Thanks you guys!

A big thanks to our sponsors for being avid supporters of the McMichael EV project. Your contributions and comments have been greatly appreciated.


An even greater thanks to the crew!

Mr. John Butler "our leader"

Mr. Michael Clark and Mr. Ben Fulp "the hands behind the wrench"

Mr. Brandon Smith and Mr. Zac Plummer "the troubleshooting duo"

Mr. Matt Miller and Mr. Nick Melms "the tech. support"

Mr. Jonathan Roupe and Mr. Dale Yates " the slick tongued presenters"



And remember you guys, It will forever be "BUSINESS TIME!"

The closing stages....

Today was the final day of the SMARTT Challenge competition here in Raleigh, NC. I feel more than accomplished to have made it all of the way there and bring home some gold.
Upon our arrival, there was just a slight sign of rain yet the sky didn't actually break loose while the events went on throughout the day. After lining our car up along a walkway at the McKimmon Center, Mike and Mr. Butler took a walk to scope out the autocross course. From my point of view, the course at Winston was more challenging and Mike should have no problem dominating the pavement today. My guess was right! After six explosive runs, Michael had the best run time out of all of the cars in the stock class.

Not only did we dominate on the autocross course, but we also had a large amount of complements from the judges of the safety inspection and the design competition. All of their eyes seemed to be instantly drawn to the area of the exposed motor. We were the only car at the competition that had the motor exposed and not covered by a mess of wiring or the controller.

Over all we brought home 1st in Autocross, Rookie of the Year, 2nd in oral presentation, and 3rd in troubleshooting. Not bad for a bunch of "Scallywags" from Rockingham County!

Day 1 at the Smartt Challenge

We arrived in Raleigh, NC late last night on the 14 of May. Thanks to Mr. Butler's cousin, we are staying in his home free of charge. Since our money supply is limited, it was a blessing for him to let us stay in his home while we were there in Raleigh.



Our arrival at the Historic Oak View Park gave us all a chill of excitement in hopes that we would conquer today's events. After unloading the car and registering our team in the competition, We then toured the park and were allowed to view the other teams' electric vehicles. We found out pretty quick that our car was one of the better built automobiles out of all of the schools who entered in the competition.



After weighing the car, we headed up the hill for a brief inspection of today's entrees. With no problems, we were allowed to continue in the day's events. We then decided to divide up into our separate groups and practice for the upcoming events.



Representing McMichael in troubleshooting was Zac Plummer and Brandon Smith, in oral presentation was Johnny Roupe and Dale Yates, Matt Miller and Nick Melms were going to be our photographers, and I was going to take part in driving the car in the range competition.



In the beginning, Zac and Brandon dominated the troubleshooting board. For first year students, we brought home the high honor of 3rd place in troubleshooting. This was exceptionally good due to their crash course on how the car was wired.



Jonathan and Dale presented to a panel of 5 judges in the first round and were chosen along with 3 other teams to do a second presentation. Because of their suave style and slick tongues, They came out of the oral presentation competition with 2nd place.



Later in the day, the tension rose as we were rounded up and staged to go out on the street and complete the range competition. Amazingly enough, our EV conquered 20 miles of pavement through residential areas, traffic lights, and main roads! Not in comparison to many of the other EVs, but it was a victory in our hearts. We are all exceptionally proud of our placement in the SMARTT Challenge. Hopefully next year the guys will place higher in the competition than we have.

Bringing EV1 to a close...

Our morning began with the usual rundown of our agenda. Right after discussing our plans, Mike and I dove into running wire and making connections. We managed to hook up wiring to activate a back up alarm and lights for when we put the car in reverse. Instead of putting them on a switch, we used the stock switch that is built into the transmission. This means that when you place the car in reverse, the lights and alarm automatically come on. Moving on to the next objective, we wired in our horn. Having complications with the switch in the middle of the steering wheel, we decided to wire the horn up to the cruise control switch. It worked out nicely and actually made it easier to reach in case of an emergency. After finishing up the horn, Mike and I finished the quick disconnect cable reaching inside the car. Using a butt-connector, we crimped the cable in a loop through a hole in the handle. By pulling a handle inside of the car, we are now able to disconnect the high voltage circuit from inside of the car.
This afternoon Mr. Butler was able to run to Madison DMV and pick up our new license tag. Tomorrow we hope to take our first legal drive up the road and test the car’s range.

Power Windows

Today Mike and I tore trough the wiring harness and pulled out the harness for the power windows. After using a voltmeter and wiring diagram to find the wires needed, Mike and I proceeded in connecting the window switches to the fuse panel and hiding the wires. Since the harness already had connectors, it was only a matter of minutes before we had working windows. I am glad that the windows now work properly. This saves us from having to take the power supply everywhere we go.

