive!   We had a Performance edition and got to do the same loop that we took in July, except we had time for 2 laps and much more time to explore the car.  Other than Lauren feeling a little woosy after testing the 4.4 second 0-60 spec,  it was great!  Additionally, Zarina was extremely helpful with questions about the car.  In particular it was good to learn much more about the display and controls.   She also had more information about Tesla's planned "Superchargers", across the country.  These give you a 1/2 charge in 30 minutes and will be placed along major routes.  Currently in California, the red dots are planned in 2 years and the dark dots are in the long term plan.

Other than that, we now have a motor and transmission adapter waiting in the garage.  Batteries, brackets, controller, charger, DC/DC Converter etc. are on the way.  The engine compartment is cleaned, but I didn't think you needed a video of that greasy project.  Manual steering rack is just waiting for the stubborn tie rods to come apart on the old one.  Vacation requests are submitted.  We shouldn't have any excuse for not making lots of progress over the holiday.

Insanity Reigns!

To remove the engine from a perfectly functional auto violates the sacred dictum: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".  I've pulled engines quite a few times, but we always broke them first!.  My tool kit and skills have deteriorated a bit, but with a couple trips to Sears and little help from the instructions, it is done.  The basics haven't changed in the 30 or so years since last time, but there sure are a lot more wires and tubes in a '97 Mazda than a '72 Ford.    I'm glad I don't have to put this back in and expect it to work! 

It actually took Jared, John and I about 6 hours with prep and clean up, but I thought you might prefer the "Reader's Digest" version.

Engine and exhaust out.  Minus about 330 lbs.  Mounts and battery boxes are being made and powder coated.  I'll order the transmission adapter, motor and controller on Monday.  There's still some cleanup and prep to do, but we'll look forward to installing new stuff over the winter school break.

Committed (mostly)

Who would have thought that we'd be comfortably motoring with the top down Nov 22?  But it really is snowing now, and the high tomorrow is expected to be 28. It is time.

After this "farewell to internal combustion" cruise, we've removed all fluids, wanting to get the messy work done outside.  Then pushed her into the (heated) garage.  While I think I could undo this if I had to, it's getting harder.

We also bypassed the power steering pump to see what manual steering might feel like.  Not bad, but I think I'll still replace the rack with one intended to work that way, it will have a slightly easier gear ratio.

I've settled on a clutch-less adapter system from EV-America.  This drops a few pounds by removing the flywheel and picks up acceleration a little because of reduced rotating inertia.  Since the electric motor doesn't need to keep spinning when the car is stopped, and loves high RPM, there's very little need for shifting.  And there's more parts I can take off the car and don't have to put back!  That's the clincher.

Farewell to ICE

After a slight detour caused by the wreckage of Miata 1, we are back on track.  We have a relatively pristine '97 with 72,000 original owner miles.  Looking for a new home for the ICE now.  Went for a ride today and Lauren video taped the dashboard for me in a mediocre 0-60 run, just to show any interested parties that the engine does "vroom vroom".  Expecting snow in the near future, therefore a good day to put your convertible away.

We plan to install an AC motor and Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries based on the plan and parts from  EVMiata.  This should give us a car with good range (50-90 miles, haven't decided on exactly how many batteries yet) and weight very close to the original.