| Owner | Dean Holden | ||||||
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| Location | Sudbury, Massachusetts United States map | ||||||
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| Vehicle | 1994 Geo Metro (SOLD - I don't own this anymore) Purchased on 6/18/2009 with a blown engine. The body and frame are in very good condition considering it was 15 years old | ||||||
| Motor | D&D Motor Systems, Inc. ES-31B Series Motor 90 HP Peak Series Wound DC | ||||||
| Drivetrain | 5 speed standard shift | ||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1221C (120 vdc / 400 amp) | ||||||
| Batteries | 10 Trojan 1275, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded Also an 11th T1275 battery for 12 volt accessories | ||||||
| System Voltage | 120 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Quick Charge 120 Volts (Smart Charger) also a 12volt charger for the accessory battery WebPage /> charge%20ON%20BOARD.htm | ||||||
| Heater | 1500W 120 Volt DC replacement for the stock heater ( WebPage )+ a DC Contactor to connect it to the 120V and switch it with 12V (WebPage ) | ||||||
| Instrumentation | 50-150 VDC Volt Meter 0-500 Amp Meter (not working) 120v State-Of-Charge Gauge | ||||||
| Top Speed | 70 MPH (112 KPH) | ||||||
| Acceleration | Probably like an ICE version of the Metro | ||||||
| Range | 45 Miles (72 Kilometers) Less with stop and go traffic. I use it for my daily 35 mile commute | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 415 Wh/Mile I calculated this using 31 miles driving distance with an average of 30mph and 12.85Kwh to charge it. It's costing me about 4 cents per mile to drive it. I am purchasing my electricity from a wind farm at about 17 cents per KWh | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 2 adults in the front, and two small people in the back | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,700 Pounds (1,227 Kilograms) estimate car ~ 1800lbs, batteries ~ 900lbs | ||||||
| Tires | 12" standard Geo Metro tires | ||||||
| Conversion Time | Lost track, but I'm sure it was more than 200 hours including time wasted going down the wrong paths... | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Anticipating about $6550 (conversion kit ~$4600, car ~$200, vac pump ~$300, heater ~$150, springs ~$100, misc ~$1200) does not include batteries (~$2000). | ||||||
| Additional Features | Gast Vacuum pump and switch for brakes. Front coil springs from a 98 Ford Ranger, shortened by about 3 inches and used in place of the rear springs | ||||||
| PLEASE NOTE: I purchased a 120V Geo "conversion kit" from Wilderness EV, and would not recommend them to anyone. Their customer service was very poor, but even worse the quality of their custom parts is poor. I wasted many hours and dollars making things right, and a year later am still fixing things. Feel free to contact me for more information. 2009-11-22 Update: Took it for a short spin today, and it worked. I still need to work out a number of kinks. Maybe add new springs in the front and re-align the front wheels. 2010-03-14 Update: Took a break for a while due to cold weather. Put the original axles back in it, and made a half- circle cut in the frame to fit the motor. Got it up to 25mph in my neighborhood. 2010-03-15 Update: Added vacuum pump, brakes feel much better now. 2010-03-16 Update: got car registered, drove it about 20 miles, got it up to 50mph. 2010-03-18 Update: got car inspected, drove it about 30 miles. 2010-04-26 Update: almost 700 miles on it. Using it to go to work daily (~ mile round trip) Had to pull motor to adjust coupler which was binding on the motor and causing lots of vibration. I thought the transmission was going. 2010-05-11 Update: Celebrating my first 1000 miles! 2010-05-18 Update: had to replace the circuit board in the quick charger because it was not working right. They were very good about sending me a new one for free. 2010-06-13 Update: Celebrating 2000 miles of driving. 2010-11-24 Update: Had some problems with the coupler first, then the motor blew up. I think it was damaged in shipping and finally gave up. I have a new (rebuilt) motor from D&D and I'm back on the road. 2011-07-19 Update: Had big problems with the adapter plate purchased from Wilderness EV, it was off center and off true, so I had to have it fixed at a cost of about twice what the original plate cost me. Seems to be doing well now, though I'm still not sure about the coupler because I'm having some vibrations at higher RPMs. | |||||||
1994 Geo Metro
“Wall-E”
Last Updated 06-25-2013
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey