Engine bay
OwnerMike Laba
LocationDunedin, Otago New Zealand map
Email email image
Vehicle1968 Morris Mini-mark 1
Two seater Mini after conversion.
MotorCurtis AC-20 3-Phase AC
The motor is mounted on-top of the gearbox
and directly driven
(through a extra idler gear) to the gear-
box.
DrivetrainStandard gearbox - with the clutch and
flywheel removed.
ControllerCurtis 1238-7601
Air cooled, mounted where the radiator was.
Batteries28 ETC-106 (2 x 53A/hr) two connected in parallel. , 106.00 Volt, Lithium-Ion
All 56 batteries are mounted on the floor
behind the front
seat.
System Voltage114 Volts
ChargerZivan NG3
230VAC Mains in, output set to 116VDC at
12amps, although I mainly
charged my Mini via our house solar panels
after our house batteries
are charged.
HeaterNo heater was fitted to the original car.
I made a scoop to
collect air behind the front grill to feed over the inside of the windscreen.
DC/DC ConverterVicor 12C -200BL
80 - 120V in, 13.7V out, up to 200W.
InstrumentationDigital A/Hr meter (JDL-HB 404) for main
battery pack, also reads
current, voltage and running time. This item
is also used to stop the
charging on the main battery pack.
Dignal Volt meter for the 12v battery.
A circular 12 x LED display showing current
going out and coming
into the main battery pack when driving.
Top Speed55 MPH (88 KPH)
Over 100 km/h
AccelerationFine for around town driving.
Range53 Miles (85 Kilometers)
Distance 53miles - 82 km depending on speed
and terrain
with the new ETC-106A/Hr batteries.
Watt Hours/Mile5000 Wh/Mile
On a flat straight road with no wind at a
speed of
30MPH, current
is 50 amps @ 105volts with two people on
board.
EV Miles
Start:69,000 Miles (111,021 Kilometers)
Current:76,000 Miles (122,284 Kilometers)
Total:7,000 Miles (11,263 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity2 adults and now plenty of room in the trunk
(boot) because no fuel
tank and I don't carry a spare wheel.
Curb Weight1,322 Pounds (600 Kilograms)
Now less than the original - 600 Kg with the
new ETC-106 batteries
and the new high-back seats.
TiresStandard 10" 145/80R10 Power Star, pressure
34psi replaced on
Feb 2015.
Conversion Time2.5 years plus
Conversion CostRather not think about it, and ongoing.
Additional FeaturesJan 2008. Rear stop lights, park lights, number plate lights
and
inside roof light have been all upgraded with LED's.

Aug 2009. I downsize the 12V accessory battery with 4 small
10A/hr
Lithium-Iron batteries.

June 2011. Replaced all turning lamps with LED's and replaced
the
flasher unit with a mos-fet circuit, current consumption has
dropped to about
0.5amps when turning from about 3.5amps. A big saving on power
from the 12v battery.

Feb 2013. Replaced the 65/65w headlamps with high efficiency
35/35W
lamps and added a small LED in both main headlight reflectors.
I have wired these LED's to
come on when the key switch is on, now called daylight driving
lights.
These headlight LED's have already save me from one accident.
Small
car ... hard to see.

Mar 2013. Replaced all 4 suspension rubbers, car rides much
better
now. The old
rubbers were about 20years old.

June 2014. De-seamed body ... less air resistance at high
speed.
As the engine oil does not get hot anymore so I don't have to replace the oil so often. Remember the old engine/gearbox oil got very hot because it was used also to
lubricant the engine and gearbox.

Nov 2014. I added two more batteries to the main pack making
now 34 x 100A/hr
batteries. Installed three small PV panels in the back window
to supplement the 12volt battery
charging.

Sept 2015. Changed the main battery pack volt & amp meters with
a JLD404 AH meter.
This allows me to see how many amp/hrs I have used per trip and
know roughly how far I can
travel.

Sept 2016. Upgraded the controller purchased from ZEVA
(Australia). This new controller is
much more efficient than my 18 year old Curtis and does not go
into shut-down mode when
going up steep hills also it has a single oscillator frequency,
no two step frequency shift as in
the Curtis.

Mar 2017. Change the headlamps to LED's. Purchased the lamps
from China 20/20watts much
brighter that the 35watt halogen and uses less current. Been
wanting to do this for a long time.
Had to remove them because our warrant of fitness said the LEDs were not legal.

Aug 2017. Upgraded my battery pack with 34 x CAM-72's. car
performance improved because of
weight saving.

March 2018. Replaced Motor and controller with an AC type onto my second Mini gearbox.

Oct 2018. I made a circular display using LEDs showing motor
current going in (2x green) and
out (6 x red) of the battery pack. Fitted used front seats with
a head-rest and replace the seat-
belts with new Lap and diagonal - recoil type.

Jan 2020. Upgraded the main battery pack with ETC-106
batteries, fitted coil springs, replaced
the steering rack, overhauled the gearbox, replaced the CV
joints, fitted a Scott's BMS system
and replaced most of the brake lines.

Jan 2021. Fitted very small LEDs in the roof lining as night-
time stars when opening the doors.

Aug 2023. Replaced the two back tires. Had tow fit 5mm spacers because the new tires were wider and they just touch the swinging arms.

I still have the original DC motor/gearbox and controller if anyone is interested! E-mail for full list of items and price.
My Mini was first commissioned on 9th July 1998 with the DC
motor.
My first battery pack were VRLA batteries, 8 x 12v Sonnenschein
70A/hr.
The second lot were 8 x Optima 65A/hr.
The third were 90A/hr Lithium-ion.
The forth were 100A/hr Lithium-ion.
The Fifth were 72A/hr Lithium-ion.
The Sixth are what I have now.

I still have the original DC motor/gearbox and controller if anyone is interested! E-mail for full list of items and price.

code by jerry