Under the HoodLiFePo4 Being installed
OwnerMr. Sharkey
Owner's Other EVsGE ElecTrak E-20
Pusher Trailer
LocationMinerva, Oregon United States map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1981 Volkswagen Rabbit
MotorSiemens 1GV1 Shunt Wound DC
24 HP
DrivetrainOriginal 4 speed transmission with clutch
ControllerEHV Systems EHV-1
field weakening PWM
Batteries38 Thunder Sky LFP160, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate
Upgraded from lead acid to Lithium, spring 2018

Using early MiniBMS battery management sytem.
System Voltage120 Volts
ChargerManzanita Micro PFC-20
(Onboard charger)

Lester "Lesteronic" 40 ampere.
For off-board fast charging, a completely rebuilt 240 volt input Lester charger is used. This charger has custom electronic controls which allows completely variable current output.

Backup on-board charger is a K&W BC-20 with a customized Lestronic 36 volt battery charger used as a boost transformer.
HeaterESPAR gas heater converted to propane.
Air conditioning is supplied by bags of ice cubes distributed in the ventilation system (no joke!).
DC/DC Converter SCT
20 Amp switching converter charges a Werker 12 volt, 100 ampere-hour gel cell auxiliary battery. A second DC-DC converter powering the Link 10 isolates the auxiliary battery from the traction pack.
Instrumentation+200 / 0 / -300 Amp ammeter
Voltmeter, dual-range, 7-13 and 70-130 volts
Motor Temperature Gauge
State of Charge Gauge
Expanded scale tachometer
Cruising Equipment Link 10 w/serial interface
Top Speed60 MPH (96 KPH)
AccelerationUnremarkable
Range30 Miles (48 Kilometers)
(During testing so far) Actual total usable range yet to be determined.
Watt Hours/Mile225 Wh/Mile
As with 'normal' ICE vehicles, this car gets better mileage on the highway than in traffic. Stop-and-go driving cuts into mileage, as does hard acceleration.
EV Miles
Current:23,500 Miles (37,811 Kilometers)
 
    As of 6/10/2020
Seating Capacity2 adults
Curb Weight2,580 Pounds (1,172 Kilograms)
600 pounds lighter now after lithium conversion.
TiresGoodyear Invicta GLR P175/70R13" Ultra-low rolling resistance
Additional FeaturesRegenerative Braking
Rear disc brake conversion
GTI vented front disc brake rotors
Upper and lower front strut stress bars
Control arm pivot brace (subframe)
Front and rear anti-sway bars
Stainless steel/teflon brake lines
All polyurethane suspension bushings
Koni 'Red' shocks and struts
GTI air dam and wheel flares
LED headlights
Rear air deflector
This is a commercial conversion done by South Coast Technologies in 1981. It was originally in fleet service for the city of Portland, Oregon as part of a federally-subsidized pilot program to test the use of EV's in fleet transportation service. The original cost of this vehicle, converted as a zero-miles, brand new car, was $16,650.00.

Got the car back on the road in early 2018 after about 10 years of disuse. Purchased the conversion components of Adrian Deleon's Toyota pickup WebPage . Batteries, BMS, charger, DC-to-DC, etc. Retained the Siemens motor and SCT controller, keeping this car mostly original. Already seeing increased range due to more usable battery capacity and lower overall weight.

Additional resources:

SCT, Lester, E-meter and ESPAR manuals in PDF format: WebPage

Page describing additional features of this car, with photos: WebPage

code by jerry