Thanks Joe...

At the car show last Saturday, we met a guy named Joe who turned out to be a helpful person. We were advertising our burgundy fender for trade or sale, when he came by to check out our ride. He informed us that he knew a guy who might take us up on our offer. Highly interested, we received the guy’s phone number and gave him a call yesterday. He told us to drop by his home and bring the fender with us.
This afternoon, we loaded up the truck and went to meet Paul Gover. Upon arriving at his house, we automatically knew that he was a mustang fanatic. Having his own private junk yard, he had every part that we have ever needed. Too bad we only discovered him this late in the project.
He quickly led us to a car that matched ours and gave us permission to remove the right front fender. He gladly took the burgundy fender on trade along with a little bit of money.
Thanks to two great guys, we now have a properly fitting white fender. This will complete the car and give it a more stock appearance.

Thanks TSCC!

The moment of truth! Our arrival at the Dixie Classic Fair Grounds in Winston Salem, NC opened a new door into our EV world. Today would be the first ever autocross event that the EV would participate in. On top of that, Mike and I have never pushed the car to its limits or driven in an autocross event ourselves.
Thanks to the Triad Sports Car Club, Mike and I were allowed free admission in today’s race. Excited as we were we knew that we had to buckle down and concentrate on today’s event. After completing registration, taking a walk around the course, and unloading the car, Mike and I gave the EV a brisk search. Nothing was going to stop us from driving, especially not some small detail that we had previously missed.
A few brief showers passed overhead, but as the day progressed the track dried out and gave way to a great day of racing. Since we were placed in our own class (FSAE class), my only competition was Michael. He was the first to take the EV for a spin and did a great job maneuvering around the track. The mustang really looked smooth and natural at what we were putting it through. After Mike’s run I took position behind the wheel. I pushed the car just a little bit harder than Mike did and it held up nicely. Our times decreased after every run and gave us a boost of confidence for the next run. Overall, I had the best time of the day in our class, yet Mike was only about a second behind me. Our standings were not extravagant, but we did not place last overall. I am proud of the way Mike and myself handled the EV today. We were extremely ecstatic to push the mustang to its limits around the course. This event allowed us to get some behind the wheel time before the final event in Raleigh. Not only did the car perform well, but attention was out the roof. Since the event we have received many e-mails congratulating us and giving us tips.

Tri-City Cruise In...

The morning began with our arrival at the Tri-City Ford Dealership in Eden, NC. Looks of interest and disgust were constantly being made as we pulled our car up to the registration table. However, the real fun began after we unloaded the car and set up our display table. People flocked to our area just to see what we were packing under the hood of the beat up mustang. To their surprise, instead of a blue, gas sucking 5.0 engine, in its place was a very compact electric motor and row of batteries. Confusion began to spread and the questions started flying. There was a constant flow of people passing by our car for the rest of the day and we even had some pretty technical questions brought to our attention. One fellow was even testing our knowledge of the components to its limits. It just so happens that he was a professional when it came to batteries and electric motors and his constant bombardment of questions was to quiz our knowledge. Later in the day, the show turned into a cruise-in. Around 2:00, all of the mustangs on display lined up in the parking lot waiting for the signal to begin our cruise around town. This was the first time that the car has ever touched the real road and taken a trip. It was an awesome experience just knowing that our creation was capable of running the speed limit and keeping up in traffic.

Preparation for presentation...

Tomorrow is a huge day for the McMichael EV Team. We are unveiling our car for the first time in public at the Tri-City Ford Dealership’s first annual mustang show. In preparation of tomorrow’s event, Mike and I set to work on installing the rear battery rack while Mr. Butler worked on troubleshooting the wiring problem that we were having with our four way flashers. Using grade 8 bolts, oversized square washers, and lock washers, we were able to successfully bolt down the rack to the sub-frame. Running the bolts through the frame adds stability and strength in case of an accident. We also installed a mounting plate that Mike fabricated that holds the Littel Fuse in place. The plate added a professional look to the rear of the car and gave a smoother surface on which to mount the fuse. After completing the bolt down, Mike and I installed the rear batteries and tied them down with a steel mount that we had fabricated earlier today. Mike was then summoned to the cab of the car to give Mr. Butler a hand while I proceeded in giving the car a light washing. The paint automatically brightened up and the car became a little more presentable. Tomorrow is going to be a blast now that the car looks cleaner and the wiring is complete. We now have all of our signal lights and battery racks complete. The car has really transformed since the first time I laid eyes on it.

