I Broke my Kit Car

[thunderhead]

The Quantum is dead.  I thought it was the head gasket, but changing the gasket hasn't fixed it.  Which means the Samurai is going through MoT and the Quantum is looking for an alternative engine.

I think I'm decided the alternative engine should be a Lynch electric motor, probably a pair of the 200 series on a single shaft (what they used to call a 2x2).  That'll give me 48kW peak (62hp) which will not give as good performance as the petrol did, but will be adequate.

Electricity will be stored in 10 100Ah Sonnenschein lead-acid AGM batteries, arranged as 2 banks of 5 each, to give 60v for each motor.  I'll homebrew the controller and the charger, and the DC-DC convertor.

So I believe I need to do the following order of work:-

1. remove and split engine and gearbox (as Haynes Book of Lies)
   
2. remove exhaust; fuel tank and pipes; and radiator
   
3. fit new motors to the gearbox in place of the clutch
   
4. re-fit gearbox and fit tie rod between top of gearbox and RHS engine mount
   
5. fit 12v vacuum servo pump
   
6. construct a box to contain 5 batteries, 2 contactors and 2 controllers; fit to engine compartment; and wire to batteries and accelerator cable
   
7. design and construct a charger to dump 1500W into 5 batteries
   
8. design and construct a motor controller to dump 400A into a motor
   
9. fit and test
   
   
   

That should get me back on the road, and enable me to get an MoT (which expires in November); get the VRD changed to "fuel:electric"; hand in the tax disc and get a free one and a refund; and do some road tests.

It should also get me the following ranges, according to my measurements and the manufacturer's figures for the batteries:-

30. mph = 3.2kW = 54A = 78 mins = 39 miles
    
    
40. mph = 5kW = 84A = 46 mins =  31 miles
    
    
60. mph = 11kW = 184A = 10 mins? = 10 miles?
    
    
70. mph = 16kW = 267A = 5 mins? =  6 miles?
    
    
    

...which is enough for testing, but not enough to get me to work.

Then:-

9. construct 2nd charger and rear battery box, and wire 2nd battery bank to contactors/controllers
   
10. build a DC/DC convertor to turn 60v into 12v.
    
11. build a heater array using 50 8.2Ω 20W resistors, arranged as ten strings of five, with five drawn off each motor.
    
    
    

That should get me the following ranges, according to my measurements and the manufacturer's figures for the batteries:-

30. mph = 3.2kW = 27A = 193 mins = 97 miles
    
    
40. mph = 5kW = 42A = 100 mins = 66 miles
    
    
60. mph = 11kW = 92A = 38 mins = 38 miles
    
    
70. mph = 16kW = 133A = 20 mins? = 23 miles?
    
    
    

It's going to be a long job.

[nvmike]

Are the Lynch Electic motors available in the United States and if so where and how much?  Thanks

[thunderhead]

I'm sure they'll ship them if they're asked.  The motor I'm using is actually two motors, and they're 11kg (25lbs) each.  So shipping them isn't going to be impossible - or impossibly expensive.

The MT5115 motor from evparts.com is the same motor - an LEM-200-127.  I can buy them here in the UK for £900 each - so I'm paying about the same in £ for two that you are paying in $ for one.  Add on shipping, and that's probably about right.

What Lynch are willing to do for me is provide a shaft to fit two motors and the splines on the end of the gearbox input shaft.  That will make life easier, as although my engineering can probably manage a sheet of aluminium with holes for the bellhousing and the motor mounts, machining splines is beyond me.

They've been very helpful so far.  My next job is to get the gearbox out and either take an impression of the input shaft - or just take it up to Devon.