| Owner | Fred Weber | ||||||||
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| Location | San Jose, California US map | ||||||||
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| Vehicle | 1978 Volkswagen Type II Van | ||||||||
| Motor | Netgain Warp 9 Series Wound DC | ||||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1231 | ||||||||
| Batteries | 24 US Battery 125XC, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded | ||||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||||
| Charger | PFC 1500 | ||||||||
| Heater | None | ||||||||
| Instrumentation | AMP (0 to 500) SOC (state of charge) 12V aux | ||||||||
| Top Speed | 60 MPH (96 KPH) Easy enough to get 60MPH on flat highway. About 250A to sustain that. | ||||||||
| Acceleration | 0-30 9.4 0-40 15.6 0-50 29.6 0-60 43.2 | ||||||||
| Range | 55 Miles (88 Kilometers) With a single charge we get a solid 50+ miles. At about 55 miles we see a noticable drop in performance and can't get above 25MPH. | ||||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 5 seats, room for 8. Original front seats and rear bench. Can also seat 3 on front battery box. Have had 6 people (3 adult, 3 child, 1000#s in it so far) | ||||||||
| Curb Weight | 4,300 Pounds (1,954 Kilograms) After Conversion: 4300, Front 1850, Rear 2430 Before conversion: 2600, Front 1060, Rear 1510 GVW Specs: 4961, Front 2227, Rear 2800 | ||||||||
| Tires | Yokahama Y356 185R14/D1 Currently inflated to 55psi | ||||||||
| Conversion Time | My log shows: 46 hours of restoration of donor 22 hours of design 80 hours of conversion I didn't keep perfect track. I guess it is more like 100 hours of purchase/restoration 40 hours of design 80 hours conversion 35 of the total hours was from my wife, kids, brother in law and Mike Brown at ElectroAutomotive | ||||||||
| Conversion Cost | Donor Purchase and Restoration - $10,900 including bodywork, paint and glass Conversion - $13400 Tools I didn't have - $500 | ||||||||
| Additional Features | Overall I love the conversion and we are already using it as a daily driver instead of our Honda Odyssey. A few minor issues/observations: - A bit hard to get a smooth start. Best result is third gear without clutch. Get chatter in first, second and third if I use clutch. Not sure yet if it is me, a problem in my setup or basic to the design. After a month of driving we are much smoother. - Brake vacuum pump is louder than I would like and kicks in with every stop - Controller whines a bit at low current - Motor whines a bit | ||||||||
| I have design files for battery boxes, cages and wiring and am happy to share those with anyone interested. Bought Conversion Kit from Mike Brown at www.electroauto.com Battery cages welded by Robeck’s Welding in San Jose Conversion Timeline: 2/28/09: Bought Van 4/13/09: Rust stopped, basic restoration in good shape 4/25/09: Removed engine 5/29/09: Installed first EV components - vacuum pump 6/15/09: Lights and other electrical system in good shape 6/23/09: Most of EV Kit has arrived. Design done. Order battery boxes and cages 7/09/09: Built main control board 7/27/09: Picked up battery boxes. Begin 3 day marathon to complete conversion 7/29/09: It's alive. On the road and driving 9/6/09: 70,000 miles on odometer. 800 miles in first 5 weeks of driving. All is well. 9/19/09: Took in to get exterior painted. Will be out of commission for 3 weeks 11/4/09: Paint job is finished. It looks great. | |||||||||
1978 Volkswagen Van
“Van Jovi”
Last Updated 11-06-2009
Copyright © 1997-2009 by Mike Chancey