McMichael High School EV Conversion

2011-10-08T23:00:00.003-04:00

On October 8th the EV team traveled cross county to Reidsville to the Annual Reidville Fall Festival. This year was a GREAT turnout with numorous displays and vendors and over 320 classic cars. The EV was one of only a handful that was less than 25 years old and was the only fox body at the show. The weather was excellent and all EV team members enjoyed the cars, people, music, and displays.

EV parked in front of the Reidsville Police Department

Many folks enjoyed checking out the electric car

EV team members check out the a GM volt display. We talked about the differences between a converted EV and a major manufactures EV.

Charging system hookup on a Nissan Leaf that was on display brought by Reidsville Nissan

EV team members, Mr. Butler (w/ charger), and Reidsville Nissan Reps! The Nissan guys were pretty knowledgable about their car as Mr. Butler tried to stump them with some questions.

Ryan check out the mini solar panel on the back of the Leaf. Many EV Team member commented that the Leaf doesn't have the visual statement that EV needs to make.... kinds looks like an insect!

Madison Heritage Festival

2011-10-03T13:12:00.004-04:00

The EV took the "Electric Fox" to the Madison Heritage Festival on October 1st 2011. We had a "prime spot" as the car was posistioned directly infron of the stage in the middle of the festival. Many folks stopped by and talked w/ the EV team members.

Clinton, Nathan, Ryan, and Quintin keeping it real

Nathan and Ryan learning the "EV Ways" from a "EV Master"

The streets of Madison NC - Car hood visible near band

Ryan applying Natty's Paste Blue wax w/ a foam applicator.

Gotta keep the EV shining!

Electric Fox Live and Local on WGSR 47.1 Reidsville

2011-09-11T21:00:00.004-04:00

McMichael EV team interviewed by WGSR 47.1 Reidsville at the Reidsville Cruise in on September 9th 2011.

On September 9th McMichael EV team headed back to Reidsville for the last Cruise in of Summer 2011. The Reidsville Cruise In is always a wonderful event, w/ lots of really cool rides from the 40's to showroom fresh. The Electric Fox is always a hit and we were able to distribute several of out new business cards (designed by EV team member, Tyler Haney).

From Left: Quintin Dickerson, Hunter Foulks, Debbie Moore (WGSR), Tyler Haney

The EV team has plans to return to Reidsville for the Homegrown Festival in October 2011!

Melted terminal

2011-08-27T20:32:00.005-04:00

McMichael EV team had a breakdown w/ our Electric Fox EV. After a short drive to visit a local sponsor the EV lost all power. Turns out that one of the 8V batteries in the trunk had melted a terminal. Not sure what happened but the terminal had completely melted and the 2/0 connector was making no contact. Luckily we had an extra 8v battery back at the shop and just did a simple replacement. Next week we will check all the terminals and look for problems.

Lucas, Adam, and Hunter replacing the battery w/ melted terminal. When working near 90+ volts always be extremely careful!

Adam w/ old battery

Job well done....ready to ride!

Hunter and Lucas packing up!

Back at school... now we need to check ALL connections!

Eden Cruise in at Sonic - August 13th

2011-08-13T22:31:00.006-04:00

McMichael EV team visited the Eden, NC. The cruise-in was one the best events of the summer. Luckily the heat broke today and the EV team didn't have to sit through hours of extreme 90+ heat. We arrived around 4:30 pm and chilled at Sonic off of NC HWY 14 till about 9:00pm. There were a good amount of cars and people, but a small shower led to some leaving. After 8:00pm a nice band played some great songs and many folks just took it easy as the sun went down. Overall this was one of the best shows!

The Electric fox fit right in at this car show.

Notice the new edge GT and '83 GT just to the left, and several '50s - '70s classic also!

A little rain never hurts a good car show!

Several of the folks that stopped and talked to the EV team noticed our great sponsors.

Mustang Week 2011

2011-07-28T01:31:00.004-04:00

The Electric Fox visited Mustang Week at Myrtle Beach. This was a great time at the best Mustang show in the US!!!! Hundreds of Mustang enthusiasts checked out the EV.

Electric Fox at Planet Hollywood during the mustang week meet and greet.

Getting ready to do a few laps at the Myrtle Beach Speedway. Check the video below.

Chilling at the Late Model Restoration trailer.

2011-06-13T22:26:00.002-04:00

For his final exam our video editor, Graham, created this AWESOME vid to show off the build of our project and a little about the EV challenge. View the rest of our vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/mcmichelev

News & Record news article

2011-06-13T22:14:00.004-04:00

On Sunday June 12th our electric fox was featured in our local newspaper, the News & Record. The article was very well written... thanks Brian Ewing (author). Many folks from the community were able to read about our project.

Check out the article here--> http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/06/10/article/rolling_out_electric_fox

Brian Ewing checking out our electric fox.

The Local Car Shows

2011-06-13T13:24:00.015-04:00

Recently some of the members on our team took the electric car to the Madison and Reidsville Car shows to inform the community about electric vehicles and our project. While at the car show's our team was asked many questions about the workings of the vehicle. We almost always had people around our car checking it out. While at the Reidsville car show Hunter and Quinton were interviewed by the WGSR 47 News team.

Just before the Reidsville show we added a decal to our windshield with our website URL and installed our Fender Apron Covers from Scott Rod Fabrications.

The decal of our website on the windshield.

Hunter and Dylan answer questions about our project at the Madison car show.

The streets of Madison, NC

On our way to the Reidsville car show.

Arriving at the Reidsville car show. Mr. Butler joined us in his '01 cobra, don't forget the "diamond in the rough" in the background.

Eli installing the Fender Apron covers from Scott Rod Fabrications.

The electric fox as of June 2011

McMichael FFA Cookout

2011-06-03T11:32:00.004-04:00

McMichael High School's chapter of Future Farmers of America recently held a end-of-the-year cookout for its members here at McMichael on Wednesday. The team viewed this as an opportunity to display our Mustang to our fellow students as well as talk about electric vehicles and their impact on the environment. The cookout was a great success for our project because of the publicity the car earned.

SVT Superfest 2011!!!

2011-05-31T10:11:00.017-04:00

Last Saturday, some members of the team showed the car off at the SVT Superfest, which was held at Virginia International Raceway(VIR) amongst hundreds of other Ford vehicles. Our Mustang turned heads and received multiple looks of confusion and curiosity from many of the visitors.
Participants from many states flocked to VIR for the SVT Superfest to show off their cars, check out other great cars, and race their vehicles on the VIR track. Our team participated mainly in the car show on Saturday to spread the message about our project. The team answered numerous questions about the car while checking out other cars at the show. A little after lunch, Mr. Butler drove the car in two parade laps around the track just to have fun and enjoy the car. He got the Mustang up to 75 mph, which is the fastest the car has gone so far, while testing the handling and suspension in a road setting.

Our Mustang staging for parade laps.

The Mustang taking some parade laps.

Our Mustang in line for parade laps.

Our Mustang with our sponsor board and a banner provided by Late Model Restoration. Late Model Restoration has been one of our project's biggest sponsors by donating valuable a parts for the Mustang.

EV Challenge May 21-22, 2011

2011-05-24T09:57:00.042-04:00

This past weekend, our team traveled to Garysburg, NC to the EV Challenge event where we pushed our car to its limits. The car underwent multiple mechanical and electrical inspections before being tested in maximum range and an autocross event. The event was held at the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research ( NCCAR) located in Garysburg.The NCCAR facility features a 2.03 mile ride and handling course as well as six private garages and 2 large conference rooms that suited the needs of the EV Challenge very well this past weekend. The NCCAR facility is still under construction, and is planned to be an even greater research facility in the future.

On Saturday, all inspections and the range event were held for all of the electric vehicles. Our vehicle placed second in vehicle design behind Mount Vernon High School, located in Iowa. Oral presentations and troubleshooting events were held on Saturday as well. The troubleshooting event consists of 21 multiple-choice questions as well as finding two faults on a special board that represents an electric vehicle circuit. Our team placed second overall and first in the car class in the troubleshooting event on Saturday. The oral presentation consists of students presenting a 5 to 7 minute speech on a subject relating to electric vehicles. This year's subject pertained to Lithium ion batteries and their effects on a vehicle's inertia. Our team placed sixth overall in oral presentation on Saturday.

After the oral presentation and troubleshooting events, all of the electric vehicles participated in the range event on the 2 mile ride and handling course. Our vehicle performed exceptionally well in the range event, traveling approximately 35 miles on one charge, earning our team second place in the range event. Hunter Foulks was the driver of the Mustang in the range event. Our vehicle placed second behind Mount Vernon High School's Pontiac Fiero and before Weaver Academy's Mazda RX 7.

