Showed the Electric Saturn at it’s first car show today.

Good interest, lots of questions. Won a trophy for weirdest car. Just kidding, everyone got a trophy. Show was for the local emergency rescue, good cause. Some of questions were how fast, answer have got her up to 80 mph; how far? 37 miles is the maximun so far, try to stay under 30 miles. No gasoline ever? No gasoline. How long to charge it? 8 hours with the 110 volt charger and 3 hours with the 220 volt charger.

I displayed a couple of information sheets using info mostly off this web site.
One Called The Beginning and the other Specifications……

The BeginningThe IDEA started the Spring of 2008. I always wondered if there is a better way to get around, then the standard petroleum ICE (internal combustion engine) power. How will we cope with the coming supply/demand problems with oil? Can we continue to buy 60% of our oil from foreign countries and not ruin our economy? Are we financing both sides of the war on terror? I read a lot about Hydrogen, HHO from water and did some experiments with that in the spring and summer.
Then about April 2008 I decided to build an ‘all electric vehicle’ that could be used as an everyday transportation machine. It would have to be comfortable, reliable and fast enough to keep driving for years. It needed to be able to travel 45 30 miles on an overnight charge. Estimated time of Completion being Christmas 2008 (secretly hoping much sooner). Being a mechanic for a living I had an idea this would be a big project.
The first few months I spent gathering information building on the backs of others who have experimented with them for years.
Electric storage beginning in the 1890’s and then in 1905 Thomas A. Edison announced he had perfected his storage battery for electric vehicles.

On the Moon, Lunar Rover Electric Vehicles in 1971 and 1972 operated flawlessly with silver-zinc batteries and a 57 mile range! In the late 1970’s during an oil crisis, interest in electric powered vehicles began a slow comeback by individuals first, and auto manufacturers later to some degree.
With the internet one can learn in a few weeks what it would take a year to understand a generation ago. EVAlbum is a great source along with the forum Do It Yourself Electric Car. On Electric Vehicles of America EVA’s web site (although old, out dated site) I found a great source of information in their EV Primer and EVA Technical Papers. Bob Batson will email them free to you. Buy the book Convert it. The DIY Electric Car Forum has a great EV Wiki site .

www.saturn.lynnautorepair.comSpecifications
1998 Saturn SL1• 144 volt DC Battery pack system with 18 8 volt lead-acid batteries
• Weight: Before conversion 2400 pounds, After conversion 3400 pounds
• 9.1″ Advanced DC Motor FB1-4001A dual shaft
• 5-speed using standard clutch
• Quick Charge Charger Programmable, 110 volt AC and 220 volt AC
• 1231C-8601 Curtis Controller
• PB-6 Curtis Potbox
• 2 Albright Contactor SW-200 (12V coil)
• 2/0 Copper Cable for battery pack
• 50 mV Shunt – 400A
• Vacuum Pump (12V)
• SquareD Vacuum Switch
• Pair Anderson connectors SBX-350 (Red)
• First Inertia Switch – Auto Shutoff (12V Sys)
• Astrodyne DC-DC converter w/relay SB-50 (used to run low 12 volt system)
• Liquid heater system, using original heater core
• Gauges: Speedometer, Tachometer, Ampmeter & High Voltmeter
Companies I purchased parts and tools from: www.ev-america.com www.electroauto.com www.kta-ev.com www.electricvehiclesusa.com www.evparts.com Union Auto Parts, Lowes