Sponsor Board Arrived

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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.