The autocross event was held on Sunday, where all of the teams out their cars to the test on a small agility course. Traffic cones were set up in multiple positions to create different obstacles for the vehicles. Quintin Dickerson was our team's driver for the autocross event, and he performed well in the autocross, averaging approximately 33 seconds on each run. Our Mustang placed second in the car class in the autocross event behind Mount Vernon High School's Pontiac Fiero and ahead of Weaver Academy's Mazda RX 7.

Overall, the EV Challenge this past weekend was a great success for our program, allowing our team to analyze our vehicle's strengths and weaknesses, as well as allowing the team to see all of our hard work pay off. Some strengths the team noticed about our Mustang included successes in design and impressive handling during the autocross event. Some weaknesses for our vehicle included a lack in range as well as the lack of a clutch in our transmission. The goal for our Mustang now is to upgrade from lead-acid batteries to lithium-ion batteries in order to reduce weight while increasing power. This goal can be achieved through the support of our sponsors and the hard work of our students.

Our Mustang is weighed before undergoing technical and electrical inspections.

Hunter and Quintin explain the mechanics of our Mustang to a EV Challenge judge during technical inspection.

Hunter and Quintin explain to the judges the wiring of our vehicle during electrical inspection.

Topsail High School's 2001 Ford Ranger before the range event.

West Wilkes High School's 2000 Mazda Miata.

Mount Vernon High School's 1988 Pontiac Fiero.

Dudley High School's 1990 Mazda B220 pickup.

Weaver Academy's 1987 Mazda RX 7.

Hunter and Quintin in an interview about our electric vehicle.

All of the electric vehicles staging for the range event on Saturday.

A new Tesla Roadster that served as the pace car for the range event.

Quintin driving the Mustang in the autocross event on Sunday.

Quintin takes on a tight turn in the Mustang during the autocross event.

Quintin finishes an autocross run on Sunday.

To check out more photos of the EV Challenge, check out our Picasa album and our school's website at Lab306.com. All of the cars that were at the event are featured in our album. We also have video clips of different school's autocross runs on our Youtube channel.

Overall, we are pleased with the results of our vehicle this year and we hope to improve the Mustang this summer by upgrading batteries to lithium-ion and improving our voltage to 156v.

Final Preparations

2011-05-20T09:53:00.013-04:00

Now it's down to the wire. The competition is tomorrow, and the team is still rushing to make final adjustments and finish all of the wiring. Most of all of the rest of the components of the vehicle are in place and ready to go. Right now, Mr. Butler and the rest of the team are working on finishing the wiring process before this afternoon. The trouble shooting and oral presentation teams are studying their individual fields in order to be ready for tomorrow, while some of the others are working on finishing the car. The whole team looks forward to attending the EV Challenge this weekend, and competing with schools from around the United States.

Mr. Butler, Hunter, Eli, and Tyler check out new wheels and tires purchased for our car.
The tires are Kumho Escta XS in size 255/40/17 and were purchased from Claybrook tire in Stoneville, NC. The wheels are 17x9 SC wheels w/ rivets purchased from cruizin concepts

Hunter installs the new wheels and tires.

Clinton installs covers onto the battery terminals for added safety as well as to make the car look better.

Tyler and Clinton making safety labels for the on/off switch and for the battery banks.

Spencer studies for the troubleshooting portion of the EV Challenge. Spencer will be assisted by Eli in the final event this weekend.

Quentin finishes wiring the DC/DC converter to the batteries.

The team placed a carpet cover over the batteries in the trunk to make the car look stock. The carpet is from Latemodel Resotation and fit great.

Chase shines the wheels for this weekend's competition.

Mr. Butler finishes up some of the main wiring left on the vehicle.
Notice the sweet miners headlight!

Sponsor Board Arrived

2011-05-19T10:09:00.023-04:00

To thank all of our many sponsors, the team had a sponsor board made by Signs & Trophies of Madison to represent them this weekend at the EV Challenge. The board has two sides with multiple sponsors on each side. The sponsor board was graciously manufactured by Signs & Trophies of Madison, NC. We will display the board at the competition this weekend to thank and acknowledge all of our sponsors that have helped make this project possible.

Chase and Clint check out our new sponsor board.

Just a few of our many sponsors that have made this project what it is.

View our complete sponsor page at http://lab306.com/

5.0 Side Emblems and Trunk Emblems

2011-05-18T11:14:00.010-04:00

To give our Mustang some extra flare, we installed brand new badges and emblems to the Mustang on both front quarter-panels in front of the doors, as well as a new Ford emblem and LX emblem on the trunk door. Over all, the install for the emblems were pretty easy, although we paid extra attention to detail, making sure both emblems were straight on both sides. All these emblems are available at our favorite supplier, latemodel restoration supply!

The old 5.0 Emblem on the right-side front quarter panel.

Clinton carefully removes the old emblem to make room for the new.

Clinton uses a heat gun to melt the adhesive holding the old emblem on to make things easier.

The old LX emblem being carefully pried from the trunk.

The old adhesive and rust that was underneath the old Ford emblem.

Clinton installs the 5.0 Emblems onto the left side of the Mustang.

One 5.0 emblem after being installed.

First Test Drive!!!

2011-05-18T09:56:00.014-04:00

Just last night, some members of the team drove the vehicle for the first time as an electric vehicle! The Mustang drove smoothly and is very near completion. The team still has to finish all of the necessary wiring such as wiring all lights and turning signals as well as install a kill switch into the cab of the car to stop the flow of electricity in case of an emergency.

We are now in the process of putting finishing touches on the car, and we should be completely finished by this weekend's challenge.

Door Moldings, Weather Strip, and Side Mirrors

2011-05-17T21:42:00.002-04:00

Our team recently completed the install of new door moldings, weatherstrip, and side mirrors provided by Late Model Restoration. The previous weather strip and moldings have become extremely worn, and were in need of being replaced. The side mirrors were also worn and in need of replacement. Late Model Restoration supplied moldings and weatherstrip for both doors, all windows, the trunk, and windshield. Late Model Restoration also supplied new side mirrors and a new rear-view mirror for our project.

Our Mustang's previous window molding (top) compared to the new molding (bottom) supplied by Late Model Restoration.

Clinton finishing up on installing new window moldings onto the passenger-side door.

The diver's-side door complete with new window moldings supplied by Late Model Restoration.

Chase works on installing the driver's-side side mirror.

New driver's side mirror after being installed.

Driver's side mirror installed.

The next big step in our project is installing the controller, DC/DC Converter, and auxiliary battery before the EV Challenge next week.

Trunk and Battery Racks Painted

2011-05-17T10:47:00.010-04:00

The team decided to paint the sheet metal around the metal battery racks to make the trunk look sleeker and more professional since many people will be seeing the batteries and the inside of the trunk during exhibitions. The team removed the battery racks and removed the factory paint from the hole which the battery rack fits into. The team also painted the battery racks black to match the paint job inside of the trunk. Now the trunk and the racks inside of it have a fresh coast of paint and are looking sharp.

The trunk of our Mustang after the factory paint was removed.

A closer shot of the inside of the trunk before it was painted.

Hunter paints the inside of the trunk. That stuff doesn't come off either!

Quentin paints the other side of the trunk interior.

The finished product.

The inside of trunk after a fresh coat of paint.

Rear Seat Delete Install

2011-05-16T15:31:00.008-04:00

One of the key challenges of the EV Challenge is to make sure your team's vehicle looks as stock as possible, basically to make the car look like nothing was changed on it. In order to meet this requirement, our team has removed the rear seat that was in our Mustang, but installed a rear-seat delete kit supplied by Late Model Restoration. The rear seat delete consists of three pieces of thin plywood covered with carpet to simulate the rear seats and provides some extra cargo space under the "seat". The install was pretty easy and went very well. The Mustang's interior should look great now going into the EV Challenge this weekend.

Clinton and Tyler installing the rear seat delete kit.

Clinton secures the lip piece of the rear-seat delete kit to the bench part.

The rear seat delete after being installed into the car.

The car is in the final stages of its conversion as our team races to finish before the competition. The next step includes rigging a kill switch onto the main batteries, installing new tires and wheels onto the Mustang, and completing the interior.

Controller, DC/DC Converter, and Aux. Battery Install

2011-05-16T10:48:00.020-04:00

With the EV Challenge coming up this weekend, the team is starting to feel the time crunch, but is still making great progress. Just last week, we installed our Soliton 1 controller, Curtis DC/DC Converter, and our 12-volt Auxiliary battery supplied by Interstate Battery Company. The controller and one extra 8-volt battery are fitted on a plate produced by GP Fabrications that is positioned just above the electric motor.

Our car's engine compartment before we installed all of the hardware.

Hunter Foulks deciding on which way to install the plate with the controller and battery.

The controller and battery after being installed into the car.

Eli Strickland examines the electric motor before the plate is installed.

