Hauling out the beastSteel workEngineRear BatteriesWatt Meter / ChargerControl PanelGauge Pod
OwnerCraig A. Cadieux
LocationBridgewater, New Hampshire United States map
Email email image
Vehicle1998 Chevrolet S-10
MotorAdvanced DC FB1-4001A Series Wound DC
ControllerCurtis 1231C-8601
Batteries18 Interstate US8VGCHC, 8.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerQuick Charge 240 Volts AC
HeaterLiquid Heater from EVA
Instrumentation80-180 Volt Meter
0-400 Amp meter
Fuel Gauge

Top Speed55 MPH (88 KPH)
Projected
Range50 Miles (80 Kilometers)
Estimate. Need to make 30 mile RT commute in winter with hills. 5 to 10 mile trips to town.
TiresFor now what came with the truck
Conversion TimeIt's a project. Taking my time and learning. Weekend day here, an evening there.
Conversion CostAround $12,000
Additional FeaturesManual steering from older S-10.
Purchased the truck used in June 2008. V6 with Automatic. Purchased a used manual transmission. 134,000 miles.


10/14/08 Based on EV America design. Engine has been removed, engine compartment cleaned up and painted, battery box framing welded, transmission mated with motor. Battery boxes are Advantech with 3/4 inch polyethylene foam and painted black.

10/20/08 Installed motor/transmission and cut the floor of truck to make room for the stick shift. I was a little concerned that the transmission support for the orginal automatic tranmission was going to work for the manual transmission but for now things seem to fit. I need to figure our a motor mount. The mounts for the orginal V6 do not come close to lining up with ears of the motor backet. Also... need to figure out what to do with the passenger side brake cable. Currently it runs through where the saddle battery box will sit.

10/27/08 Looking around for engine mounts from a 2.2 l that will fit in this truck. There are a number of EV'ers who seem to have this set up. Installed the manual steering box this weekend. Went in easy but I now need to raise the front battery box a little it clears. Finished up the battery boxes and insulated them. I think the hand brake cable will wrap around the back of the boxes without a problem

11/2/08 Moved the truck in the garage - a little warmer. Battery boxes have been painted and placed in the metal frames. I solved the parking brake problem by removing the cable from the clip on the differential. Obtained motor mounts from a 2.2 l S-10 and mounted the motor this weekend. I had to removed the vertical supports for the components board I welded in a few weeks ago because it interfered with the mounts. A lot of PIA cutting and grinding but it made me feel better about the strength of my welds. I'm reconsidering my choice of 20 6 volts batteries for 120 total and thinking about 18 8 volts for 144 volts total. Our max round trip will be 30 miles. 144 volts will get up up the hills faster and will be about 140 pounds lighter. The trade off will be a little less life to the batteries and less range.

12/21/08 I never seem to get enough time to work on the truck but as a whole quite a bit has been completed since the last post in November. It official... I'm going with 144 volts - 18 eight volt batteries with small "L" terminals. I order the batteries from Auto Trends in Bristol (my local Interstate Distributor) and they should be in in a month or two. EV America ran the numbers and I only lose a few miles of range, and little less cycle life, but I gain more speed and I'm saving about $400's. My neighbor Wei rebuilt the rear brakes and we replaced the brake lines. With the vacuum pump and vacuum switch in place we bled the brake system. Oh yes... I put a 12 volt battery on the main motor and heard the quiet purr electric power!

2/1/09 Still waiting for the batteries. Need a quiet few hours to run through the circuits to reduce the chances of smoke. Have the 12 volts systems wired and operational. Need to figure out how to get the speedometer to work without the ECM and need to come-up with something for the tach. Not a lot completed in January.

4/5/09 Getting very close. Finished the low and high volt wiring this weekend. Plugged things in and turn them on and .... no smoke or sparks! Batteries are charging and the rear end is on jacks. Should be able to spin the wheels this week. Next weekend the bed will go back on and we'll take it for a test run. EV America found a 144 volt fuel gauge. Simple and reasonably priced.

Still working on the speedometer and tachometer issue. I found plans and software to make an old Palm PDA into a speedometer complete with the usual bike computer function. It uses the sensor from a bike computer or I may be able to use the pulse from the transmission.

code by jerry