Morris Minor Owners Club

ooh chop the roof off and make it a convertible

someone please stop me

bmcecosse wrote:Solar panels are thought to NEVER reclaim the energy that goes into making them in the first place !

I believe that's an urban myth. See http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07 ... geek_2.php

I agree though that adding a solar panel to an electric Minor is unlikely to make much difference to the range.

Very heavy but a bargain as around 10 x that new.

Well, as Wibble Puppy noted weight could be an issue... But that's a bit of a bargain, so it might be worth it!

adding a solar panel to an electric Minor is unlikely to make much difference to the range.

I understand that... I agree that it's probably an urban myth, though. Especially with the new breeds of high-efficiency PV cells being developed at the moment. Having said I've just read a magazine article on a man getting 50 miles out of solar panels alone. It's not online at the moment but will be soon; I'll post the link when it's up. They would really be there just for what tiny extra charge they could provide, playing a definite second fiddle to home charging...

ooh chop the roof off and make it a convertible

You laugh, but it's a good idea! I had considered it. Although would the extra strengthening needed outweigh the roof removed? Or at least equal it? Has anyone actually ever bothered to find out?

Electric pick-up or van would be neat

Or Landy!

I like that last idea! Hmm, electric Landy... Even a Series Two would need a fair few batteries to shift at any pace, though...

Removing the roof would make the car less aero-dynamic thus possibly offsetting some or all of the benefit of weight loss.
also a fan would not generate "free" juice-again it would add to the wind resistance losses.
Re-gen braking IS the way to go. If you could recover half the KE the car has when in motion when you stop at lights or whatever, then you only have to put half back in to get going again.
Nice idea, hope it comes to fruition. Neil

A 'fan' could be used to recharge the batteries when parked! Would need to be a fold up tower with genny on top. I expect the neds would soon deal with it though!

Might also be a good aerial! Seriously though, you have to consider whether the extra charging capacity of solar panels and small turbines would be worth the extra weight.
You could perhaps look into whether solar panels could be integrated into a sun roof. That would not spoil the minors curves.

I see a perpetual motion solution here.

A car with wind turbine on top is driven down the road. The turbine turns generating electricity to charge the battery to power the motor that drives the wheels.

Signed Mr Heath Robinson

Flintstones solution I reckon - save having to replace rusty floor panels

Actually a turbine wouldn't be much use at a size you could lug around, wouldnt weight much but the poles & rigging to get it to a useable height might be a pain.
Better off with the roof covered in solar panels - may not have a massive input but it all helps - must admit if i was doing one would be tempted to carry one of those little 2t gennies for emergencies although that would somewhat defeat the object of the exercise and probably take forever to get enough charge to get you moving again.

Roof chop. Save weight, plus more aerodynamic

wibble_puppy wrote: plus more aerodynamic

????????????????? I don't know, but seems unlikely

I'll second that doubt!
The results of the poll are coming put strongly in favour here!

I voted no. Its just not practical from a home engineers point of view.

You'll end up with a car that's unbearably slow and heavy imo.

Yes, I'm sure battery technology has improved but, the latest technology is going to be cost prohibitive. You'd also need to strengthen the car and build a cage/box for the batteries at the cost of valuable space.

Interesting excercise but I recon it'll cost you a fortune and be too slow to be useful. (Unless you're just using it as a 'city car')

bigginger wrote:

wibble_puppy wrote: plus more aerodynamic

????????????????? I don't know, but seems unlikely

but why? lower roof = less resistance?

I voted yes. Try anything once. Successful or not, we all stand to learn something.

The major problem is that the minor is a heavy car for what it is by today's standards. You might get a workable car but with performance not much better than a milk float, not because the batteries etc are no good but because you are lugging so much weight around with you.

You could consider replacing things like wings etc with fibreglass, using lightweight seats etc. The wheels are heavy too, alloys would be lighter.

