Moving along good. Thanks for the up date, but you know what would be better? Pics!
Posts: 1,254
Moving along good. Thanks for the up date, but you know what would be better? Pics!
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
Even better than a picture - VIDEO!Originally Posted by Helirich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8LeZlg6Tb8
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
Things are going great on the conversion!
As I had the main motor mounts complete on the last update, I've now added a 3rd mount to ensure that torque from accelerating/braking doesn't twist the motor. All 3 were then removed, cleaned, and painted. I've sent off the cups from the CV shafts to The Driveshaft Shop and they will be fabricating the CV axles. The estimated price I have is around $1800 - as expected it's one of the more expensive components of the build.
The battery modules have the threaded rods inserted and somewhat tightened down - I found that blue loctite wasn't strong enough, so I scrapped it all off and went with red. Had to do that for 40 of them! The threaded rod is 6mm inside of a 7mm hole through the pack, which means there is quite a bit of slop when you tighten them. It means that when I drill the 6mm holes with exact spacing that holds the modules in the right spot, I have to loosen them, put them through the holes, then torque them down. I only have to do this once per module, as they'll hold the position from that point on. This will make more sense with some videos and visual aids in future YouTube content on the topic.
Progress is coming along great on the battery boxes. The design seems to be holding up as I get through construction. At the moment I'm building a frame out of 3/16" steel that will hold 4 battery modules upright then I'll create another that is mirrored. One will go in the back where the motor was and use the original motor mount holes plus some additional attachment points on the frame rails near the rear fascia. Another battery module will be mounted below it. The other box will go up front in the trunk, with an additional module inside the gas tank area.
Once I've got battery boxes I can work on the brakes... Then once I've got brakes I'll work on getting all the electronics mounted... Then first drive. Seems so simple, right? Just 3 more steps!!
Purchases:
- 6mm nuts for battery pack, 8mm and 10mm bolts & nuts for motor mounts (different size than before) and battery mounts - $57 - Bolt Depot
- 1/8" flat bar in 1/2", 1", and 1 1/2" for battery boxes - $150 - Metal Supermarkets
- WIRE! Multi-color packs of every gauge from 20awg to 10awg - $321 - WireBarn
- 25x 2awg lugs for 1/4" (6mm) - $25 - Amazon
- Replacement coolant temperature sensor - $15 - Amazon
New Tools:
- Tap & Die set (the cheap one from Harbor Freight went dull after ONE tapped 6mm hole
- Drill bits in 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, and 10mm
- EEVBlog multimeter
- High voltage protective leather gloves
- Tungsten carbide scribes, Metal markers, layout fluid
- 7"/9" angle grinder, grinder disks
- argon
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
The first battery box frame is pretty much complete! Imagine a cube frame made of 2" wide 3/16" thick steel angle. There is just a little bit of work to grind the welds flat on the cover so that it sits flush, then I'll hit it with some spray paint and start work on the 2nd box this evening. It sucks that it took me 2 weeks to build it, but I'm hoping that the 2nd box will be faster. At some point in the future I will add panels to the frame to close it in and make it water tight.
Since the first box is close enough, I test fitted it in the DeLorean with amazing results.
Purchases:
- 8mm forged eyebolts (for lifting the battery boxes) and more 6mm screws - Bolt Depot - $127
Tools:
- Cleco fastener kit
- Band saw (didn't end up working to cut metal as I had hoped)
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
Battery Box #2 was much quicker! Only took me about a week - roughly 20 hours or so - and it's now got a coat of paint on it. I'll hit it with another later today and then I'll mock up its placement in the car. This will mostly be so that I can get the iBooster in the right spot.
Once I'm happy with the placement I will weld on some tabs so I can mount it securely in place, then remove it and fill the battery boxes with battery modules. I'll do most of the electronics work with the batteries on a moveable cart, rather than mounted in the car. I have to build bus bars and wire up the BMS, high voltage lines to the inverter and DC-DC converter and all of that. There is a significant wiring harness to deal with, and I suspect it'll keep me busy for a month.
Purchases:
- Orange heat-shrink tubing - $14 - Amazon
Tools:
- Ryobi
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
I've got a new video released! This one shows the design and fabrication of the motor mounts.
https://youtu.be/juMBsJDW-0I
Posts: 1,254
Nice! I would have rounded the corners a bit. I know those parts are not for show, but it’s nice not to scratch your arm when you’re working on it later.
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,471
My VIN: 6125
I've been following along for a while now on Youtube. You're doing great and producing some really interesting videos, so keep up the great work.
