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1993 Rx7 + Tesla Motor

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    #46
    Longtime since last update but I've been trucking on. I took the advice and cranked up the welders so I've gotten some great looking welds and some crappy looking welds. Getting ready to pop it into the car and mount the suspension and motor to create the other motor mounts.







    I decided this is a subframe so who cares what it looks like. I know if I started to do it then I would go down a rathole, so, if it looks like a 4 year old painted it. Well, a 4 year old did paint it.







    After I mount and confirm the second axle length (just a double check) I'll probably call a couple more machine shops and if there is no luck there I'll just order the custom axles.
    Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
    COTM Aug 2019

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      #47
      Originally posted by rjmcdermott81 View Post
      I decided this is a subframe so who cares what it looks like. I know if I started to do it then I would go down a rathole, so, if it looks like a 4 year old painted it. Well, a 4 year old did paint it.
      Welding next?

      I'll be following to see how the axles turn out!

      Comment


        #48
        Long time since the last update. This thread keeps me motivated but it's been hard to find time to work on thee rx7. This progress is very positive though. I managed to get the motor up and the front motor mount bolted on.








        I put the suspension and axles in to test fit everything. It looks like I have good clearance on the axles (these are just the rx7 axles in there for mockup purposes right now). The fit between the motor and the subframe is really close. I may have too clearance some material if I get contact. Not sure how much wiggle these motor mounts will allow.







        Now that this is all looking good I am going to start working on the rear and side motor mounts.
        Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
        COTM Aug 2019

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          #49
          One step closer to silent burnouts, getting the motor in is a big win!

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            #50
            Axle time! After quite a few "no you can't do that's" from machine shops I stumbled across a 4x4 forum and apparently shortening axles is a regular thing in that world. Dutchman in Utah specializes in this kind of work and it was incredibly painless and cheap.

            Here are the two axles before (Tesla is the beefy long one)


            Shipment back from Dutchman after just a week and a half and $175


            And here are two of the beefy re-splined Tesla axles next to the Rx7 axle
            Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
            COTM Aug 2019

            Comment


              #51
              I stole a page out of teslabimmer's book for the rear and side mount. Shout out to him for leading the way here. I toyed with fabricating it in my garage but with my limited equipment it would have meant tons of grinding. Instead I did it in CAD and had it laser cut from 1/8" steel using SendCutSend. Incredible experience. I sort of want to go back and redo my front mount this way.

              Shoutout to zwill23 for the review and suggested edits.

              Cardboard engineering:






              Parts came in a week. The packaging says a lot about the quality of work these guys do




              Side and rear motor mount mocked up




              Tacked and ready to test fit


              I put extra material on it in case my measurements were off so there was a good bit of test fitting and grinding. Luckily my kids helped by holding it up for me as I measured


              And now we're in. I have the holes for the bolt drilled and I'm doing final welding before welding it to the frame rails
              Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
              COTM Aug 2019

              Comment


                #52
                Dude, this is awesome!
                Simon
                Current Cars:
                -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

                Make R3V Great Again -2020

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                  #53
                  Indeed this is aweesome. Super excited to see a video of it run.
                  '85 Alpine Weiß 2-door with m20b30 ground up build

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                    #54
                    Catch up on some updates.

                    Motor fully supported:


                    Rebuilding the rear calipers:




                    Pillow ball bushing replacement - I managed to press them all out without a bolt and socket but one was super stuck so I welded together some spare tubing and used my floor jack as a makeshift press. It actually worked really well so I'm going to keep this thing around.




                    Carwash...man this is a good looking car


                    Engine pull - finally committing so I can get ready for batteries:






                    Prepping the Tesla motor. In other to control it I'm swapping out the control board with one created by Damien Maguire in Ireland. It's a direct replacement for the OEM board and a really easy swap.






                    I also took pictures of the IGBTs in the inverter to document the state. I know some have had issues with bad used drive units and when they opened them up one or two of the IGBTs were cloudy. Teslabimmer had this issue.












                    Brakes - the axle relocation required me to move the mount points for the brakelines and bend new lines. It was relatively easy.