In fact you could lose the rear axle and propshaft, and have a small traction motor powering each rear wheel. That way you lose the not inconsiderable weight of the rear axle, diff, halfshafts & propshaft. Plus with electric drive you would not need a gearbox. If you were really brave you could have a traction motor for each wheel-the world's first 4WD Minor?

It might be an idea to start off by aiming to produce a basic electric vehicle that is recharged from the mains, then add in the solar panels etc later.

It's all beyond my budget and I don't have anything like the required workshop facilities, but anyone who is brave enough to have a go gets my respect.

Neil

wibble_puppy wrote:

bigginger wrote:

wibble_puppy wrote: plus more aerodynamic

????????????????? I don't know, but seems unlikely

but why? lower roof = less resistance?

No lower roof though, is there, just a choice betwwen a large space cluttered by seat backs and so on, or the hood, doing its best to be pulled off by the air and using the car's energy in the process.

What about converting a Minor to run on a more eco-friendly fuel, such as ethanol, bio-oil, etc? Has anyone done that? I'd love to be able to run a car on chip fat!

I've often thought of an electric minor, but my method would be this:

One small diesel engine running at low revs turning an alternator. This charges a small capacity battery but also the drive motor. The battery is included to provide extra 'umph' that is required to start the car.

Advantage: Using a small diesel you can keep engine revs more or less constant therefore using the engine in its most effeicent form, and it can be run on bio-diesel.

I think this would be the most affordable way forward for you, although I'll be the first to cheer if you succeed on your chosen path.

Andy G

Thank you!
I'm going to answer all these posts imminently, but at the moment I can't access the forum except on my phone, which is hideously impractical for long posts, and especially quotes. Watch this space!

Right, it's working now.

You might get a workable car but with performance not much better than a milk float, not because the batteries etc are no good but because you are lugging so much weight around with you.

That's true... I'm planning to strip out lots. Wheels will be replaced, seats if necessary, definitely the wings and boot/ anything else than can be fibreglass, half shafts, rear axle, 'box, block (of course) plus ancillaries (think of all the weight in the dynamo alone...) headlining with a lighter style if possible, as many little things as I can find and either replace or get rid of.

If you were really brave you could have a traction motor for each wheel-the world's first 4WD Minor?

That I would love. And if I'm going for it, why not?.. It'll add a bit of speed over a single motor, though you have to look at the weight!

It might be an idea to start off by aiming to produce a basic electric vehicle that is recharged from the mains, then add in the solar panels etc later.

Quite possibly. My idea is that mains charging is the primary method anyway, with other things as a range-augmenter- or, if they add too much weight, without the other things!

anyone who is brave enough to have a go gets my respect.

Thanks...

You'll end up with a car that's unbearably slow and heavy imo.

Quite possibly. I'll just have to do everything I can to avoid it! Yes, cost is an issue, but necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention... There's usually a cheaper way to do something. If not, I just go without food and clothing for a few weeks... Months.. Years... (Or save up like anyone else)

You'd also need to strengthen the car and build a cage/box for the batteries at the cost of valuable space.

Valuable space that would otherwise be used for what precisely? I might remind you that I'll be left with a completely empty engine bay due to a lack of mechanical parts... A simple framework bolted inside the bay should suffice. I see no problem there, I must admit. It could even double partially as a strengthener. Other strengtheners might possibly be an issue, but then there's always something! I'll deal with it.

(Unless you're just using it as a 'city car')

Most of the speed limits round here are 25, and I never plan to travel more than thirty miles anyway, meaning I can sacrifice speed for range!
The other thing is this. If it all goes horribly wrong (and it might; I admit it might. I have no prior experience in making electric cars.) I can replace the entire thing with the original parts, which I'll save! If my electric Moggy lets me down, back it goes to a mechanical Moggy, and I'll put together a light aluminium spaceframe with a fibreglass forties-style body (Figoni and Falaschi-esque) and stick all the electric stuff in that, thereby fulfilling my longterm desire to build a retro two-seat coupe and an electric car in one fell swoop, and saving my Morris from 2mph ignominy.
No, I'm not being at all ambitious!