From modern eyes, it’s hard not to assume that the MG-owning lady there is sitting, barefoot, in front of her fun little car because the damn thing won’t start. Probably a Lucas Electrics switch that melted itself into a plastic-and-aluminum pendant, or something. But there she is, stuck in what looks to be a giant sandbox. Sorry, lady. Hope you can get that thing started. I threaten to convert it to an electric drivetrain sometimes and it behaves for a while. What it really needs is a rotary engine from Mazda! If this picture is from the early 70s, then that means the Mazda Luce R130 had been on the market. Which means a 110 horsepower rotary swap was possible into the little 1300 lb midget, and it might even lose some weight considering the heavy cast-iron lump that the rotary would replace. As Mazda’s catch phrase was at one point, “Zoom-Zoom”. ( Stat from my 1969 issue of Road & Track) I’m going to start feeling insulted. “Hey! you’re that midget girl!” She got real tired of that fast. Shes wearing a Canadian Tuxedo… and shes barefoot. ALRIGHT.. DID SOMEONE HAVE REALLY CRAZY LOUD SEX WITH WOMAN? I mostly wanna know… did THAT PERSON MUTTER Jeep info as they… finished? I’ve also custom-built an electric velocar, that is light enough to be operated purely by pedaling it. With the electric motor turned off, it can hit 35 mph on flat ground with me pedaling my ass off, and holding 22 mph or so on the flat is easy. If I turn the motor on, it’s a “car” that can reach 50 mph, peel out, do donuts in parking lots, and my pedaling can add thrust at all operating points. It gets 90-130 miles per kWh, and has a 1.5 kWh pack. I also have a switch to limit the electric assist to 750W/28 mph in jurisdictions that have codified ebikes into law. In some jurisdictions, it is legal tom operate unrestricted, unlicensed, unregistered, uninsured, because legally it is a “bicycle”. It weighs only 90 lbs. I’m working on a version that can top 100+ mph, but will still be very pedalable with the motor shut off. The GT6 has a Prestolite MTC4001 series-wound DC motor, Soliton 1 controller, a 208V 100AH battery pack of CALB CA100FI, and a Brusa NLG battery charger. I do not know when it will be finished. My job has been overworking me and I haven’t had time to work on it. The GT6 needs another 100-150 hours of work and about $2,000 in parts. I have a windshield sitting waiting to be installed, need to fix the lights/signals, and install the digital gauges I bought for it. There’s a bunch of odds and ends that need work, and I plan to put a LeMans bonnet from Jigsaw racing on it. Expected performance is 0-60 mph in under 6 seconds, a top speed of over 140 mph, and a range approaching 200 miles on the highway once I get the aeromods installed and perfected. When it was first tested on some golf cart batteries ready for the recycle yard, it was slooooooow, but with the LiFePO4 in it, it now peels out in top gear at a stop and wants to go sideways. Needs a limited slip differential. The microcar was custom designed and built by me. Without the drag optimized, it gets the equivalent of close to 4,000 mpg in terms of energy usage at 30 mph cruising speeds when using the motor with some light pedaling. There is potential to cut aerodynamic drag to about 1/6 of current levels. Currently, it is set up for 2,500W peak, and is using ebike wheels/tires and cable pull disc brakes. It’s a very fun deathtrap and can carry a week’s worth of groceries plus my tools in the trunk. I’m going to upgrade to cotter pin axles, install a roll cage made with a friend’s tubing bender, 16″ light-duty motorcycle wheels on all three wheels, 16×2.25″ solar car tires(low enough rolling resistance to still be pedalled with the motor off to a decent speed and still rated to handle highway speeds), a Schlumpf drive upfront to multiply my gearing range by 2.5x, hydraulic disc brakes, a more dense battery pack made of Panasonic 21700 batteries from a Tesla Model 3, a ASI BAC4000 FOC ebike controller, a 3T wind Leafbike motor, and other changes. The idea being, to build a “car” that in some jurisdictions is legally a bicycle, because it can be pedalled like one with the motor shut off. If I get the aero right, I’ll be able to sprint to 45 mph or so on flat ground with the motor disabled, but turn the motor on, and it’s a sports car. By going with a throttle-less design using a torque sensor, it skirts the law in some places. Wherever legality is an issue, I have a switch to limit it to 750W/28 mph. But eventually, when unrestricted, I plan to have about 10 kW peak from the motor, with 0-60 acceleration around 7 seconds and a top speed in the triple digits when the motor is in use, with wide enough gearing for my pedaling to not only get me up a mountain with the motor disabled at walking speed at a pedaling cadence that won’t hurt my knees, but also for my pedaling to be able to add thrust to the rear wheel when using the motor to careen down the pavement at 100+ mph. Just found out that Jason and David filed the old cesspool. Glad to see them here! A quick google search let me know that the party moved! So happy for you guys. Time to check out Optima batteries! Cheers, Jeff C-C