Under the hood after the controller and extra battery after being installed.

DC/DC Converter (Small black box to the left) and auxiliary battery(to the right) after being installed.

Our car's 12-volt auxiliary battery supplied by Interstate Battery Company.

Our car's Curtis DC/DC Converter.

As of Sunday, May 15, the wheels on our Mustang turned under the power of the motor. This is a great sign that our vehicle is almost complete and ready to compete this weekend.

2/0 Cable and crimping

2011-05-13T14:36:00.008-04:00

The last few days we've been working on running our 2/0 cable between the batteries, controller, and motor. The lugs we use are Magnalugs from Quickcable. These are heavy duty lugs that allow the amperage to flow from the batteries to the controller then to the motor. We crimp these with an awesome "made in the USA" crimp too.

Check out this vid to learn about QuickCable connectors

Mr. Butler demonstrating the "hold tight and push tight" crimp method.

No matter how hard you pull... as Mr. Butler says "That joker's on there!!"

Now its time for Jesse to become the cable expert and cut, crimp, and heat shrink all the cable connections.

Always be careful of HIGH VOLTAGE! When batteries are strung in series their voltage INCREASES.

Quintin getting removing the old clear tube sheath from old cable. This will be cleaned and installed in our EV.

Spencer loving it!

Tails and Carpet

2011-05-13T14:00:00.005-04:00

Our electric vehicle project was equipped with stock '87-93 LX tail lights. Although the stock lights are nice the lens was both faded and cracked. The lenses provided from Latemodel Restoration are of the older SVO style. We love the black stripes and the retro look!!! We removed the stock lens from the housing by simply prying them off. Next Tyler Haney scraped out the adhesive and Clinton cleaned the housings.

The housing was cleaned...some Mothers' Back to Black was added on top of the housing to provide the rich black look.

Clinton adding the adhesive so the new lens can be glued into place.

As expected the interior carpet from 2 decades of use was extremely pitiful. Again Latemodel helped us out by supplying a new titanium gray carpet. The pics below show how the install went.

This is the interior before cleaning. We also removed the console bracket behind the parking brake since we are doing a console delete.

Clinton helping to layout the new titanium gray carpet

Holes have to be cut for the shifter, parking brake, seat. The carpet is easy to cut but hard not to cut too much.

Spencer and Eli check out a job well done.

Door Moldings and Weather Strip

2011-05-11T18:06:00.014-04:00

Our team recently completed the install of new door moldings and weatherstrip provided by Late Model Restoration. The previous weather strip and moldings have become extremely worn, and were in need of being replaced. Late Model Restoration supplied moldings and weatherstrip for both doors, all windows, the trunk, and windshield.

Previous window molding (top) compared to new molding (bottom).

Clinton finishing up on replacing the door moldings.

Brand-new door molding supplied by Late Model Restoration after being installed.

The next step in our vehicle's progress is installing the controller, DC/DC Converter and auxiliary battery before the EV Challenge next week.

Door hinge bushings and striker install

2011-05-09T09:17:00.014-04:00

On face value one would think that fox body door hinges would be a fairly simple install, especially since our EV conversion already has the fenders off. But when years of rust and wear have set in, I can tell you first hand the install is not easy.

These are the door repair components received from Late Model Restoration Supply. They include: 1) Pin and Bushing Kit 2) Door Roller and 3) Door Striker.

After breaking two of the stock bolts when taking off the doors we found a lot of rust had set in. The factory does not do a good job priming/painting this area and many cars have a similar problem

After clean the door hinge area we painted the surface using POR15. This protect is a rock solid protectant. We shouldn't have anymore trouble w/ rust at the hinges.

After the area was painted, Hunter and Quintin Started the install of the door hinge bushings. The stock hinge pin must be ground door and forced out with a punch. The new bronze bushings can be easily damaged. Quintin taps them carefully using a metal rod in the pic.

The roller must also be installed using a punch. Since the door skin is curved the install is NOT easy!

Hunter, Quintin, and Clinton completing the door to chassis install.

Clinton installing the door striker provided by Late Model Restoration. After the striker is installed it must be adjusted so the door closes correctly.

Battery Rack Install

2011-05-04T10:12:00.015-04:00

Our team has recently started the process of cutting a hole in the car where the spare tire once was, to make room for two battery racks. We first tested the measuring and cuts on an older Mustang before cutting into our project Mustang. The tests were very successful, so we moved onto our project car. Pilot holes were first drilled into the corners of the planned hole, to make the cutting easier. We then used a grinder to make the first cuts in the thin sheet metal. After the first cuts were made, a plasma cutter was used to make the final cuts and clean up any excess metal. After the hole was cut, the battery racks fit snugly into the hole. The racks will later be secured to the sub-frame of the car to prevent them from moving.

Mr. Butler, Hunter Foulks, Spencer Griffin, and Jesse Gilbert debate on how to install the front battery rack.

Mr. Butler, Hunter Foulks, Eli Strickland, and Jesse Gilbert test the fit of the rear battery racks in our older Mustang.

The test cut made on our team's older Mustang.

Mr. Butler uses a plasma cutter to make final cuts and trim off excess metal.

Spencer Griffin trimming off excess metal and smoothing any sharp edges.

First battery rack installed into the project car.

Spencer Griffin and Mr. Butler measure the hole to install the next battery rack.

New Interior from Late Model Restoration Supply

2011-05-02T11:02:00.030-04:00

Late Model Restoration Supply is one of the leading supplies of parts and accessories for 79-current mustangs and many other vehicles. They have agreed to sponsor our endeavor to create an electric foxbody mustang.

Our team recently received most of the interior parts needed to give our project a cleaned refreshed stock look. All cars in the SMARTT Challenge need to look as stock as possible as part of the Final Event. We received new moldings and weatherstrip for all of the doors and windows on the car, as well as new carpet for the inside of the car. As part of the project, the team has decided to insert what is called a rear-seat delete in order to remove the rear seat to save weight. The rear seat delete allows the seats to be removed, while covering the spot where the seats once were. This creates a clean install, making the interior of the car look like it is stock. We have also received new side view mirrors for both sides of the car, as well as new brake-light lenses. We have also received new door-strikers and other small components for all of the doors.

The boxes containing the new interior parts from Late Model Restoration Supply.

New door moldings for our car from Late Model Restoration.

Spencer Griffin fits a new brake lense over the old. Lenses supplied by Late Model Restoration.

Rear-seat delete supplied by Late Model Restoration.

Instrument pod supplied by Late Model Restoration.

New carpet for the interior of our car, supplied by Late Model Restoration.

Our team has recently started the process of cutting out the space where the spare tire once was to make room for the new battery racks we received from GP Fabrications of Reidsville. After the batteries are installed the car will be well on its way to being completed.

Auxilary Battery and Cable

2011-04-27T10:23:00.016-04:00

Our team has recently received a 12-volt battery as well as a 96v cable that will be used to connect the batteries to the controller and motor from Interstate Battery Company. The 12-volt battery will be used as an auxiliary battery to power the car's headlights, brake lights, turning signals, etc., without pulling energy from the main batteries. In order to keep the auxiliary battery from being depleted, we will run a DC/DC Converter from the main batteries to the smaller auxiliary battery. The DC/DC converter serves the same purpose as an alternator in an internal combustion engine vehicle, but without a belt that takes away energy from the motor. The auxiliary battery is also capable of being mounted at various angles because it is a dry-cell battery instead of a wet-cell battery. Interstate Battery has also donated a 50-foot piece of cable that is used for welding to our team to use as connecting cables for the batteries, controller, and motor. This cable is much more flexible than most cables of the same capacity, which is perfect for use in our car.

12-Volt auxiliary battery donated by Interstate Battery Company

50-Foot cable donated by Interstate Battery Company

Cable and Battery together.

The next step in our project is mounting the main batteries when the battery rack arrives, and getting them in place. We still have to complete the interior of the car, finish upgrading the breaks, and place the batteries before the competition in a few weeks. We hope to continue making progress, and complete the car on time.

Help From Some of Our Sponsors

2011-04-26T10:27:00.013-04:00

Throughout the course of our project, our team has received aid from our many sponsors in the form of monetary donations or the donation of necessary parts. In the month of April, our team has received donations from both TNT Exhaust Service and GP Fabrications, both located in Reidsville, NC. TNT Exhaust graciously installed the full-length exhaust connector for our Mustang as a donation to our project. GP Fabrications is currently constructing the battery racks that will be used in the car as a donation, that will hopefully be finished by the end of this week. Alliance Hose and Tube, located in Greensboro, NC, also fitted the brake lines for our Mustang by custom-bending them to fit in the engine compartment correctly. The new brake-proportioning valve for our manual brakes was supplied by Maximum Motorsports.

