OwnerChris Tromley
LocationPenn Valley, Pennsylvania US map
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Vehicle1980 Renault LeCar
(U.S. Electricar "Lectric Leopard")
MotorPrestolite MTA 4001 Compound Wound DC
Original Leopard 48V motor
Drivetrainoriginal Renault 4 speed trans, FWD, motor behind front wheels
ControllerCafe Electric Z1k-LV
Batteries20 US Battery US145, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
1400 lbs. of lead - quite a bit for such a tin box.
System Voltage120 Volts
ChargerManzanita Micro PFC-20B
Heater1500 Watt Ceramic
DC/DC ConverterVicor Batmod/Megamod
Batmod alone wasn't enough at 200W. Added triple Megamod booster. (800W total) Control of Vicor bricks is done with dirt-simple board cookbooked from Vicor app notes. It's water cooled using a home made cold plate that's fed by a branch from the Zilla's cooling circuit.
InstrumentationBattery Volts, Battery Amps
Top Speed85 MPH (136 KPH)
Not yet tested, don't need more than 65 mph on my commute.
AccelerationLeisurely.
RangeNot tested yet, but 30 miles is easy. With ~45% of total weight in lead, 80 miles should be achievable.
EV Miles
Start:105 Miles (168 Kilometers)
Current:1,300 Miles (2,091 Kilometers)
Total:1,195 Miles (1,922 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity4 adults
Curb Weight3,000 Pounds (1,363 Kilograms)
estimated
Tiresoriginal Michelin X 145R-13
Conversion TimeWho knows? Calendar time was Way Too Long. (Years of intermittent work.)
Conversion CostAfraid to count, but less than a new econo car.
US Electricar is the manufacturer of record. They bought Renault "gliders" (cars without engines) and finished/converted them with electric powertrains. They did a very crude job of it to keep the cost down. With only 48V pack voltage, they could barely reach 50 mph and took a very long time to do it.

I re-did the conversion, upgraded to modern components and went to 120V pack voltage. The goal was to make a practical, 4 seat, usable-range commuter.

It's not easy to fit 10 GC batteries in the front of a Leopard. Lots of head-scratching, metal reshaping and component relocation involved. Don't try this unless you have lots of time.

Renault Gordini Turbo torsion bars, anti-roll bars and Koni shocks are used. It still handles like a pig on stilts. When adding lots of weight, keeping a low center of gravity is important. It wasn't possible on this car.

Performance is adequate to keep up with traffic, but only in the summer time. With any drop in temp the pack sags enough to cause problems. A series-wound motor would have been a much better choice (more torque per amp), but keeping the original motor was much easier. First fix will be insulating the batteries. A motor swap might come later.

code by jerry