EcoClassic Electric Mk1 Austin Mini

[Bitsilly]

I’m flattered, thanks so much!

I have just had a few issues on getting the wipers to work properly and park on the correct side, now that I have changed them to two speed and park. Nothing to do with electrifying a mini so I have posted the information in the Technical threads.

Currently still waiting for the rear battery pack but unfortunately Nick's family have caught Covid so there is a slight delay.

[Bitsilly]

Ok, well the battery for the boot has been assembled by Nick based on the space allowed according to his 3D scan done some time ago:

rsz_photo-2021-09-29-13-11-24.jpg

He sent a couple of photos of the assembly in progress too, note the Miglia in the background!

rsz_20211022_121825.jpg

And the finished battery shown from the back.

rsz_120211025_164553.jpg

[Bitsilly]

To save time and to be ready when he drops over the battery next week, Nick has sent me a copy of the base plate that the battery is built on so I could fit the flat solid base needed for it to sit on.

rsz_1img_4872.jpg

The datum to work from is the back LHS of the boot and then to fit brackets for the other corners for the battery to bolt to.

rsz_img_4874.jpg

The other side:

rsz_1img_4873.jpg

And final check! Phew!

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[roger mcnab]

hi mate
where do you put the spare wheel or are you going to run run flat tyres or carry them on the roof on a rack
cheers roger mcnab

[mk1]

Incredible work.

This thread & the Doc's are both extraordinary!

[Bitsilly]

Cheers again, but Doc's car is another universe altogether!
This is the current plan for flat tyres!
However I do have a roof rack now for longer trips.
The new rims came with tyres but I honestly hadn't thought of run-flats! I will have to check them out, makes a lot of sense for my next set!

rsz_img_4875.jpg

[Bitsilly]

Well the good news is that the boot battery pack was delivered and immediately fitted on Saturday.
Yet again I am impressed by this 3D scan lark which Nick used to size the battery pack, it slotted in really well although I insisted on a few measures to protect my paint! It was also a heavy bugger so yet again my ancient engine crane and some paracord came in useful!

rsz_img_4883.jpg

[Bitsilly]

Once in place, and remembering the 'old side' loom 12V battery has to fit in the boot as well, there is not copious quantities of boot space left for holiday luggage if your back seat is required for people!
These batteries are light weight lithium ion, how on earth lead acid cars ever moved I cannot fathom!

[Bitsilly]

Now that all the heavy hardware is in place, I can finally move on to building the loom and so getting the car moving!
Bearing in mind that every stage in this project has been delayed by Suez canal blockages, Covid viruses, absence of truck drivers etc... I fully expect a rogue satellite to fall out of orbit and bop me on the head!
But let us stay positive!!
Nick provided me with these:

rsz_img_4892.jpg

He will work on a simpler schematic lay-out for future projects, but in the meantime I have to build the loom for my car!

[Bitsilly]

I gave him a 'slightly' bad time over his nomenclature, basically because I couldn’t understand it! But to be fair it is my job to build the loom to keep my costs down.
First step was translating all the acronyms, of which I counted 17!!

rsz_img_4893.jpg

[Bitsilly]

All I have to do now is find a blank wall large enough to pin out this loom! And to be fair it really is quite straightforward once I figure out the geography of everything. Straightforward but not exactly simple!

[Bitsilly]

One more thing.
The battery packs I have allow about 130 mile range.
I mentioned before that fewer batteries meant less range but also less performance.
It seems now that I was wrong. Less batteries does mean less range but not less performance following a development that Nick recently made to his control systems.
The next fewer number of batteries (I think it has to be a multiple of 8) would free up a lot of boot space, reduce weight but reduce range to around 80 miles. That range would have been fine with me as it will be a commuting car.
So I could have saved money and weight by not jumping the gun!
Bother!

[roger mcnab]

hi
i hope that there are lots of recharge points in the area
cheers roger

[mk1]

Another great update!

Things are really moving on now.

I look forward to the next.

[Cole Liggett]

Really enjoying this build! I’ve been thinking about converting my Vespa, nice to get some ideas from your build.

[roger mcnab]

hi
well a battery powered vespa will be a challenge but good luck cheers roger

[Fanfaniracing]

Really enjoying this build! I’ve been thinking about converting my Vespa, nice to get some ideas from your build.

Depending wich model you have, there are allready Kits on the market:
https://www.sip-scootershop.com/de/prod ... ktro%20kit

[Bitsilly]

It has been a while since my last post, basically because I had covid. Vaccinated so only as a bad cold but enough to keep me from the garage.
So armed with a heater I have finally made a start on doing some wiring having and prevaricated as much as is humanly possible!
Three days and I have this to show for it. It is basically the wiring for the OBC or the on board charger if you are a bit slow like me!
Still it is a start!

rsz_img_5099.jpg

[Bitsilly]

I forgot to say,
Nick actually reckons the range of the car will be more like 200 if driven wisely, and around 160 if not.
So that’s a range of 160 then!!

[MiNiKiN]

Really enjoying this build! I’ve been thinking about converting my Vespa, nice to get some ideas from your build.

If you have a smallframe Vespa this Kit is the dogs gonads:

https://crank-e.at.host24.profi-server. ... kit-speed/

You need to put it through Google translate, as it is German