Full-length Exhaust Connector installed by TNT Exhaust Services of Reidsville, NC.

Brake lines after being custom-fitted by Alliance Hose and Tube of Greensboro, NC.

Brake Proportioning Valve supplied by Maximum Motorsports.

Sponsor Links:

TNT Exhaust Service - http://www.yellowpages.com/reidsville-nc/mip/t-n-t-exhaust-service-inc-14770136

GP Fabrications - http://www.gpfabrications.com/

Alliance Hose and Tube Works - http://www.alliancehtw.com/

Maximum Motorsports - http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/

Late Model Restorations - http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/

Late Model Restorations has agreed to supply most of the high-priority parts for our project free of charge, in exchange for mutual sponsorship. Our team has agreed to promote their services through blogging and our website, we have also reserved a spot on our Mustang to place a Late Model Restorations sponsor sticker. Our team hopes to have the support of these excellent sponsors in the future, both for this project and other projects to come.

New Brakes and Wiring

2011-04-11T10:08:00.026-04:00

Our team has recently installed new upgraded brake calipers and brackets to our Mustang in order to reduce weight, but still have effective braking ability. The brakes we are using now are twin piston, aluminum brake calipers (disc brakes) that were originally used on a Mustang GT. We decided to go with aluminum calipers because they are lighter, and are more race-inspired than stock brakes, as well as dissipate heat much more effectively than stock brakes.

Our team has also started the re-wiring process on the tail lights of our Mustang. This process consists of stripping the previously used wire harnesses of any electrical tape and sorting them into a more organized position. Team members will then regroup the wires into new harnesses, and place them back into the car.

One of the new calipers after being mounted onto the brake rotor.

Eli Strickland places new brake pads onto the brake bracket before replacing the caliper.

The brake pads and bracket before the caliper is placed.

Spencer Griffin strips wire harnesses of electrical tape.

The next step for our project is completing the re-wiring process and installing the pedals. The gas pedal is now connected to a pontetiometer instead of a carburetor, to serve as a fuel injection system. We are also connecting the brake pedal to our new brakes on the car, using a special brake pedal that has a higher pivot-point. We are using this special brake pedal because we have decided to omit power-brakes from the car in order to save energy.

Rear Axle Overhaul

2011-04-06T09:52:00.026-04:00

We have recently installed the rear axle into our Mustang after cleaning it up and giving it a new coat of paint. We ground out any rust on the axle, and then proceeded to grease and paint the axle before reinstalling it. After the axle was cleaned up, the team installed it into the Mustang with new upgraded Bilstein struts, and new braided stainless-steel brake lines.

Hunter Foulks and Quentin Dickerson grind the rust and dirt from the axle.

Chase Irby paints the new axle black.

Chase Irby torques down the rear-axle differential cap.

The rear axle under the car before being fixed.

The axle before our team cleaned it up.

The axle after a fresh layer of paint.

The axle after its overhaul and re-installation into the car.

The next step in the conversion process is the installation of the battery rack and batteries in the rear of the car, where the spare tire used to be stored. Seven batteries are planned to be stored in the rear of the car, while the remaining five are planned to be stored in the engine compartment in order to balance out the vehicle.

Electric Vehicle Conversion 2011

2011-03-28T11:00:00.058-04:00

The McMichael High School Electric Vehicle team is back with new members and a new project. This year's team consists of 10 students and our instructor, Mr. Butler. Each student has their own unique skill sets that contribute to our conversion project overall.

2011 Team Members are:

Mr. John Butler- Instructor

Hunter Foulks-Mechanic

Quintin Dickerson-Mechanic

Chase Irby-Mechanic

Spencer Griffin-Electronics/Wiring

Dylan Garner-School Initiative

Clinton Blankenship-Web Designer

Graham Beasley-Video Editor

Jesse Gilbert-3-D CAD Designer

Tyler Haney-Photo Editor

Eli Strickland-Mechanic

Our team hopes to do extremely well at the SMARTT Challenge Final Event this May. Every team member has been working diligently to have our converted car ready for the event. We have recently re-installed the rear axle after cleaning it and making some upgrades to it. We have also upgraded the rear suspension as well as replaced the stock brake lines with braided, stainless steel brake lines. Our next objective is deciding on how to mount the batteries in the car while distributing the weight evenly. We are currently in the process of designing a battery rack that will fit in the back of the car snugly. The batteries we have decided to use are 12 8-volt batteries designed for use in electric golf carts. The batteries are lead-acid batteries and have been graciously donated to our program by Johnson Controls located in High Point, North Carolina.

Thanks you guys!

2009-05-26T14:01:00.035-04:00

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....

2009-05-26T13:47:00.034-04:00

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

2009-05-20T10:51:00.061-04:00

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...

2009-05-07T22:15:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-07T22:14:00.001-04:00

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...

2009-05-07T22:13:00.001-04:00

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!

2009-05-07T22:10:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-05-07T22:09:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-05-07T22:05:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-07T22:03:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-04-28T21:13:00.009-04:00

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...

2009-04-27T21:09:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-04-27T21:08:00.003-04:00

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....

2009-04-24T09:28:00.011-04:00

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...

2009-04-24T09:26:00.002-04:00

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...

2009-04-20T22:53:00.015-04:00

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...

2009-04-20T22:52:00.027-04:00

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.

Back to school...

2009-04-20T22:51:00.010-04:00

After unloading the car this afternoon at the school, Mike and I sat down with Mr. Butler and began mapping out the low-voltage wiring system. Mike and I expressed our ideas to Mr. Butler and he easily mapped out a diagram that closely resembled Michael Brown’s diagram. Since we are short of a few supplies, Mike and I decided to hold off on beginning the wiring. Instead we unbolted all of the components off of our OSB control panel and removed it to paint. After smothering the board in sealer, Mike and I coated the panel with flat black paint. Tomorrow we should be able to place it back into the car.

Good to have our baby back home.

This is a pic of the metal plate that goes under the controller and the wood plate that goes under the DC to DC converter.

Black Beauty.

To the right is Mike's tie down bracket that holds in the auxiliary battery.
Using threaded rod, we are going to strap down all of our batteries with the same type of angle iron strap.

Spring Break comes to a close...

2009-04-20T22:50:00.021-04:00

Meeting at the shop on Saturday morning was a great way to end a productive week. Our morning started with finishing up the high voltage wiring. After making a couple more cables to link the circuit, I was left with the responsibility to make a mounting bracket out of steel that the Main connector will sit on. The Anderson connector is the main breaking point in the whole circuit. It has a lever that can be tripped in case of an accident or emergency. Using a large piece of angle iron, I fabricated a mount that bolts onto the motor mount and holds the quick release. Now all we have to do is bolt the quick release onto the bracket. After I completed the bracket, Mike and I ran the wire under the car to connect the rear batteries to the front. We used a special kind of conduit hook to attach the cables to the floor pan.

Having a press comes in handy if you're going to crimp a lot of heavy duty cable.

After the crimp.

Heat shrink

Connector caps are a must when dealing with a lot of high voltage.

Using the heat gun.

Professionalism.

Mike and I placing a connection in the engine compartment.

Notice how the high voltage cable coming from the rear of the car sweeps up from underneath. It closely follows the frame the whole way back for protection.

The black object with the red cap off to the right is called an inertia switch. If the car is to jostle really hard, such as in a wreck, the inertia switch shoots out a ball and disconnects all power.

Done!

To the left and right are the cable going to the rear rack. We fastened them to the bottom of the car with automotive fasteners and conduit hooks.

In this picture you can see how the cables go up into the cab of the car through two grommets on each side.

Left

Right

It just isn't a good day until a knuckle gets busted. Ain't nothin' a little tape can't fix, right Mike.

During the closing moments of spring break, Mr. Butler had a visit from an old friend who was in need of a helping hand in working on his personal car. Mike and Mr. Butler were there to his aid through the whole process. I wasn't able to assist much due to my absence through a majority of the work on his car, but gave my help near the end when I was able to be present. Here's some pics from his journey.

Figuring out how to remove the spindle to put in new ball joints.

Replacing the timing chain and sprockets.

New oil pan gasket.

A couple of days, a couple of cars, a few guys, and a lifetime of memories.

Tube and lube....????

2009-04-20T22:48:00.019-04:00

Today was another successful day on the Butler Farm. The morning began with the re-installment of the doors. The freshly painted hinges and new door pins and rollers gave the doors a new look and feel. It took about 30 minutes to install and properly adjust them. Minor adjustments will need to be made later. After the installment of the doors, we made a trip to Lowes Home Improvement for plastic tubing to run our high voltage wire in. The tubing is used to prevent chaffing that can cause connection problems. After thinking about how it may be tough to run the wire through the hose, we decided to purchase a special lubrication that is used by professional electricians.