Running wire

Today after school, Mike, Mr. Butler, and I began another chapter in the story of our EV. Chassis wiring was on the agenda, but not after placing a new hinge on the driver side door. We’ve been having trouble lately with our door sagging and not closing all of the way. But, with a spare hinge that he retrieved from his house, we were back in bussisness. After fixing the door, Mike and I took our new rear battery rack outside and gave it a coat of paint. From there we caught up with Mr. Butler who had already dived into wiring in our new fuse panel. While he was hard at work under the dash, Mike and I proceeded in placing the loom for our headlights into the front of the car. This wasn’t a real complicated process, however getting the four ways to work properly was. By disassembling the original wiring harness and following a wiring diagram just for the car we were able to eliminate a massive amount of useless wires, thus helping our troubleshooting process and keeping the actual wiring in a neat, orderly loom. At the end of the session, we were able to accomplish action from the headlights, turn signals, brake lights, high beams, flash to pass, windshield wipers and dash lights. I am extremely excited about having all of the basic lights and windshield wiper functions. This is another milestone, yet we are still not finished. Tomorrow we will have working four ways and a newly installed rear battery rack.

simple and sleek...

Today was a little slow, but Mike and I managed to complete a few more items on the to-do list. Using a piece from a left over locker panel, I fabricated a plate to insert in the front of the console to cover the area where the radio once was. I was able to use the angle grinder with the cutting wheel to cut out the piece big enough to fill the open space. The grinding stone on the stationary grinder assisted me in rounding the sharp edges and evening the cut. Using the wire brush on the grinder, I removed the excess rust and paint, which I followed with a coat of primer. While the primer was drying, Mike and I continued to work on the feet for the rear battery rack. Mike had already cut the feet to size, so I assisted him in making measurements on where to position them and in leveling the rack. After finding their positions, Mike and I marked alignment points so Mr. Butler’s father can weld them into position tonight. A quick coat of black paint accented the metal plate perfectly and it is now drying and waiting for installation tomorrow.

Before painting the panel, Mike and I signed the plate just for fun. Notice how the holes are filled in where the A/C knobs were once placed. This was done so by covering the backs of the holes with black plastic sheeting.

This is the plate after priming.

C-clamps come in handy when trying to position something. In this case we were using them to hold the rack to the feet in order to figure out how high to position the rack and where to mount it to the floor.

After marking lines in the car, we moved the rack to a level location on the floor in order to make sure that we marked the feet level on the rack.

Dense Styrofoam makes great wedges.

You can't tell it in the picture, but we have marked the positioning lines on where the feet need to be welded to the rack.

Just a touch of makeup...

Working steady all morning, Mike and I were able to place the bumper and left fender on the EV. The look of the body parts are not in the best condition, but it looks more like a car since the new additions. After making adjustments to the components, the body lines of the mustang smoothed out and didn’t look as jagged and bent out of shape. Since the burgundy fender for the right side didn’t fit properly, Mike and I decided, along with Mr. Butler’s approval, to postpone putting on the fender in hopes that this weekend we can procure enough money to buy one that better fits the car. This Saturday, we are planning to take the EV to a mustang car show in Eden to display our hard work. There we plan to ask for donations towards the car in hopes that people will support our cause. Since the school’s budget cut, we are running short on our savings and are finding it hard to buy the little here and there pieces that we need.

After finishing what we could of the body work, Mike and I proceeded in placing the interior back into the car. So far we’ve managed to put in the carpet, console, seat belts, door panels, rear seat, glove box, shifter boot, floor trim near the bottom of the doors, and speaker panels.

Fender no. 1

The fiberglass bumper.

After the front clip is installed.

Looks like a real car now!

Mike displaying Ford's finest with the help from a little piece of tape.

Me working on attaching the speaker covers to the door panels.

Light it up...

Today was another successful step in bringing the EV project to a close. Mike and I worked on running the new loom of wire that is to connect all of the lights on the rear of the car to the fuse box. Mike and Mr. Butler remained after school yesterday for a brief time period where they put the loom together and labeled the wires. This was a huge time saver and I am grateful for their dedication to the car, even when I can’t always be present. That's what teamwork is all about.

After placing the loom in the rear of the car and plugging the bulbs into the receptacles, Mike and I moved towards the front. There we placed the new headlight lenses in the front bumper. In order for the lights to fit, we had to take mounting brackets and rubber-trim off of the old lights and place them on the new.

After placing the light wiring harness into the car.

Labeling each wire helps to prevent confusion when hooking up switches.

Turnin' wheels and shiftin' gears....