                    The 90s...

                    Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
                    COTM Aug 2019

                    Comment


                      #55
                      The next big big step is the batteries. I'm glad I've waited because the options continue to evolve and get better. The options available of course also depend on what you want. Here is my current criteria:
                      1. High performance - I want to be able to pull 300+hp out of the motor easily. This requires batteries with high amperage.
                      2. Decent range - 40kwh should get me ~150 miles of range...driving like a normal person. I fully expect when i go out and hammer it that range will be a fraction of that so 40 kwh is really a bare minimum.
                      3. Space/weight - the car is small and not purpose built for batteries. All EV cars put their batteries on the floor but this isn't an option for me so I need to stuff them everywhere I can.

                      Here are the options I've been able to come up with so far:




                      Honestly, the best bang for the buck - quality, power, value are the Tesla modules. They have built in cooling and they will always have great resale value because people are using them for powerwalls, conversion, etc. BUT, there is absolutely no way to fit all 16 Tesla modules in the Rx7 without taking the passenger seat out or something ridiculous like that. You have to use all 16 modules to get to the right voltage if you want the car to be powerful.

                      I think I'm pulling the trigger on the new batteries from ElectricGT. With these batteries I'll get to 42kwh at ~528lbs. Honestly, I don't know that the car is going to gain nearly as much weight as I expected when I use these batteries.

                      My son and I cut boxes to the 6in x 11in x 10 in size of the ElectricGT batteries to see if we could fit 16 modules in the car. We managed to get the majority in the engine bay and then a few in the trans tunnel. I'll need to build a structure to hold the batteries and encase them for safety.




                      Here are all the battery mockups set out:


                      Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
                      COTM Aug 2019

                      Comment


                        #56
                        I love everything about this...
                        -CAD Templates into real CAD Engineering
                        -Creativity to get things done properly
                        -Shared Resources
                        -Child Labor
                        Simon
                        Current Cars:
                        -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

                        Make R3V Great Again -2020

                        Comment


                          #57
                          Originally posted by 2mAn View Post
                          I love everything about this...
                          -CAD Templates into real CAD Engineering
                          -Creativity to get things done properly
                          -Shared Resources
                          -Child Labor
                          Ditto.
                          How to remove, install or convert to pop out windows
                          http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=297611


                          Could be better, could be worse.

                          Comment


                            #58
                            Awesome progress!

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                              #59
                              Updates.
                              1. Batteries are ordered - should be here in 7 weeks or so. I'll have 42.5 kwh which should be enough for some fun.
                              2. I was bothered by the smell of the carpet....because at some point somebody put a ton of fragrance in there. So...you know...to get the carpet out you have to strip the interior. I will also repaint all the panels before putting it back together.


                              3. When I had everything apart I realized that the car has all the provisions for rear seats (seatbelt mounts, etc.). They sold cars in Japan with rear seats for insurance purposes, certainly not anything you'd want to put somebody in but for a kid around the neighborhood I think it's worth it. Found a used seat on ebay and it's on the way.


                              4. Converting steering rack to manual the quick and fast way. I'll see how I like it. There is apparently a more thorough method of doing it by taking the rack apart and removing the seal. I'm doing the quick and dirty method in case I decide I want to go back to power steering later.




                              5. I've ordered all the basic electronics from ZeroEV (contactors, resistors, fuses, etc.) and they should be here this week. This will allow me to get my drive unit up for testing on low voltage (~50 volts).
                              Build Thread: Ryan's Hennarot 318is
                              COTM Aug 2019

                              Comment


                                #60
                                Originally posted by rjmcdermott81 View Post
                                3. When I had everything apart I realized that the car has all the provisions for rear seats (seatbelt mounts, etc.). They sold cars in Japan with rear seats for insurance purposes, certainly not anything you'd want to put somebody in but for a kid around the neighborhood I think it's worth it. Found a used seat on ebay and it's on the way.
                                Best part of the conversion so far!
                                Simon
                                Current Cars:
                                -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

                                Make R3V Great Again -2020

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