Upon returning to the shop, instead of diving straight into running wire, Mike and I decided to paint the window trim and cowl. The cowl was coated with hammered texture paint while the window trim was coated with flat black. After painting the pieces, Mike and I noticed a gauge pod in the 5.0 Mustang that would be perfect for holding our voltage reading gauges. It installed perfectly into our car. While all of the painting and installing was going on, Mr. Butler was designing a control panel to mount all of the electronics on.

At the end of the day, we finally decided to tackle the task of squeezing the cable through the stiff rubber hose. After about two hours of fighting and frustration, we decided to slice the hose down one side and push the cable in through the slit.

Mounting and adjusting the passenger side door.

The bottom of a pin that allows the hinge to pivot. This clip keeps the pin in the hinge and allows for easier removal in case you need to remove the doors again.

The new pins.

The sweet looking gauge pod.

Autometer white face and Westach black face gauges.

The driver's door in position.

The beginnings of the control panel.

Spotting where the bolt holes should be drilled.

Planning on where to mount the controller.

This aluminum plate under the controller allows the heat to dissipate more evenly and quickly.

Thanks to Michael, the DC to DC Converter is in a clean stylish position that complements the engine compartment.

After the controller and contactor are mounted. This control panel allowed us to use less wire and clean up the engine compartment tremendously.

Hidden behind the panel is the relays and cooling fans along with all of the wire that we plan to run.

After mounting the shunt. At first look, you don't even notice its position in the engine bay.

Deciding on where to mount the Anderson quick disconnect. Tomorrow I will be designing a foot to hold the switch in place.

Mike and Mr. Butler trying to squeeze the cable into the hose.

Mr. Butler lubing up the cable. Our first plan of action was to use dish detergent, but we later found out that that was worse than trying to run the hose in dry.

You can pick this product at any of your nearest home improvement centers.

After a brutal battle, the decision was to cut the hose, stuff the cable in through the side, and retire for the night.

Back at the shop...

2009-04-20T22:47:00.041-04:00

Today was a long and tiring experience at Mr. Butler’s shop. My day began by removing the old, sagging door hinges from the car to replace with the new hinge pins. After carefully balancing each door off of the car and down onto a padded area on the floor, I proceeded to use an angle grinder to cut the worn out door pins off. I was successful after about 45 minutes worth of cutting. I had to be extra careful no to damage the door itself. After prepping the hinges with a fresh coat of paint, I placed them back on the doors with the new pins in place. The next objective was removing the old door weather stripping and replacing with a more durable rubber weather stripping so that moisture can not penetrate the cab. After doing so we needed to take a trip to town to pick up a few brass fittings to adapt our new brake lines to the calipers. Napa Auto Parts was able to help us in finding the right supplies needed to adapt the brake lines to the calipers. After returning back to the shop after a quick lunch break, we proceeded in installing the brake line fittings and bleeding the brakes. Using a hand held vacuum pump, we were able to pump fluid throughout the lines and give the mustang a little stopping power. The reason for bleeding brake lines is to make sure that there is no air bubbles in the fluid that can interrupt the flow of the fluid. Later on in the evening, Mr. Ed Butler generously offered his welding abilities to us to weld in our front battery rack.

A shot of the doors after unloading them from the bed of my truck. While fixing the hinges, I also removed all of the wiring that dealt with the speakers and any other electronics that weren't necessary.

A shot of the mustang after removing the wheels in order to perform surgery on the brakes.

The mass supply of parts and components needed to complete the week's chores.

A pic of the new pins before I put on the new rollers. Getting the pin that held the roller in out, was a workout. Alot of hammering and different length punches were used.

Prepping the hinges on the grinder for a new coat of paint.

Bare metal

First coat.

A pic of the new door jam weather seal.

This is how Mr. Butler persuaded the pistons on the rear brake calipers to go in.

Using a vise and c-clamp did the trick. We measured the distance needed for the rotor and pads to fit into the caliper at once. This helped us in knowing how far to push the piston in.

This is a shot of where the parking brake cable attaches to the arm.

Left side caliper on.

Mr. Butler attaching the line to the right caliper.

This is the new fittings that we picked up from Napa. Notice how they adapt our line to the new caliper.

A pic after we attached the line to the rear-end and calipers.

A picture of the parking brake cable hooked into the arm.

Right side completed.

Where the line attaches to the body for support under the car.

The new parking brake cable.

Unloading the batteries.

Mr. Butler modifying the brake line mount just to insure that no rubbing is allowed on the strut while turning.

Smoothing edges

Notice the better clearance.

A pan placed just incase of a spill while priming the brake lines with fluid.

Mr. Butler's father preparing to weld.

Steady hands and expertise.

Spotting on the bracket.

Running the bead.

Cleaning the weld.

Testing complete. We're ready for business!

New door handles...

2009-04-15T14:48:00.010-04:00

I took the liberty to install a new set of door handles.

Here's the process.

After removing the door panell to access the back of the latch.

Before drilling out the rivets.

After drilling out the rivets.

Removal of the handle bracket.

The fresh handle.

The process is the same for both sides. Instead of using rivets to re-attach, I used bolts with lock washers.

Just one of those days...

2009-04-08T01:12:00.071-04:00

Getting back to work was complicated. This delay was due to the death of a family member of mine and the rain. I missed the trip yesterday, but Mr. Butler and Michael made a run to CNS junkyard in Walkertown, NC to scavenge for more parts for the mustang. With them they brought back rear brake caliper mounts, parking brake cables and various other odds and ends. Today we started with a modification of the rear brake mounts. Since we’ve upgraded to bigger Cobra brake components, the mounts needed to be made wider to accomodate the bigger rotors. I used an angle grinder to fix the problem. After about 30 minutes of shaving the metal, the mounts were installed and ready for use. While Michael removed the old parking brake cable and installed the new one, I worked on spacers for the motor mount. We ran into a complication where the motor mount is not going to bolt down where we though it was. The steering rack was up too high so I used a piece of flat bar to fabricate two spacers to place under the motor mount. This should eliminate the problem.

Since we were on a time crunch, we rushed to load the car onto Mr. Butler’s trailer to transport it to his house. Tomorrow we plan to escape the cool weather outside to go to his home shop once again. Mike and I then finished up the day by collecting all the needed parts for tomorrow’s adventure.

I'm sorry for the disappointment, but we forgot the camera. All of today's progress was not photographed and will be greatly missed.

Just one of those days, I guess!

Sunny Sunday at Danville Autocross

2009-04-08T01:09:00.037-04:00

This morning Mr. Butler, Michael, and I met at the Butler homestead to begin our exciting journey to the Danville Airport to compete in an autocross event. The day started at the shop where we changed Mr. Butler’s tires to competition treads and gave the Cobra a quick tune-up. From there we traveled to the retired runway on the back side of Danville Airport. After signing waivers and paying the entry fee we were given the opportunity to walk the track and scope out a driving strategy. Today, Mike and I were only going to be passengers so that we could get some experience of what it is like to scope out the track and plan your next move. Mr. Butler is a fierce competitor and won 1st place in his class. His best time was a well respected 61.19 seconds. Not bad for the size and weight of his Mustang and the length of the track. We were also given the privilege to experience the driving skills of many other well respected drivers in the circuit. There was and amazing array of cars and drivers who participated in today’s event. Many of the autos were stock and street legal.

Lookin' ready...

Subaru. Lookin' mean

Lotus Elise. One of the better competitors of the day.

Last minute preparations.

One of the few trucks of the day. A great time was run by this guy. Size didn't seem to play a factor after seeing the way this beast was tamed by its driver.

Waiting patiently for a wild ride.

Tires turning, rubber burning, drifting, and body roll all in one package. If you look closely, you can see the surprised look on Mike's face.

Super Steering Rack...

2009-04-08T01:08:00.031-04:00

Our journey started out on the right foot with the installation of the steering rack. We were extremely down on our luck in trying to find a manual steering rack, so instead of letting the disappointment crush our spirits, we improvised. My father taught me a trick to make the hydraulic steering rack a manual steering rack. We topped the rack off with a spot of power steering fluid and then looped a hose from one fitting to the next. This allows the fluid to transfer from one side of the rack to the other while getting the same effect of power steering without the actual power steering components. This method actually increases the steering ratio, giving you a quicker steering response. After completing the rack, Mike and I removed the old weather stripping from around the doors and then proceeded to remove the doors themselves. With wore out hinges, the doors have a dragging problem. Our solution is to replace the door pins to give the doors a new, smooth action.

Lifting the steering rack up into position.

After attaching the rack to the spindles.

This is a shot of the new fittings that hold the looped hose that allows the fluid to transfer from each side of the steering rack to the other.

Not very complicated, but it gets the job done.

Michael holding the passenger side door after we removed it from the car.

Where the hinges bolt to the body.