This morning, Mike and I hurried with anticipation of driving the Mustang. While Mike checked the transmission fluid and filled up the rear differential with gear oil, I installed the speedometer, steering wheel, and driver’s seat. With no time to waste, we were out the bay door and behind the wheel. With camcorder in hand, Matt recorded the EV’s first movements. It was an exciting rush cruising behind the wheel of a silent mustang. The only sounds heard were the squeal of the controller, the pop of the contactor, and the pavement moving below our wheels.

Creeping out the bay area...

Let's see what she's got...

Easing through the first turn.

Rounding second.

Switching drivers.

Going, Going, GONE!!!!

First steps...

Today after school Mr. Butler, Mike and I finished all of the low voltage wiring. Our afternoon consisted of wiring the key switch to all of the control components in order to start the car. After running a new section of wire loom into the car, we connected all of the wires to their designated areas. Now it was the moment of truth. After placing the rear of the car on jack stands, we all crossed our fingers, connected the high voltage, and flipped the key switch. The car ran!!! The rear tires made movement with no complications whatsoever!

Tomorrow we plan to drive the EV under its own power. Today was a milestone in the history of this whole project and will always be remembered as the day that McMichael EV made its first steps.

Modification of the gauge cluster...

Since a lot of the gauges and lights are not needed in the gauge cluster for the operation of the EV, I took the liberty to disassemble the whole component and make modifications. I stared by removing the face shield so that I could take off the useless gauge hands. As I started to remove the hands I noticed that the whole electronic component itself could be removed. This allowed me to lighten up the gauge cluster. After taking out the unneeded pieces, I proceeded in painting over the unneeded lights and gauge faces to clean up the look of the gauge cluster. After the paint was dry, I reassembled the cluster and placed it in a safe area until it is to be installed.

This is the cluster before modification.

After removing the face shield.

Each part of the gauge cluster had its own section that could be disassembled. Here in this pic I removed the gas gauge and battery voltage gauge.

Here I removed the oil pressure and water temperature gauge.

The mid section was the most complicated to remove, but after carefully removing a few screws I gently popped it out of place.

Here are the remaining pieces.

After I painted over the gauge faces and useless warning lights.

Mike helping me to re-assemble the gauge cluster.

Clean and simple.

Placing the cover back on.

Finished.

A new car deserves its true mileage.

always in the red... thanks to a little super glue.

Surprisingly enough, this is what a gauge looks like on the inside.

Now it's ready for install.

Sweet Saturdays...

My Saturday morning started off on the right foot with catching up on some maintenance around the house. After completing my chores, it was off to the school to catch up with the guys and work on the low voltage wiring. Prior to my arrival, Mr. Butler had already started on the low voltage wiring and was nearly half way to completion. His head start made it easier for us to check the connections and leads to make sure that they were properly installed and ran. It didn’t take long to finish the wiring and move on to the rear of the car where Mike and I made connectors to link the rear batteries. Making the rear connections without the use of the hydraulic press was long and complicated. We had to use a sledge hammer in the press’s place, making safety an even bigger priority. Never the less, we completed the job and are now waiting for the completion of the rear battery rack.

No Need To Explain...

This is a pic of the back of the control panel. Computer fans are excellent cooling fans and should provide enough of a air current to keep the controller nice and chill. Also pictured is one of the relays for our low voltage wiring.

The other relay.

This is the driver's side of the car under the fender. The two wires you see (green and blue) are running from the inertia switch to the auxiliary battery. The other wire (red) is the ground wire for the battery that connects to the sub frame.

The controller and new contactor mounted on the panel.

The DC Converter mounted back in the engine compartment.

A shot of the battery tie downs that Mike fabricated.

After reconnecting the high voltage wiring. In the back you can barely notice the looms of wire that snake from behind the panel. These looms house the various wires that connect components to the relays and ground point.

This is the loom that houses the wiring for the voltage gauges and amp meter.

A pic of the installed gauges and gauge pod after connecting the wires.

This is the pot box. The pot box, much like a dimmer switch, controls the amount of voltage that passes through the controller. Instead of mounting it under the hood and running a regular throttle cable, we decided to mount it directly under the dash and connect it directly to the pedal with a short piece of cable. This will give us better throttle response and eliminate the ugliness of the cable and pot box.

The giant spring connected from the pedal to the pot box is to give the pedal some resistance to ease the touchiness of the throttle. Without the spring, it is really hard to control the amount of pressure that is needed to compress the pedal.

In order to get the correct lengths of the cables, Mike and I placed the batteries in the car where they will be positioned in the rack. From there we made our connections and decided on where to mount the Littel Fuse. The Littel Fuse is placed in the circuit in case of an emergency, much like a fuse in an older home's fuse box.