EV Mk1 new member!

A place for new (and old) members to introduce themselves.
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bwjunkie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:04 pm
Location: Denver, CO

EV Mk1 new member!

Post by bwjunkie »

Hi Everyone, I'm glad to find this site.

I recently purchased a 1965 Mk1 that was on eebay some of you may have seen it. It was previously converted to Mustang Trans/Drivetrain with V8 302 , but I removed the v8 motor and have been converting it to electric!

Here is a couple pics and I have a blog if anyone wants to see the progress. I realize this car is far from being a purist Cortina lovers car, but it is what I have, and I'm happy with it.

I look forward to learning more about Cortinas from this forum.

Josh (Denver, CO)

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peteleo
Posts: 1332
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:57 am
Location: San Mateo,California

Post by peteleo »

Welcome to the forum. Car looks in descent shape.

A guy in Palo Alto, Ca converted a Cortina MK1 to an EV years ago i don't remember his name off hand maybe someone on this forum may know him.
Driven by lead acid batteries with a long range of 20 miles.

Pete
Brett Wilkie
Posts: 1825
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:42 pm
Location: Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Post by Brett Wilkie »

I do recall the vehicle, never thought of converting one of these to electric but who knows, it might work well??
Here is the original ad. I hope that you got it for a reasonable price?
http://www.enfostuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2238
Anglia 100e modified
Prefect 100e stock
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bwjunkie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:04 pm
Location: Denver, CO

hi

Post by bwjunkie »

Hi guys. Yes I feel I got an okay (not great) price for it at 9k, and got some $$ back selling the 302 boss motor. It was a track day car really, not setup at all for a daily driver. The T5 borg warner transmission seems to be in nice shape, and brake/steering systems seem to be smooth and functional. I'm aware of the various body issues this car has had in the past and have spoken to the previous CA owner before it changed hands through 2 dealers and an auction.

For EV: it has 60 mile range with Lithium (LiFePO4) batteries and a 9 inch DC motor (Netgain Warp9) which can produce 200+ ft-lbs torque but my design is for mellow daily driving and decent range, and I won't be exceeding 350amp (120v),

For Cortina!
I am supremely happy with this model of car. After I decided to ditch my previous EV chassis ('85 VW Cabriolet) I really wanted to own my first American car, but I wanted a '60s vintage and most stuff in the states was boat size, muscle or sports car, none which I fancied, finally learned about the existence of the British Ford, hehe, perfect!

I've tried not to modify the body, other than drilling a few 5/16 holes here and there. But I have to block up the old gas tank hole which is already all chewed up as someone previously installed a race tank in there. I'm not putting batteries that far back. The 12v system is working nicely (wipers blinkers running lights) but I'll need to install a defroster system of some sort. Denver has lots of sun, but those bad days are BAD.

The 8" wide 13" wheels are far too wide for my needs, they will reduce range a little due to rolling resistance, so eventually I'd like to get back to 5 or 6" so I can run a 155 or 165 tire.

Also I'm not really an Orange lover, this car will be a daily driver, so I hope to paint it some soft of blue based color scheme. Still undecided on keeping the trim. Any ideas? Also I'd like to chrome the currently white bumpers.

Thanks for the welcome and any and all comments!
Josh M
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bwjunkie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:04 pm
Location: Denver, CO

palo alto cortina

Post by bwjunkie »

that would be really cool to see the Palo Alto EV cortina. I hope he surfaces.
josh
zephyrgary
Posts: 1237
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:55 pm
Location: cave creek,az

Post by zephyrgary »

If that car could talk...
I am a firm believer that if you own, you can do what you like to it. Well done and keep us up to date on progress.
Gary
the older i get,the faster i went...
joeyramone30
Posts: 72
Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:23 pm
Location: Denton TX

Post by joeyramone30 »

Josh,

If it is not too much to ask, how much do you think you will spend on the conversion. I have thought about doing this to my Mk1, but my quick math put the cost twice as high as dropping in a V8. If I did this for a commuter I would need a minimum 60 mile range. Thanks in advance.
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bwjunkie
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:04 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Post by bwjunkie »

Hi Joey, sorry for the late answer, I'm not setup to get emails on thread replies.

The conversion is done (or 95% done anyway) and it cost around $12k for the EV specific parts not counting the Cortina chassis. this cost is before Tax credits which differ from state to state. I should receive about 6k in tax credits. (we shall see!)

It greatly depends of course on how much of the fabrication work you are doing yourself. Building battery boxes and mounting systems for the new motor and batteries takes lots of time and some materials and tools. If you pay a shop to do the conversion your price will probably double.

My system is a bare-bones, meaning I don't have Air Conditioning, no brake booster (so then no electric vacuum pump needed), currently I don't even have a small electric defroster, which will need to change for winter, and currently I don't even have a system to keep my 12v charged (called a DC-DC converter). These aren't huge expenses but they add lots of time to the job.

josh
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