A pic of me removing the damaged, dry rotted weather stripping.

Taking a second look at the completion of the steering rack before we headed inside.

Hood slammer...

2009-04-08T01:07:00.026-04:00

Last night Mr. Butler successfully retrieved the needed brackets and clips for us to install the new stainless steel brake lines on the front. After installing the brake line braces and attaching the fittings, Mike and I put the new pads on the calipers and bolted the calipers to the mounting brackets. From there we proceeded to put the master cylinder back on the firewall. A new mount was put in place of where the booster once sat. This new mount is to hold the master cylinder on the wall so that the new pedal can push the piston to apply pressure on the lines. After completing the brakes, Mike and I decided to place the hood back onto the car so that we would no longer have to take it on and off of the car every time we were to work on it. After a few minor adjustments, we had the hood in perfect working order. It was a great addition to the car and gave a new idea to how the car will look when it is finished.

This is a pic of the new brake pads mounted in the left front caliper.

The freshly turned front brake rotors.

Putting on the left front caliper.

Since we upgraded brakes and brake lines, it was confusing on where to exactly run the new lines. We finally decided to use the existing mounts just to be sure that there was no rubbing.

The four-cylinder brake line mounts wouldn't house the larger lines. To resolve the issue, Mr. Butler brought us a beefier set of mounts off of the 5.0 at his house. Notice the teal color.

Patience is the key. Stripping a brake line fitting is serious business!

This is a pic of me installing the master cylinder mount.

The aluminum plate behind the master cylinder allowed us to install the master cylinder without the brake booster.

Installed new lines.

This is the back side of the new brake pedal where the piston is connected to the pedal.

The Maximum Motor Sports Racing pedal.

This is our new proportioning valve. A proportioning valve allows you to regulate the amount of fluid that is needed on the back brakes.

Mike placing new bolts in the hood hinges.

Great way to end the day!

Coil overs and such...

2009-04-08T01:04:00.027-04:00

Today’s goal was to begin placing the new front suspension components beneath the front of the mustang. Mike and I started by assembling the new coil-over spring setup onto the new Bilstein high performance struts. After completing the assembly, Michael assisted me in reinstalling the control arms and front spindles. We then proceeded to attach the struts to the control arms and then compress the strut so that it could be placed into the caster/camber plates on top of the strut tower. The freshly painted caster/camber plates are what allows the car’s alignment to be adjusted. After a few tedious times of correcting the spacing of the struts, Mike and I tightened all of the bolts and attached the sway bar to the control arms. After completing what we could of the front suspension, Mike and I proceeded in installing the rear shocks. In order to do so, we had to heat and bend a wrench to reach down into the shock compartment.

This is a pic of the new caster/camber plates, struts (Bilstein), and various tools needed to attach the new struts to the car.

Here's a picture of the left control arm and spindle. After taking the control arms out of the 5.o mustang, we realized that one of the ball joints was damaged. We had a new one pressed in by Beroth tire in Madison.

Here's a picture of Mr. Butler heating a spare 17mm wrench so that we could bend it in a shape so that the rear shocks could be tightened. The rear of the mustang has a tight compartment that the top of the shock comes up through, making it impossible to get standard tools into position.

When bending tools, be sure to remember not to stress the metal. It is always better to bend a little, reheat, then bend some more.

The caster/camber plates had a few dings and needed a fresh coat of paint.

Cleaned up and ready for install.

In order for the new plates to bolt in, Mike modified the adjustment holes so that the plates could be adjusted with ease.

Mike attaching the strut to the control arm.

Me placing the spindle back onto the control arm and checking the bolts.

This is a shot of the strut after it was pushed into the strut tower.

After re-attaching the sway bar.

The finished product.

The same procedure was followed to install the other side.

Shipment of new components...

2009-03-26T10:06:00.022-04:00

Excitement was shared among the emotions of everyone today upon receiving the long awaited arrival of our new struts, brakes, brake lines, brake pads, and pan-hard bar. A pan-hard bar is a component that is attached from the rear-end to the car to help stabilize the the rear axle so that it doesn't shift from side to side. This will help us with keeping traction in the SMARTT Challenge autocross event.

Big, Beautiful, and Brown.

... like the first cut of a birthday cake.

Revealing the contents.

Hawk High Performance brake pads.

Stainless brake lines, panhard mounts, DOT 5 brake fluid.

Bilstein Performance shocks in the back.

Removal of the dash and AC system.

2009-03-26T10:03:00.044-04:00

This afternoon, Mike, Mr. Butler, and I remained after school to work on removing the car’s dash. Our objective was to remove the heating and cooling system to reduce weight and remove the wiring harness in order to rewire the car. We successfully completed the task and probably shed around sixty pounds of excess weight. After scratching our heads and pondering on the situation, we have come to the conclusion that we may have to wire our own electrical system instead of using the stock wiring harness. The car’s wiring system is so jumbled up that locating certain wires is going to be a tedious process.

After pulling off the steering wheel and speedometer.

Labeling what is left of the wiring harness hookups.

Under the dash.

A jumbled mess.

Mike disconnecting the bottom of the dash.

Scoping out how to remove the wiring harness through the firewall.

Teamwork

Thousands of connectors... no idea where they go....

Wriring for the power windows and door locks.

Untangling the wiring harness from around the steering column.

Mike taking on the beast!!!

Mr. Butler inspecting our work.

The firewall after the removal of the AC/Heating unit.

Job well done!

Installation of the motor mount

2009-03-26T09:58:00.024-04:00

After receiving the freshly welded motor mount and front battery box back from Mr. Butler’s father, Michael and I decided to give them both a fresh coat of paint before installation. We started with a basic primer to give the metal a smoother finish and capped it off with a gloss black coat. After the paint was dry to the touch, Mike and I decided to place the motor mount into the car and bolt it down. It was a successful fit.

This is a before picture of where we had marked a guide line of where the two peices of metal needed to be bonded.

This is the after photo of where the metal was joined by a stick/electrode welder. The white areas are where a great deal of penetration was concentrated so that the weld would support the amount of torque that the electric motor is going to put out.

This is a picture of the weld that is holding the foot on the front battery box. These two feet, one on each side, will be welded to the sub frame of the car.

This is a picture of Michael cleaning up the metal with a grinder brush.

Shooting a coat of primer.

A quick snap of my hand while it is spraying a coat of primer on the battery rack.

Mike taking his time while giving the motor mount a coat of black.

Mike touching up the thin spots.

I later sprayed a second coat of black on both the motor mount and battery rack. About two hours later Mike and I installed the completed motor mount.

Shaving down the k-member

2009-03-26T09:52:00.062-04:00

Today Mike and I decided to remove the engine cross member (k-member) and advance it to meet the car’s needs. Since we are using an electric motor and have to fabricate our own motor mount anyway, we decided to remove the old internal combustion engine motor mounts to lighten up the car and improve the engine compartment’s looks. After dropping the k-member from beneath the car, we used a grinder with a cutting wheel to remove the old engine mounts followed by a grinder with a grinding wheel to round off the sharp corners and edges. This made the k-member more appealing to the eye and also shed about nine pounds of dead-weight. Our next objective was to remove all of the road scum and dead paint so that we could give the k-member a fresh coat of black. Mike brought in a pressure washer which made the grime removal easier.

The factory motor mounts came where they are adjustable, but instead of just unbolting the motor mounts alone and taking them off, Mike and I decided just to eliminate the whole mounting bracket. This required cutting the weld with a cutting wheel.

Cutting off the right side.

One down, one to go.

Clean cut

Now the left side.

Notice all of the road grime that was caught in the pocket behind the mount.

Before smoothing the edges.

Getting a clean edge.

Just a pic of midway completion of grinding.

This is a picture of another grime catching spot before we cleaned it up.

Probably 10 lbs. of oily dirt that was scraped away from the k-member surface.

Pretty gross isn't it?

Completed Grinding.

Finished right side.

Finished left side.

Front pic.

Hanging around!

Getting ready to shoot on a coat of primer.

Not finished, but still looking better.

Finished coat of primer.

After the first coat of gloss black.

After the second coat.

Re-installing the freshly painted, lightened k-member.

Re-checking the bolts.

The Beginnings of the Motor Mount...

2009-03-10T22:38:00.032-04:00

Here lately, Michael, Mr. Butler, and I have been working on designing and fabricating our motor mount. We've come to the agreement to use a piece of two inch angle iron with a piece of flat bar welded on to it to bolt the motor onto the sub-frame. We are plannning on bolting the motor mount into the last bolt holes where the sway bar bolts to the frame. The motor will then bolt to the motor mount by two bolts that will lock into the front of the motor.

Over the last few days we have made pretty good progress in creating the mount. Here's some pictures of our progress.

