OwnerAlexander Van Brocklin
LocationCorvallis, Oregon United States map
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Vehicle1974 Porsche 914
The famous Cafe Electric 914 that started it
all, rebuilt and reborn as a car for driving
to school and lookin' cool.
MotorNetgain Impulse 9 Series Wound DC
A used Impulse 9" from a different 914
conversion, mated to the stock transaxle with
an adapter plate of unknown origin, attached
to the body of the car with home-made motor
mounts.
DrivetrainNetGain Impulse 9" coupled to Porsche 901 5
speed side-shift transaxle.
ControllerCafe Electric Z2K
A 2000 amp DC motor controller from Cafe
Electric. This particular unit was used in
the car previously when it was a record
holder. It also served time in "The White
Zombie" running a ~3000 amp overclock.
Batteries54 Thunder Sky LFP90, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
54 Thundersky Lithium-Iron-Phosphate
prismatic cells. Managed by an OrionBMS2
purchased from ShiftEV and installed by yours
truly.
ChargerElcon 1500 Watt?
A small and simple Elcon charger that by
chance has exactly the right end-charge-
voltage for 54 cells. 12% of battery pack
capacity per hour of charging.
Heater2 folding hair dryers attached to the stock
ventilation system under the dashboard.
DC/DC ConverterIota DLS-55
An IOTA DLS-55 110v to 55 amp 13.4 volt
converter that happily accepts ~180vdc in
place of it's normal 110vac. Purchased on
Ebay for the excellent price of $101.
Instrumentationa Ukulele or 2 when I am driving my musician
friend somewhere, my singing voice every day,
and once there was a kazoo.
Top SpeedThe fastest I have gone is 55mph in 3rd gear.
Not going to go faster than that.
AccelerationStill in the process of breaking in the
motor. The clutch is slipping under 400 motor
amps. The acceleration is a hell of a lot
better than my Dad's Ford Fiesta though.
Range30 Miles (48 Kilometers)
Have not trained the SOC measurement system
yet, I should get more range that 30 miles
with my drivetrain, but I don't know yet.
Watt Hours/Mile250 Wh/Mile
Have not yet calculated, listed numbers are
based off of the setup that used to power the
car.
Seating Capacity2 seats, 2 seatbelts.
Curb Weight2,400 Pounds (1,090 Kilograms)
A few short minutes were dedicated to
calculating the curb weight based on the
stock weight of a 74', the removal of the
engine and gasoline, and the addition of a
motor and batteries and controller.
TiresMichelin Energy MVX4 Plus inflated to 51psi
Conversion TimeI have had the car for 7 months, the
conversion was a side project off and on
during that time, it took about 4 months of
that.
Conversion CostI prefer not to say, but it was a hell of a
lot less than you might think.
Additional FeaturesHomemade stereo 3D printed with Nylon12, Mad
Max style Valet mode switch on the shift
handle. A very choice crack in the
windscreen. A 25 dollar interior carpeting
job that will need to be replaced the third
time that it gets wet. Some particularly low-
effort bodywork. Bright green brake calipers.
Special thanks to Otmar, Kirk, Gary, and the
team at ShiftEV.
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