MightyboyEV project now on the road

[cometboy]

The restoration and motor conversion is now complete and fully road registered once more.... check the final results on www.mightyboyev.com or http://www.evalbum.com/2622

Bruce

[Brayden]

Fantastic to see, Bruce. A lot of hard work but I'm sure the result is very rewarding.

By the way, did you catch the trailer for the latest season of Top Gear Australia? As one of the challenges they build an electric MightyBoy.

[Laura]

That's incredible!
I also saw a split second short for topgear Australia but didnt know if it was a MB. Perhaps EnviroMechanics can exist after all!

[utie]

Well Done Bruce
looks great and an inspiration to many
I was thinking when my motor(petrol) dies I would onsider converting to Electric engine or compressed air engine??

well done
good luck with her.. love the number pltae!!
cheers

[Tez]

Bruce,
That's a fantastic effort and an excellent result.
You must be justifiably proud.
Congratulations on a well executed project.

[JB]

At the risk of sounding like a dick, why turn an MB into an EV?

OK, I understand the value in using a small/light vehicle as a donor, and the tray has obviously been useful in the conversion, but a Mighty Boy is more than likely (one of) the most fuel economical car(s) in the world.

It's a fantastic project, and seems to have been completed to a very high standard, but the Mighty Boy has a tiny carbon footprint, and in all honesty, the money it must have cost to convert it would probably have been enough to put petrol in the car for many many years.

Don't get me wrong, I have a project MB that people would think I was crazy to put money and time into, so I understand an individual has his/her own reasons for undertaking such projects.

Just seems odd that if a person is after an economical car (and I am making an educated guess that that is the main motivation for the conversion, aside from just being an engineering project) the MB is perfect just the way it is!

Alternative thoughts to the popular opinion aside - a fantastic effort, I admire anyone with a vision and determination to follow through with such a task.

[cometboy]

Hi JB

Everything you say is 100% true!

So let me explain why....

I’m at an age that I only do projects that interest me from a technical view point.... (BTW this is project number 19.5). I do just about all the work myself as a pure hobby - I am privileged in that I do not need to meet anyone else’s views or expectations – only my own.

The challenge for me is to get a super light vehicle with very low rolling resistance - I am currently getting just under 88 Watt-hrs/km in normal city driving (a good start). I am also the first in SA to charge from “Off-Peak” power.... So currently drive for about 1 cent per km (but not including amortizing the $1500 worth of batteries over 2 to 3 years).

I also like the FAST off the line performance (can smoke the tyres in 4th if you choose – only use 4th and reverse with no clutch anyway) and look forward to putting in the Li-Ion battery pack in the future when (if) the dollar and world situation improves. This will give great performance, range and top speed (project was designed for 120 volt pack – but can’t justify at today’s costs). The project is great to drive....

And lastly, I have actually never lost money (but not including my labour!) on any project I have completed! Mainly because they are one off and unique...

But you are right....

There is NOTHING about the project that is logical, it makes NO sense... only fun...

Cheers

[Brayden]

By the same token you could ask why anyone would turbocharge a MightyBoy when you could buy any number of cheaper vehicles that are faster, or why you would make a 4x4 MightyBoy when it has no more capability than a standard Sierra.

Because sometimes we do things for the fun, the challenge, or for a laugh.

[Trevor]

I agree with all off you.I have a couple of electric motors just waiting for the time and an auto elecky/fork lift mechanic Brother and some spare mightyboys so if time ever allows then I'm going to have a crack at one

[cometboy]

Here are a couple of YouTube clips a friend took during some road testing yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLXbRwZBEE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNIDFhNc2zI

BTW the wiper blade noise heard in the first clip (wiper blade hitting windscreen rubber) has been fixed - my new wiper control arms needed adjusting (shortening). The speed sensor magnet was damaged when Eric was driving with the handbrake on (drums got a bit hot!) and has now been replaced with a stronger rare earth magnet....

[Brayden]

I hope you get a chance to Q/M the ute at some point. I'm very interested in how it accelerates beyond 60kph.

[Tez]

I hope you get a chance to Q/M the ute at some point

It would be very interesting to see how it performs against a stock 543 (as that was what it was pre EV(?).

Provided the run didn't put all the spectators to sleep

[Brayden]

I reckon it would have to be good for a 14second pass with the juice wound up. With the stock F5A box it would probably run out of legs though.

[cometboy]

A driving comparison....

Point to keep in mind: DC electric motor gives max torque at start – not like an ICE

@72 volts this motor delivers a Continuous rating: 12.1 kw (16.0 hp) and a Peak output: 31.5 kw (42.0 hp)

From memory a F5A 550cc develops a peak of 19.2 kilowatts@ 6000rpm (is this right Brayden?)

BUT if I was running the 120 volt pack my motor specs would be a Continuous rating: 16.3 kw (21.7 hp) and a Peak output: 62.0 kw (83.0 hp)

This is only running a crappy 72 volt pack – not the 120 volt I designed for (can’t afford it).... This seriously buggers the top end performance so anything above 60 km/h is not impressive. Having said that it runs sweet at 85 km/h (just need a tail wind to help get there a bit faster!!) but really nothing left after that. It performs well in normal city traffic and a Mightboy mate at work (has had one for years) test drove it in a slightly hilly area (around Flinders Uni Ring Road) and says it’s better than his 543 ever was and about the same as his 800 converted boy. Also keep in mind these don’t perform real well in hilly areas.

Now as for 0 to 30 km/h performance! Well that’s good! All depends on how much start-up current limit I program into the controller – but running towards the max of the 450 amp spec it can be very good (not sure my current battery pack can actually deliver much over 390 Amps).

When I get some time I will clock some times and let you know. But I’m limiting the current now to stop wheel spin if you hit it hard from stop.

This car would most certainly NOT suit many people – best for big city flat driving and that’s about it. It’s ONLY designed as a little “neighbourhood” machine and nothing else....

So from testing so far I think I will stay with the lower 72 volt system and not go to the designed 120 volt pack when these batteries die in 2 to 3 years and I look for better battery technology.

As mentioned in a previous post my challenge is getting a drivable low Watt-hour/km machine….. And for my second vehicle local use its pretty good as is....

Hope this explains a bit more....

Also anyone in the Adelaide area that would like to test drive it..... Just PM me for a suitable time, I think you would enjoy it. Driving it is much better then talking about it.....

[cometboy]

Also remember ONLY using 4th gear.....

Couple of other things I forgot....

This car as is would not suit 99% of the readers of this forum – NOT a boy racer in anyway... BUT you can run this same Advanced DC motor (but an AC or “Brushlesss” DC motor would be even better) at 144 volts. This when teamed up with a modern Li-Ion high discharge battery pack (10C) would give unbelievably power to weight performance all around. But NOT cheap.

The Australian Electric Vehicle Association http://www.aeva.asn.au/forums/ has a good forum with guys playing around with this stuff.