We first began with a 5 foot piece of steel angle iron. Now we all know right away that this is too big to stuff into that little engine compartment in our EV. So the first plan of action was to measure inside of the sway bar mounts for the length that we needed to cut the piece of angle.

After finding the measurement, we used a grinder with a cutting wheel attatchment to cut the steel to the correct length.

This is a picture of me cleaning up the edges of the steel after Michael cut it with the cutting wheel.

After placing the steel into the area where it is to be mounted, we discovered that it was just a little bit snug, thus i shaved one edge off for a perfect fit.

Inside of the sway bar mounting brackets are places where the brackets were welded to the sub frame. Instead of grinding down those welds Mike and I decided to notch out places on the engine mount instead. Thus, not creating a disturbance to the factory welds.

After getting the notches right, it was time to drill the mounting holes. For this we used a drill press so the the holes would be straight and clean. From there, I took a round file and smoothed out the sharp edges caused by the drill bit.

Job well done! Mike and I have completed yet another piece of the puzzle. By using this one simple mounting system, we have cut down a huge amount of weight and space savings. It will also be easier to remove and is universal to the Fox Body style Mustangs.

Brake Line Upgrade....

2009-03-10T21:52:00.027-04:00

As stated earlier, we have decided to convert the rear drum brakes to disc, but in order to do so the fittings on the ends of the brake lines had to be upgraded. This is so that the lines can be connected to the calipers and properly allow the fluid to flow throughout the brake system. Below are the pictures of how we completed the process. Enjoy!

In order to change the fittings on the end of the lines, we first had to remove the old fittings with a pipe cutter. This meant removing a little piece of the brake line itself in order to get the clean cut. But no worries though! We still have enough line to be able to strech the line to the desired length.

In the background you may notice a red box with silver tools in it. This is a brake line re-beveling kit. This is the tool used to expand the tip of the line to create a tight, non-leaking end that enters into the caliper and then is pressed in tight with the brass fitting.

This is a shot of me cleaning up the end of the line with a file in order to get rid of the burs and sharp edges.

The next step is to slide on the new fitting. Make sure if you ever change these on a brake line, to put the fitting on before you expand the end.

This is the new fitting placed on the end of the line. The drill was used to clean up the edges inside of the brake line after we had cut it with the pipe cutter.

The next step is to lock the tool into a vise and use a sharp tipped squeezing tool with a die on it to expand the end of the line.

After using the die to expand the end, take the die off and use the sharp tip to press the line into a funnel shape at the end. This process should create a doubled, smooth edged tip on the line.

The next thing to do is repeat on the other side.

This should be how your final beveled end should look.

Final Removal of the Interior.

2009-03-04T11:57:00.011-05:00

Today we finished the removal of all of the dead weight within the Mustang. A total estimate of 100 pounds of sound deadening material was successfully removed from the car. This counts insulation, sticky pad material, excess plastic, and the padding off of the bottom of the new carpet. The new rug was a pain to get into the car, but was worth the fight because of how much better it looks. The old carpet was extremely stained with an oily, black substance, making it extremely slimy and gross. I also re-installed the rear seats, fixed the headliner, re-installed the seatbelts, and started on re-installing the center console. I don’t plan to finish the console or front seats any time soon because of any adjustments we may need to make or if we have to install any new wiring.

This is a pic of the removed sound deadining material.

Notice the chips of black and white. This was some kind of resin coated pad that was used to dampen floor board noises.

Not a very big picture, but this is the installed, new carpet.

The rear seats.

Tommorow, Mike and I plan on fixing the headliner, placing in the front seats, and cleaning the carpet along with the plastic interior.

I'll have pictures of the cleaned interior later on.

Installation of the motor and Pitch.

2009-03-04T11:54:00.021-05:00

We’re on a roll! Today, Mr. Butler brought in the motor hoist and we installed the propulsion system in the Mustang. Right now, the electric motor is resting on wooden chocks until we fabricate the motor mounts. The transmission, however, is already bolted onto the cross member and is ready for action. Putting the motor in the car was an easy task due to the help of the hydraulic motor hoist. After positioning the transmission, we installed the driveshaft so that we could make sure that the angle of attack on the “hogs head”, of the rear end, matched the angle of the rear of the transmission. To adjust the angle, an angle finder is placed on the front and rear of the driveshaft and the front of the motor is pitched up and down to adjust the degree. Luckily, we were right on the money with this one, and no adjustments of pitch were needed. The angle is supposed to be equal so that the driveshaft doesn’t become bound up.

A pic of Mike lifting the propulsion system from the table with the cherry picker.

Dropping Low and Slow. Just the way we like to do things around here!

Inserting the motor into the engine compartment.

The moment of truth.

This is a bottom shot of the transmission coming into place.

This is a sight for sore eyes. We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. At this moment the motor is resting on blocks until we finalize the fabrications of the motor mount.

Just another day at the Office.

2009-03-04T11:50:00.027-05:00

Success! Mr. Brooks was ahead of planned, and brought in the spacer plate this morning. This has shifted our schedule in a positive direction and has provided us with more time to install the motor. In less than 30 minutes Mike and I, with a little help from Mr. B's 2nd Period, had completed the connection of the motor to the transmission and are now waiting on Mr. Butler to bring in the motor hoist. To make the best of the left over time period, Mike and I finished the removal of the 4-lug front suspension. This was a long and back-breaking process because of the sheer size and weight of the components. Plus, a lot of extra parts had to be removed first in order to be able to get to the bolts holding the suspension in place. With little time to spare, the last objective was to install the freshly painted rear disc brake mounts. These mounts are to hold the brake caliper in place so that while depressing the brake pedal, the caliper will squeeze on the rotor and slow the car.

This is a shot of the stack of spacers lying next to the transmission bell-housing.

Close-up.

This is a pic of Mike and I showing the guys how the spacers came into the picture of connecting the motor to the transmission.

This is a pic of me screwing the adaptor plates to the motor.

A pic of Mike attatching the clutch to the plate.

Precision is the key to success.

Double checking.

Getting a hand from 2nd period in lifting the motor and transmission to bring them closer together.

Inches from glory!

And together it goes!

Mike placing the final bolts in position.

Completion!!! A sucessful conversion!

Dropping down the left control arm. This required un-attatching the sway bar, strut, rack and pinion, and control arm bolts.

Close up of the rack and pinion.

Right side coming down.

A pic of the new rear disc brake mounts.

In order to place the new mounts on, we had to take the face plate back off of the hogs head, and re-remove the axles, then place all of that stuf back onto the rear end. This time sealing the plate for good!

Hopefully the brake parts will be here soon!

The Return of the Adaptors....

2009-03-04T11:48:00.015-05:00

Today Mr. Brooks, the machine shop instructor from Rockingham Community College, brought in our new spacers and adaptor plates for the connection of the electric motor to the transmission. Mr. Brooks had students at RCC construct the adaptor plates for us out of solid aluminum stock. He was a huge help in connecting the motor to the transmission and in helping us find the thickness of another needed spacer plate. The machined components connected perfectly but we were still shy of filling a space of about ¾ inches thick. Having the previous adaptor plate from our motor purchase, Mr. Brooks took it to RCC to turn down into another spacer instead of wasting new material to fabricate another plate. Mr. Brooks should have the other spacer completed within the next few days. Hopefully, it is what we are looking for and the project can continue as scheduled.

This is a pic of the new adaptors and clutch. A standard clutch usually has a surrounding rim of friction material around the spline encasement, but with no need of a clutch in our car, we decided to shave off the friction material to reduce the clutch's size. We only needed the splines so that the motor shaft and the transmission shaft could be connected.

This is a shot of me observing Mr. Butler and Mr. Brooks examining the freshly fabricated pieces.

This is a pic of Mr Butler placing the clutch and clutch spacer on the motor.

Tightening up the hex-head bolts.

Putting the motor and transmission together.

Mike and Mr. Butler measuring the gap needed to be filled between the motor and transmission.

Installing the 5-lug, Then off to the scales.

2009-03-04T11:40:00.040-05:00

Today, our objective was to clean up and install the 5-lug rear axle into the EV and remove the old carpet. Earlier Michael and I had removed the axle shafts from the rear end so that the old drum brake mounts could be removed. What I had to do was clean up the backing plate and give it a new coat of paint. After doing so, the backing plate was placed back onto the "hogs head" and with Michael’s help we slid the rear end into place beneath the car. With a little time to spare, Mr. Butler and I removed the old carpet from the interior of the car. The removal of the old carpet was not a very complicated process since we weren't going to salvage it. I just cut around the seat belts with a razor knife and voila! No worries!

Later this afternoon, Mr. Butler's plan is to take the car up the road to the Waste Managment Dump and use the scale. This is so that we can tell if the car is over or under weight regulations set by the SMARTT Challenge Competition Guidelines.

