Lot's of work done...on the car that is..

Haven't had 1 minute to update the blog lately. All extra time is on the car. Plus it didn't help that apple took my computer (in order to fix a faulty logic board) and sent it to HOUSTON, yes HOUSTON, during Hurricane Ike, to the service center in HOUSTON during a hurricane. Brilliant work there, apple. Then they tried to tell me that they wouldn't cover the water damage on my latop...WHEN THERE WAS NONE! This especially riled me because they told me exactly the same thing several months ago when I sent in my old machine. Very creepy because I heard almost exactly the same phrases, verbatim, when they tried to claim that there was liquid damage on this machine, JUST LIKE THEY DID BEFORE. I really don't trust apple anymore, so no more extra apple care coverage for me.

okay, excuse that bit of rage. I have the computer back now, and I've done a lot of work on the car. I swear to freaking jesus on a toadstool that I'll get the pics up soon.

Anyhow, I've scraped, scrubbed, and brushed away all of the rusty bits on the entire floor pan of the car. The entire underside of of the floor pan (lots of time on my back. creating a new tonsure on the back of my skull from rubbing it against the bricks under the car while I did the wire brush rust scrub) is clean of rust. Also pulled up all of the tar mats inside the car, scraped with a chisel is more like it, and cleaned up all of the rust under there as well. Found a few rust holes around the passenger side heater channels, and the area under the heater channel on that side. Just small holes, nothing too major, so patched them up with some small bits of sheet metal and JB weld, or used automotive GOOP on some of the smaller holes.

Hired a guy to come weld a patch of sheet metal into the place where the battery acid had rusted away the floor pan under the back seat. Not knowing much about welding, I assume he did a fine job, but I'm a little worried the sheet metal is slightly too thin. Without the punched pattern in the sheet metal, it just feels flimsier. I stepped on it several times, put my weight on it, and no give, so I think it'll be fine. Plus it's largely under the back seat, so should be fine. So I had to seal up the spaces in the underside after the weld job. Used the automotive GOOP again. I like that stuff. Has a self leveling property that I like.

Then the big job of painting POR 15 over the entire patched and scraped away rusty areas. That's a big 3 step process, spraying their degreaser over everything, then cleaning it off with water. Then spraying their "Metal Ready" over everything  and then spraying that off with H2O after 20-30 minutes. Then letting it dry completely and painting the toxic POR 15 over everything. But it not looks FANTASTIC, for anyone who gets under the car. I did the floor pan, underneath and inside the car, did the foot rest, the entire area under the gas tank area (front of the pan, including the beam assembly and some of the rusty bits, like the steering dampener (not the chrome part, just the fat part of the arm) etc.

That POR 15, some great stuff. Stinks to high hell, but once it's on there, it really improves the look of everything, especially where there was rust. I yam pleezzed.

So I finally got started on prepared for electrical components! I installed the brackets for a shelf that will go in the engine bay area (under the deck lid, remember that term!) and I created the primary brackets for the small battery box that will go in the gas tank area under the trunk (trunk in the bug, being the front bonnet area.) I'm biting an idea I saw in this Ghia that was converted (the guy in the Electric Auto Assoc., I think i mentioned him eariler). He used aluminum slats, beams etc you can get at the hardware store and bent them with his vise. I have a big vise, I don't know the first thing about welding, so I'm doing the same. Good results so far.

I'll be going to TAP plastics to pick up a few sheets of polyethelene (that plastic you can get as cutting boards or cutting mats you use in the kitchen) to create the component shelf in the engine bay, and to surround the battery boxes. Hopefully sometime in the next week.

I forgot to mention that ALL of my electric car parts have now arrived. EV of America came thru in a big way so far. So I'm happy to recommend them, so far. I got everything they said I would get, and it came reasonably fast (especially compared to other quotes i was getting...10-12 weeks away from getting parts.) This includes the adaptor plate/coupler created for attaching the motor to the tranny (haha). 

So the next steps are organizing the component board that will sit just above the motor, and then installing that (before wiring, of course) and then building the battery boxes. 

I also got some 1 1/2 inch PVC to run the fat 2/o welding cable thru to attach the front battery pack to the battery pack. It seems kinda too fat to attach to the bottom of the car, so I'm considering 2 smaller3/4 PVC lines, one for each red and black line. 

I have taken a bunch of photos, just haven't got them off of the camera...coming soon.