I’ve been interested in electric vehicles for quite some time, both personally and professionally. Working in the tech industry, I was meeting Tesla devotees from their early days. Researching the future of energy for CMS back in 2016 really cemented for me that our energy future was purely electric. And then the foresight project I undertook with Auto Trader on the future car in 2019 led me to a lot of the work that was going on to convert existing petrol-engined vehicles to electric, with open source components.
My personal interest in cars goes back way beyond that. I’m not particularly into speed or racing. But cars are such a big machine that they were always going to fascinate a geek like me. This fascination has been passed to my daughters and particularly my eldest (who hasn’t decided yet if she wants me to name her here). Watching Car Masters: Rust to Riches, and then the tours of the Petersen Museum in California together, she developed a real passion for retro cars. And so, our first DIY EV project was born. Could we together take an existing vehicle, convert it to electric, and give it some of that retro style?
After I posted about my MOT woes on the Open Inverter forum, the ever-helpful Damien Maguire chipped in. It seems my occasional loss of torque may be related to a temperature issue with the Prius Gen 3 inverter. Damien, who runs this setup in his E39, has found that this inverter needs serious coolant flow to keep it cool. Without this, the remaining Toyota brain … Continue reading Keeping the EV cool
I went into the first MOT test with genuinely zero expectation that we would pass. I needed a to-do list but there were some things I thought would rule out a pass first time. So when we failed so narrowly, I was elated. Going into the retest I was much more nervous. It felt like there was a real chance we would pass. I was … Continue reading Fail, but in a bad way
Got a phone call from one of the producers I’ve long worked with at the BBC yesterday (I’ve been doing various bits of radio and telly for the last 15 years over in my made-up day job). Would I come on Stephen Nolan’s late night show on BBC Radio 5Live and talk about my project? It was past my bedtime, but I thought sure, why … Continue reading DIYEV on the BBC
So, as predicted, the car failed its MOT. But not on what I was expecting. Or rather, the stuff I was most worried about (the conversion, my welding) absolutely sailed through. In fact, Jimmy the mechanic called the conversion “impressive”. The smile hasn’t left my face since. Big issues: Tracking is massively out (not surprising since I don’t have the tools for alignment) and you … Continue reading Fail! But in a good way
So, the time has come when I must let a professional examine my work and tell me what a mess I’ve made of it. I know this professional. His name is Jimmy, and I have been taking our cars to him for about the last 9 years. He is as honest and forthright as any mechanic I’ve met. But also prone to taking the piss … Continue reading MOT Time
Yesterday, I drove the DIY EV project for the first time. Only off the drive and back on again, but it moves. And it does so comfortably and relatively quietly. It was a huge moment. Yes, I will do a video soon. I’ve bun running through a huge checklist of things to get the car ready for MOT. It is now insured (more on this … Continue reading Movement
I have a charge point. I have a charger. I have a battery. You would think I could hook these three things up and charge my battery from the charge port, via my charger. Not so fast. Charging an EV requires a little more than that because there is signalling that goes alongside the AC between the charge point and the car. And my charger … Continue reading DIY EV Charging: a guide for an idiot (me)
It works. It bloody works. After a frustrating few days with it sort of working, and some minor mishaps (I shorted something on an unshielded 12v connection – but everything seems to have survived). A firmware downgrade (5.05 to 4.96 if you’re interested) has fixed everything. The wheels spin like a dervish now and the motor makes an absolutely wicked noise. My homebrew coupler seems … Continue reading BUZZING!
Progress has continued apace since my last update. Mostly on the wiring and plumbing, including for the vacuum pump and power steering. 12V Wiring Somewhere in my workshop are two fuse boxes. Where they are, I have no idea. So I’ve ordered yet another one. The way I sell it to myself is that I’m just stocking up on parts for the next project… I … Continue reading Wiring up
You know how it is with big projects: life gets in the way. So I won’t bore you with the details. But, things are flying again on the Z300 EV project. In bullets first just give me an agenda for my own post: All the welding on the rear quarters is done All the remaining mounts and brackets are finished The motor cooling loop is … Continue reading Monster update
