Motor Un-GunkedMotor SpecSpare Gearbox
OwnerKerry Keene
LocationSouthend on Sea, England United Kingdom map
Email email image
Vehicle2000 Suzuki Alto
My current ICE vehicle that I am driving
around 20 miles a day with the fastest
road speed limit being 50 mph (traffic
allowing!). Owning an ICE car for this one
purpose (as we have a newer, nicer 2nd
car), is ridiculous

Very basic car, manual steering, wind up
windows, no central door locking and
general lack of luxuries. The ambition is
to start witch a cheap "forkendwift" like
vehicle and use money saved from fuel
costs to upgrade / hack components later
on in its new life as an EV. Hopefully,
I'll end up with a nice little hot hatch
in time.

After part one of the conversion is
complete I will try my hand at the "$50
Paint job"
Motor Brush Electrical Engineering Company Ltd, A Hawker Series Wound DC
48v x 380 amps, 2500 rpm
Bought from ebay, from someone who had
already removed it from a fork lift.
I removed / stripped hydraulic pump,
dismantled the Motor, cleaned it and
painted it red.
DrivetrainManual transmission, front wheel drive.

I also have a spare Transmission and
flywheel which I am using as a template
for the adapter plate and coupler which I
hope will keep the clutch.
ControllerCurtis 1253-4802
Batteries0.00 Volt,
Dreaming of Lifepo4, More likely to get Gel
acid
HeaterPlan to use ceramic element hidden in
existing fan/heater box
DC/DC Converter
Standard 12v battery
InstrumentationWhilst its under construction, a
voltmeter?

Liked idea from EV Capri of BMS via
bluetooth dongle info to phone. With
Arduino boards and Android tablets so
cheap, i hope to go this direction for the
permanent dash set up.
Top Speed50 MPH (80 KPH)
Planned comfortable/maintainable speed of 40
for part one of this project
Range25 Miles (40 Kilometers)
Planned minimum for part one
Seating Capacityhas 5 seat belts but rear bench seat would
only ever seat 2. Would need to keep car as
a 2+2
Curb Weight0
Standard car 700lbs
Conversion TimeI have 5 Months tax left. Will this be the
last tax disc I ever buy?
Additional FeaturesWant to keep clutch as I expect gear changing will be needed a
lot with such a low voltage system.

After buying the car, i learned this Suzuki Alto design is made
in India (sold in India as Suzuki/Maruti ZEN). Although I a
little disappointed that she isn't JDM, I did learn (acording
to Wikipedia at least), that a lot of things are borrowed from
the Suzuki Swift platform, including the engine, gearbox and
mounting points are all the same. So upgrading and sourcing
bits should be easy (?!).
Also, I thought it was very apt that (reference the name of the
car for the Indian market), The word "ZEN" is an acronym
standing for Zero Engine Noise
any one done this or doing this in the UK?
Only advice I could get out of the DVLA was an email I have
copied below. If anyone has
been through this process and has any advice, please email
me.

If the changes are to fuel type or engine and cylinder
capacity (cc) it may affect your vehicle
tax. Due to this documentary evidence must be produced with a
covering letter explaining
the changes, together with your V5C and apply to your nearest
DVLA Local Office to retax in
the appropriate tax class.

Any changes to the engine number and cc must also be
submitted with written evidence.
Written evidence for engine number and cc can be a receipt
for the replacement engine,
written evidence from the manufacturer, an inspection report
provided for insurance
purposes or written confirmation on headed paper from a
garage, if the changes took place
before you bought the vehicle. For any changes to the fuel
type, for vehicles registered after
1 March 2001, you must produce evidence in the form of a
letter on headed paper and receipt
from the garage that carried out the work if your existing
engine is converted.

Any changes to the revenue weight for larger vehicle (Heavy
Goods Vehicle HGV) may also
affect your vehicle tax and you will be required to produce a
plating certificate or design
weight certificate to your DVLA Local Office.

You can find the address for your nearest DVLA Local Office
by telephoning 0300 123 1277
(you will be asked to give a post code) or at
www.direct.gov.uk/dvlalocal

code by jerry