Electric Porsche update

Rather than revive the other electric Porsche thread, which had gone way off track, I'm starting a new one for this update:



The last news was that a local guy I trust was going to install a new motor fan (the old one had been destroyed, probably the first time the original builder ran the motor) and a new controller (the builder had used a 500-amp controller instead of the promised 1,000-amp motor due to issues with the intended brand). I had to wait for the new controller to arrive, and then for the local guy to have shop space available. The car is now in his shop and he has checked it out carefully, with the help and consultation of all the local EV guys.

The conclusion: ( )

1. The battery boxes are too flimsy and were already starting to distort, allowing the batteries to slip with respect to each other.

2. The batteries had been connected with bars, rather than cables, so the above-mentioned slippage is putting serious stress on the batteries.

3. Battery terminals are too close to grounded frame parts, presenting a serious threat of arcing, which could destroy the entire car.

4. Everything is packed in in such a way that it's impossible to work on anything without removing everything.

However, he is optimistic that he can fix it.

BUT

He will have to dis-assemble everything, re-design the whole project, and then put it all back together. He estimates it will take a year (he has a real job, other EV projects, and a family) and cost a LOT of money.

He thinks it will be a great car when it's done.

I deeply regret ever having bought the car, but I have given him the okay to go ahead with the project.

I should have bought the Tesla Roadster instead, but there was a long waiting period at the time, and the Porsche was supposed to have been done long before I could have gotten my hands on a Roadster. -- Or I should have just been satisfied with my Zap Xebra.

I'd happily sell the Porsche now, as-is, for 75% of what I have put into it, but there's no way anybody would pay more than half, if even that. Anybody out there want an unfinished electric Porsche project? I guess not.

 

The gas engine is still in Florida, trying to be sold. There are people locally who would like to restore the car to what it was, but I would lose the money I spent on EV components including batteries and labor, and they would not even pay me what I originally paid for the car, since it would take them a lot of work and some parts to restore it.

I'd donate it to the EV club before I'd sell it at a 90% loss to people who'd make a stinker of it again.

I once read that if you wanted to find out what it's like to own a sailboat, you are advised to stand in the shower with all your clothes on, tun the water on full cold, and tear up hundred dollar bills.

At least the Porsche has not gotten me wet.

(Belize is another matter. In Belize it's fun to get wet.)

Someone should write an iPhone app called "Daniel's Porsche" in which you pay people to destroy a mint-condition Porsche.

 

I'm sure there's no way I could get a tax credit for buying a Roadster (other than the minimal one for buying any new EV). I rejected the Roadster because it's uncomfortable to sit in, noisy, and has almost no cargo space.

The president of the EV club is rebuilding it. He thinks it will take him a little less than a year to do it, though he also describes himself as a "chrono-optimist." It will be a very expensive job.

 

With the money I'd get for the glider at this point I could probably buy a fifteen-year-old Geo Metro.

Building an EV on a kit car Porsche look-alike would be no easier than what I am doing: having the Porsche re-built.

In fact, I once considered using a kit car instead of a real Porsche. I rejected the idea because of Porsche quality; a kit car is of unknown quality, and no way as well built as any of the better car makers. Remember, a kit Porsche is not a Porsche. It just looks like one on the outside.

In a year, when this car is done, it will be a fine and beautiful car. It just is going to be a couple of years later than promised, and significantly more expensive.