This is a shot of me preping the Differential Cover For a fresh paint job.

This is a pic of me removing one side of the old rear drum brake mounts.

This is a shot of Mike removing the other side. Notice that the Differential Cover is off. From this angle you can see inside of the rear end.

This is a shot of the freshly painted cover and the re-installed axles. Our new disc brake mounts were in the finishing room drying after a coat of black paint. We decided to go ahead and install the rear end back into the car anyway so that we could continue with our progress. At this point, brakes are not needed for us to contine what we are doing. We are also going to have to change the fittings on the brake line so that the line will connect to the new brake calipers.

Representin'

Mustang EV! This is a rear shot of the new 5-lug rear end under the car.

Just another step closer to getting this thing on the road!

After cutting the old carpet away from the seatbelts, I gladly removed that dirty, stinking, greasy peice of garbage.

Lookin' like a race car. Nothin' but floor pans.

This is what is left of the rag-tag floor covering that was removed from the EV.

This is a shot of me wenching the car up onto the trailer with a come-along.

Hooking up the tow strap.

Rear shot up on the trailer.

Side view

Our return from CNS.

2009-03-04T11:25:00.018-05:00

Our journey to CNS Mustang Graveyard in Walkertown, NC was a trip that was probably not completely worth our time. We did discover a new piece of carpet that was in better condition than the old rug, but it was a job and a half trying to remove it from the car. It was a bitter struggle between us and the bolts holding the seatbelts in. A battle that was later won with a pair of vise grips and alot of strain. Other than the new, old peice of carpet, we didn't recover anything of any value to us on the trip. We were hoping to discover parts to allow us to convert our rear brakes to disc, but we came home empty handed on that search. Here's a few pics of our bitter struggle with the rug.

This is the car that wouldn't go down without a fight. It just has that junkyard appearance, doesn't it?

Mike and Mr. Butler taking a shot at that one stubborn bolt. I had done my share of fighting with the removal of the seats. With the rear of the car sitting on the ground, the bolts corroded, which made it harder to break them loose.

This is a pic of the interior after the removal of the seats and console.

Frustration and anguish.

A good sign. The bolt finally broke loose.

Walkertown, NC

2009-02-17T14:12:00.004-05:00

Today, Mr. Butler, Mike, and I are taking a little trip to a small junk yard in Walkertown, NC. I can't remember the name of the place at the moment, but i'll post it on here at a later date.

Our main mission is to obtain a carpet that is in better condition than the rag-tag, stained rug that currently inhabits the Mustang EV. Along the way we are hoping to spot any extra needed pieces that we currently don't have.

Hopefully, one thing that will catch our eye is a manual steering rack. Our plan is to remove the hydraulic steering system (power steering) and convert it to a system that requires no type of fluid. This, in turn, will eliminate unecessary weight and create a safer way to control the automoblie in case of an emergency.

Saturday on the Farm!

2009-02-16T19:03:00.046-05:00

Since our funds for completing the Mustang EV are growing short, Mr. Butler decided to let us dip into his stockpile of mustang reserve parts. Since our car is a 1988 Hatchback LX, it can be compatible with both coupe and other hatchback parts from various models. It just so happened that Mr. Butler had a late '80s 5.0 Mustang coupe. This car happened to contain the other suspension and 5 lug bolt pattern upgade parts that we needed. The only drawback was we had to remove all of the parts needed from the 5.o Mustang and then replace the removed parts with the parts we had taken off of our EV. What a job that was!

Our first objective was to relocate the 5.o out of a field and into his shop. As you can see, the car was on cinder blocks and in dire need of some T.L.C (tender loving care). Mr. Butler told us that the car hasn't ran since he graduated college. Our path around the car was completed by using Mr. Butler's four wheeler to mash down the weeds.

This is a shot of Michael and I aligning the trailer with the rear of the car. It was such a tight squeeze between the two treelines that we had to shimmy the trailer into alignment by using Michael's pickup as a bulldozer. This, in turn, slid the trailer sideways into position.

This is a shot of me (Ben) making sure that the car was sucessfully making its way onto the tailer without rubbing, dragging, or snagging.

This is a pic. of Mr. Butler wenching the car up onto the trailer using a come-along cable. We weren't allowed to be in his position due to the fact that the cable could snap and create a safety hazard.

This is a shot of Michael and me posing near the car after a brisk morning workout. A successful load!

Unloading was a piece of cake! After safely returning to the shop with our prize, we quickly rolled the 5.0 into the bay. This is a shot of me moving around the rear of the car to align jackstands .

After removing both tires and the outer shell of the rear drum brakes, our next objective is to remove the axles and drop the rear end out from under the car. This component is going to allow us to convert the EV to a 5-lug bolt pattern. And instead of using rear drum brakes, we are going to convert over to rear disc brakes. Rear disc brakes create a more reliable stopping power.

This is a shot of the "hogs head" after removing the backing plate off of the rear end. You have to do so in order to knock out pins and "c' clamps that hold the axles in place.

After removing the pins and "c" clips, Mr. Butler and I slowly removed both axle shafts.

This is a shot of Mike inspecting our work after we removed the rear end from beneath the car. "It seems more complicated than it really is," exclaimed Mike, "Who knew only a few bolts held this thing together?"

A shot of the undercarriage where the rear end once was.

After our return from a short lunch break, the next project was to remove the engine so that the needed front end components could be removed easily. Mr. Butler also plans to use this car as next year's EV. This is a shot of the motor being lifted out of the car on a motor hoist.

Slowly but surely.

Who can't help but smile at pic like this? Two young guys and a massive power supply! Priceless!

Now that the engine is removed, our next goal was to repace the 5-lug rear end with the 4-lug. This is a temporary exchange, only so that Mr. Butler can move the car in and out of his shop.

This is a shot of me disassembling the rear drum brakes so that the parking brake cable can be hooked back up. Who doesn't love drum brakes?(Sarcasm)

Mike taking on the right side.

Teamwork is the key!

What a great way to end the day! A completed transfer.

Even though we didnt get any pictures of the front end disassembly, we did manage to get a new sway bar, control arms, performance struts, brake discs, interior parts, transmission crossmember, transmission, driveshaft, and 5-lug rear end.

After about a 12 hour day of success, it felt like it was time to retire to our showers and sheets.

That's what I like to call a Butler Barn Bustin'!

Testing the electric components

2009-02-11T16:36:00.020-05:00

Not long ago, we purchased the equipment to run and control our car. These pieces consisted of things such as the motor, controller, contactor, potbox, fuses... etc. Since our purchase was equipment previously used by another high school, we needed to make sure the equipment was working properly.

Our testing of the motor was low voltage. Not because we were lacking the batteries, but because the motor requires a load and can't be ran without some form of resistance such as the tires on the ground.To substitute the voltage resistance of the motor, we used a light strip with the equivalant voltage rating. We then, in turn, assembled all of the controller parts to a battery series. This set-up was provided to us by the "Curtis Controller Manual."

After all the components were connected to the batteries, we flipped a switch that allowed power to flow through all the components and all the lights came on showing that the circuit was complete. We then turned a potentiometer to see if it would dim the lights as it was supposed to do. This mimmicks our throttle control system, kind of like a dimmer switch on your headlights. This was a success and made all of us glow with enthusiasm!

Wheel conversion

2009-02-10T20:05:00.011-05:00

Today, Mr. Butler and I (Ben), picked up parts for our brake conversion system. Our list consisted of new calipers, rotors, hubs, and spindles. Our goal is to convert the stock four lug rotors and brakes to a five lug system. This is simply for more braking power and a wider selection of wheels. We also picked up new tail light systems to replace the broken ones on the rear of the car.

This is the stock rear drum brake. Our initiative is to replace the axles to five lug disc.

This is a quick shot of the removal of the 4-lug right front wheel.

We'll later have an updated set of photos and info showing our brake conversion.

Installation of the transmisson

2009-02-05T11:00:00.021-05:00

Our transmisson is just your basic five-speed T-5 Mustang transmission. Our car was originally automatic. But, no worries yet my friend, our plan of acton is to drive the car in set gears without shifting or the use of a clutch. I know it sounds weird, but it will work. Since our electric conversion has no extreme RPM to horsepower ratio, we will be able to drive the car in any gear starting or stopping and cruising with ease. Kind of like a tractor in a sense of using the throttle to gain speed and de-accelerate, but still allowing you to start off in a high gear.

But my real reason for this blog is to show how we converted the components for an automatic car to a manual transmission automobile.

This is the bracket that connects the the transmission

to the crossmember.

This is our modified manual transmission crossmember.

Inserting the transmission to see if our modification
is going to allow our shifting components to line up.

This is a top view showing that our shifter is going to line up properly.

Success!!!

Awaiting our coupling device to place in bell housing to connect our motor!