Chris Freyman's 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Convertibl

Owner

Chris Freyman

Location

Macungie, Pennsylvania US ^map

Vehicle

1983 Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible

Motor

Advanced DC FB1-4001A Series Wound DC
9", 143lbs

Drivetrain

Clutchless 5-speed transmission. Homemade adapter plate using ½” 6061 aluminum. Coupler courtesy Brian @TanicEV.

Controller

Open ReVolt Open-Revolt 144V-600A
Design based on Paul Holmes’s ReVolt open source controller. I added interlock capability for e-brake and charger detect. Also added motor RPM limiter. Serial interface for diagnostics and tweaking drive parameters

Batteries

10 Crown 27DC115, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
Commercial Deep Cycle

System Voltage

120 Volts

Charger

Homemade
Onboard 3-stage charger using a PIC microcontroller. Input 120VAC w/ 8~10A output charge current. Boost input, then DC rectified and phase controlled with SCR to deliver controlled charge current.

Heater

Ceramic type from 1500W portable heater

DC/DC Converter

Iota DLS-30

Instrumentation

Open Source LCD Instrumentation. Shows traction volts, acc volts, motor amps, battery amps, SOC, miles to empty, motor temp, controller temp and battery temp. Tracks SOC during charge and discharge.

Top Speed

75 MPH (120 KPH)
Has the FN type 5-speed transmission

Acceleration

Fast up to 45mph in 2nd. Using 3& 4th for highway speeds takes more time than ICE.

Range

25 Miles (40 Kilometers)
Mostly run it no more than 13~15 miles before recharging @50% DOD. Its all hills around here so can't run it much past 50% due to increasing voltage sag

Watt Hours/Mile

200 Wh/Mile

EV Miles

Start:	74,148 Miles (119,304 Kilometers)
Current:	74,400 Miles (119,709 Kilometers)
Total:	252 Miles (405 Kilometers)
	As of 9/3/2011

Seating Capacity

4 Adults

Curb Weight

2,650 Pounds (1,204 Kilograms)

Tires

205/40/R16 Yokohamas on Mille Miglia rims pumped to 40psi.

Conversion Time

2 years, mostly weekends. Time includes EV conversion, general restoration and charger & instrumentation design. Also built open source controller.

Conversion Cost

Donor Car (shell)= $675
Restoration costs= $1,500
EV Conversion= $3,500 (including batteries)

Pretty much all EV components found on Ebay. Great way to save money. Motor, contactor & vacuum switch were brand new, the rest used. Car replacement parts were a mix of Ebay and “The Samba” (VW enthusiasts website).

Additional Features

Due to additional weight, changed front rotors to vented type

Car selection based on being a lightweight convertible (fun factor), with as little rust as possible. Found a great shell, but it was a mixed bag.
The Good- The ICE was already gone, car was 98% rust free, and it had recent paint job (cool Chevy tangerine pearlcoat)
The Bad- Passenger door damaged and had to be replaced, ALL wiring harnesses removed and stuffed in a box, MANY missing parts (tranny mounts, linkage, side marker lights, badges, interior plastics, interior carpeting)

June '09- Removed gas tank & fuel delivery system. Degreased engine bay and transmission. Repainted transmission, brake booster, master cylinder. Replaced rotors & pads. Replaced passenger door with junkyard find.

July '09- Replaced front wheel bearings. Clean & repack CV joints & replaced cracked boots. Created motor adapter plate (slow process with 4” hole saw and hack saw!).

Aug '09- Installed adapter plate to motor & added coupler. Build wooden fixture to hold motor vertically, then dropped tranny onto it. Alignment process suggested by Brian at TanicEV. Basically involves lightly clamping bell housing to motor plate, then run motor to “self align” to tranny before marking bolt holes and installing alignment pins. Result= vibration free alignment. Install motor & transmission into engine bay and attached axles.
Build a few 2/0 cables to attach to motor. Cables temporarily run into passenger compartment to attach to one 12V battery (via jumper cables) in passenger seat.
Aug-22 maiden voyage down driveway & back.

Sept '09- Reinstalled some backseat plastics and driver’s side doorcard & mirror. Performed bodywork on rear driver side fender. Wetsand passenger door and primered in preparation for paint & clearcoat. Installed side marker lights & exterior trim. Turned my attention to reinstalling the wire harnesses. Took opportunity to remove wires associated with ICE sensors & such. Some melted wires needed to be replaced. Replaced headlight switch (melted in “on” position).

Oct '09- Paint & clearcoated passenger door. Reinstalled passenger doorcard & mirror. Installed DC-DC converter and accessory battery. Resinstalled all remaining wire harnesses & fuse box. Added additional wiring in support of EV instrumentation, controller interlocks, etc. Reinstalled dashboard and blower assy. Reworked heater core with ceramic heater.

Nov~Dec '09- Built motor controller. Features include:
- high pedal lockout
- safety interlocks to disable if charger or e-brake on
- rev limiter set to 6,000 rpm
- real time switching between economy or performance modes via dynamic current limiting
- microprocessor controlled with serial output of diagnostic data and serial firmware upgrade support.

Jan~March '10- Built Battery charger. Between schematic & pcb design, troubleshooting and writing code, 3 months went quick.

April~May '10- Built battery racks and EV component mounting plate. Also built vacuum reservoir and installed vacuum system. Designed relay/fuse board & installed in hoffman steel box.

June '10- Installed motor controller, contactor, hv fuse, relay box and began both HV and LV wiring.

July~Aug '10- Build abs box around vacuum pump & lined with foam. Installed batteries & wired. Ran 2/0 cables thru 2" PVC to trunk. Build rear battery box & installed charger. Modified clutch cable for anderson disconnect funtion. Made a few stealth runs around the block. Whoo-hoo!

Sept~Oct '10- Installed new carpeting. Installed battery rack hold down frames. Build panel meters for volts & amps and installed where radio used to be. Drained tranny oil and replaced with GM Syncromesh.

Dec~March '11- Designed, built and programmed LCD Instrumentation to replace the panel meters. I now see not only volts and amps, but temperatures and SOC during discharge and charge. Also replaced front struts and strut mounts.

April '11- Added plexiglass panels over batteries to shield HV. Got her inspected at the PA enhanced inspection station (for modifed vehicles) along with new EV title and registration. First trip was down to local EV show to be displayed!

code by jerry