Selkirk Vintage Car RallyKelly ControllerElectric motor and old engineElectric motor and old engineEngine bayInside battery boxUnderneath from rearUnderneath from the front
OwnerGreg Fordyce
Owner's Other EVs1994 Volvo 440
1999 Daewoo Matiz
LocationGalashiels, Scotland United Kingdom map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1990 Fiat 126 bis
Very small car, chosen for its size. It was the smallest I could find with 4 seats. Also considered Aixam and Microcar but I felt they were too expensive, the 126 is becoming a classic and spare parts are easy to find and cheap.
MotorLynch Agni 95 turn reinforced Permanent Magnet DC
A pancake motor designed by Cedric Lynch and supplied by Agni Motors. Motor has arrived (March 08) and adapter plate has been made.
Motor is rated at 200 amps continuous and 400 amps for 30 seconds.
DrivetrainOriginally rear engine, rear wheel drive, 2 cylinder 700cc water cooled. There was also an air cooled version. These were made in Poland until 2000. I am retaining the original gearbox but not the clutch.
ControllerKelly 72401; 400 amp PM with regen.
Kelly is a newcomer to the EV market. It was the only one I found that could operated at 72 volts and give me regenerative braking. This is important as the car only has drum brakes and at 28 kw peak power is higher than the original engine was rated at. Kelly use 24 volts for the control circuitry so I have ordered a 24v dc/dc converter. I did consider tapping the traction pack at 24 volts.
Batteries24 China HiPower 100ah, 3.20 Volt, Lithium-Ion
I have fitted 24x 100ah cells giving me a system voltage of 76.8 volts. I have 2 battery boxes of 4 cells each, mounted under the rear seat where the fuel tank was and 2 boxes of 8 cells each either side of the motor
System Voltage72 Volts
Charger Kelly 72v 15a lead acid maintance free charger
This charger is designed for lead acid batteries but provides the same CC-CV charge profile that the lithium batteries require. The 15 amp charge rate means around 7 hours for a full charge, or around 6 miles of range per hour.
HeaterElectric 900W. I have connected 6 12v 150w ceramic heater elements in series and mounted where the original heater matrix was located. Only provides enough heat to keep the window clear on very cold days. Needs a more powerful heater to provide any actual warmth.
DC/DC ConverterKelly Kelly Controllers 12 volt 35 amp and 24 volt
Kelly also offer other components as well as controllers, so I have ordered 2 DC/DC converters, 12v for the lights, etc and the 24 volt for the controller, contactor, etc. Although at first I found it annoying that the Kelly controller required 24 volts for the control connections I now realize that this has forced me to isolate it from the chassis with a separate DC-DC converter. With a greater number of inputs to the controller isolation could have been a problem but solved by having its own supply
InstrumentationXantrex Link 10
Top Speed55 MPH (88 KPH)
3rd gear gives a top speed of 50 mph. In 4th it is possible to achieve 55, but the current draw is much higher, so range suffers. Main problem here is the lack of aerodynamics. Removing passenger door mirror and blocking rear air vents has helped, more work to do in this department.
AccelerationNo actual figures yet, but holds its own in traffic. Similar to original ICE.
Range40 Miles (64 Kilometers)
Depends on driving style. 50 mile range is possible...
...but I find that a bit boring so my range tends to be shorter!

Original goal of 100 mile range would still be possible by fitting more batteries in the front storage area.
Watt Hours/Mile150 Wh/Mile
This is the figure from the battery pack, figure from the wall will be higher. Also winter will bring higher figures as lights and heater will be used more.
EV Miles
Start:20,911 Miles (33,645 Kilometers)
Current:22,139 Miles (35,621 Kilometers)
Total:1,228 Miles (1,975 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity4 adults
Curb Weight1,430 Pounds (650 Kilograms)
Car is about 30kg heavier than original vehicle. A very good result.
Conversion TimeProject started Nov 07
On the road Sep 08
Lots of time waiting for parts to arrive.
Additional FeaturesBMS system for lithium cells is an open source project here;
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This is the first vehicle to use the system. Each cell has a slave board with a pic proccessor watching cell voltage. The slaves can be configured as a stand alone system, or to be used with a Master that calculates SOC, etc and displays on a small dash mounted vga screen. I am using it as a stand alone system at the moment while I build the master PCB.
Update Mar 12;

This car is no longer on the road. I will keep the album entry live for reference purposes.

Update Oct 08;
Car is now on the road, Still have a bit to do, but is now being used daily

Update June 08;
Waiting for lithium pack to arrive. Car has had it's MOT test done and FREE tax disc so is now road legal.

This is currently under construction. Motor and adapter plate have arrived. Once assembled testing with a lead acid pack can begin. My design goals are a car with 4 seats and capable of highway speeds and a range of 100 mile using Li-ion.


code by jerry