Hey!
Check it out! I seem to keep coming accoss these projects that are too good to pass up. Some of you might remember the 1954 Cadilac that my friend gave me a few months ago. Well, my dad just aquired this little thing for me.
I used to work for a company out of England that was going to be manufacturing these electric cars here in Phoenix. They lost a major invester after 9/11 and shut down before we got into production. Anyway, a local company bought the prototype vehicles and when they weren't able to use them due to parts availablilty, they shut them down and donated them. My dad aquired 2, one 4 seater 'taxi' style, and this little gem. It cost me a total of $60 in title fees.
The car doesn't run right now, as the battteries are shot. My brother works for the company that used to maintain the prototypes, and knows his way in and out of electric vehicles. He is pretty confident that we can put a GEM electric neighborhood vehicle drive system in it and make it a reliable car again. And parts are readily available for GEM's.
It has power windows, leather interior, and AC. I don't know if we will be able to retain the AC with the new drive system, but it looks like we may be able to.
The cool thing is that since this was a prototype, they didn't have all parts manufactured yet, so they pieced things together... you may notice the VW projector headlights, and it has adjustable coilover suspension!
Currently it has 1 hub mounted motor on each wheel (AWD) but I think we will convert it to front wheel drive or rear wheel drive. The body is fiberglass (and is done really, really well) so I don't think it would handle a gas motor too well, unless i built some sort of subframe.
This thing handles like a mini-cooper!
Here is a paintjob I had concidered doing:
And here is my dad's car:
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/batman/personal_pic.gif">
Oh I forgot to mention. This is the only one of these in America, the company that designed them shut down the project. But they had 2 test vehicles over in England. One of which they had up to 85 mph on thier test track. They are electronicly governed down to 25 mph to meet NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle) guidlines.
But as I said, my brother knows his way in and out of these. He has all the tuning software, etc.
I will probably have him turn it up to 45 or so. I don't need to go anyfaster than that.
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/batman/personal_pic.gif">
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, that is awesome
good luck with it, just dont get in a crash, i would be like a can of dead batman
damn how much does that thing weight?
looks like a nice go-kart engine would put it into the 12's
2006 Cobalt SS 2.4L 9.6 @74mph 1/8th mile w/2.28 60ft
WOW now THAT is a compact car.. Have fun with it
def. different but why would some buy one let alone make a thing like that. well its only my opinion and good find and good luck.
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/jay32m/personal_pic.jpg">
looks ugly as anything, but still has a very high "cool factor". very nice!
"Custom cars, custom problems."-me
OMG no wonder they stopped building them.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
The idea is really good actually. These aren't street cars. It is a 'fancy golf cart " with air conditioning.
They are classified and insured as a golf cart. They just look more like a car. They are intended for comunities where everything is close by, school, shopping, etc.
They are only legal on 35 mph or less roads. So, my wife can take it to the grocery store, or drop the kids off at school with it, and it cost just pennies to run (after the cost of batteries) but there are tax incentives and credits that can be achieved by owning one.
It should be fun just for getting around the neighborhood. It isn't a 'replacement' vehicle, but rather a motorized bike...
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/batman/personal_pic.gif">
and you want to see ugly?
Take a look at the truck vehicle:
I thought this was a bad idea from the begining... But I guess the chassis has a pretty good payload. I just don't know why they used Ford Focus lights on the front end?!?
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/batman/personal_pic.gif">
lol haha... i actually like that its pretty cool! do you golf at all? i wonder if theyd let you take that thing on the course...
Check out my build thread!
Quote:
It isn't a 'replacement' vehicle, but rather a motorized bike
hahahaha that was so funny, even though i dont know if you meant it to be
There all over my community. Well not thos specific ones obviously.
i like it , its a cool toy
lol
we get alot of that cool stuff here in az , i saw the new body silverado's here before they were even out , a holden manaro showed up 1 night at the pavillions , only bad thing is the guy driving it wouldnt let anyone look inside , but under the hood and under the car he didnt care about
i also see 3 nissan vehicles similar lookin to those , with mfg plates on them , they are kinda cool , and im still suprised they dont have any kinda masks on them to hide how they look , lol
youll have to bring it out to the pavillions 1 night after it is running , LOL
heh i can see why only 3 exist
hahahahahah
jk cool toy.
-Borsty
lol its like that mentos commerical. if you need to get into a tight spot, get 3 guys to pick it up and drop it in for you
^HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA
-Borsty
[quote=ßãggéÐÇåv98 (Ûñqùðtäߣè Øñé)]lol its like that mentos commerical. if you need to get into a tight spot, get 3 guys to pick it up and drop it in for you
i bet thats possible lol
It is pretty heavy for its size because of all the batteries. But when I went to go pick it up, we pushed it onto the flatbed trailer, and it was centered off to one side. I started backing it up to try again, and then the guy that helped us load it said "Just push it over"
So we all (Me, My Dad, and him) got on one side and pushed it to the middle of the trailer!
<img src="http://www.j-body.org/registry/batman/personal_pic.gif">
LMAO!!! That's AWESOME!!!! Kinda looks like the bastard child of a Daihatsu and the GM EV1. I like it.
Currently #4 in Ecotec Forced Induction horsepower ratings. 505.8 WHP 414WTQ!!!
Currently 3rd quickest Ecotec on the .org - 10.949 @ 131.50 MPH!!!
250cc 2-stroke dirt bike motor with the 6 speed clutch. Screamer.
whats it called?
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