After watching the last video I was surprised you didn't cut off the engine mount tabs and reweld them after the motor alignment ended up being slightly off. Modifying the holes on the mounts into slots to make the positioning adjustable may not have been an ideal solution. There is a possibility that as soon as the brackets are loaded up with torque from the motor, the position of the mounts will shift in reaction to the load.
It may not be a major issue if you were only correcting the position of the motor along the vertical axis. I'd just double check that the amount of clearance you have to the surrounding frame would still be acceptable if the mounts do shift. I'd also find the the appropriate torque specs for those mounting bolts from the Chevy Bolt manual, and make sure everything is tightened down to spec. You want to be sure you've got enough clamp load, but don't want to overtighten and yield the bolts, unless the spec calls for them to be torque to yield and are single use.
My OCD also noticed the sharp corners on the brackets, but that would just be for esthetics. And I probably would have hit the brackets with some primer first before painting black if I'm going to nitpick.
Again, great work and can't wait to see the next episode.
Last edited by Mark D; 03-22-2022 at 05:17 PM.
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
Thanks Mark!I've been following along for a while now on Youtube. You're doing great and producing some really interesting videos, so keep up the great work.
After watching the last video I was surprised you didn't cut off the engine mount tabs and reweld them after the motor alignment ended up being slightly off. Modifying the holes on the mounts into slots to make the positioning adjustable may not have been an ideal solution. There is a possibility that as soon as the brackets are loaded up with torque from the motor, the position of the mounts will shift in reaction to the load.
It may not be a major issue if you were only correcting the position of the motor along the vertical axis. I'd just double check that the amount of clearance you have to the surrounding frame would still be acceptable if the mounts do shift. I'd also find the the appropriate torque specs for those mounting bolts from the Chevy Bolt manual, and make sure everything is tightened down to spec. You want to be sure you've got enough clamp load, but don't want to overtighten and yield the bolts, unless the spec calls for them to be torque to yield and are single use.
My OCD also noticed the sharp corners on the brackets, but that would just be for esthetics. And I probably would have hit the brackets with some primer first before painting black if I'm going to nitpick.
Again, great work and can't wait to see the next episode.
Now that you mention it, I don't think I explained this very well in the video - but if you take a look at ~17:31 in the video you can see that I elongated the bolt holes, then got them lined up, and then re-welded the holes back to circular, so they won't be shifting.
And yes, all the bolts are torqued to the spec in the shop manual!
My "shoot for the stars" goal here would be that somewhere down the line someone else will want to follow in my footsteps and do the same conversion, and I will go back and have new mounts CNC cut out, welded together, and powder coated. I've already learned a ton in the process, so I know that my 2nd attempt would be much nicer.
Location: Ellensburg, WA
Posts: 190
My VIN: 5510
Lots and lots of things going on this past month!
The wiring harness from the Bolt EV is now splayed out on the shop floor and I have successfully "started" the car this way, without any of the high voltage components. The wiring harness has been stripped, a bunch of items I won't need have been bundled up and removed from the harness, and some of the plugs have been cut out (rear doors, being the big one). The high voltage components are all sitting on my cart and the wiring harness for it has also been stripped and some connectors bundled up.
The interior for the DeLorean is now completely gutted. The seats, center console, binnacle, steering column, pedal box, rear parcel shelf, most of the carpet, and the entire wiring harness has been removed. It's basically a bare shell in there at the moment with only the dash and climate control system (blower, evap core, heater core, etc) remaining. I also pulled the body off the frame and removed the few remaining gas lines, coolant lines, and shifter and stuff. While it's gutted I took the time to scrape off all of the insulation on the parcel shelf and in the little back cubbies - the car smells much nicer now! Also while the seats are out of the car I ordered all new seat tracks. The driver's side was functional, but very rusty. The passenger's side was completely seized. Of course all the carpets are ruined due to the rust.
Mock fitting of the battery packs went... OK. Major hurdle up front is that with the pack in place there is no room for the brake booster in the normal location, however with the iBooster system there is room to tightly fit it against the fiberglass frame rail. However, that means there are significant fitment issues with the stock steering linkage. However, I'm going to replace the steering column with the one from the Bolt EV, so I guess it was going to change anyway! Of course I didn't expect to spend $500+ on u-joints and steering shafts and completely redo everything.
I've got the DeLorean pedal box all cut to bits, I've fabricated all the mounting locations to get the Bolt EV steering column at the right spot - which means I will have a tilting and telescoping steering wheel with power steering and all sorts of integrated buttons. The pedals will be located a couple of inches to the left, which is nice - I absolutely hate the stock pedal locations (particular the gas pedal). I also have to fabricate a new brake pedal assembly bracket/push rod. Essentially I'm gutting everything in the driver's footwell and fabricating everything from scratch. I also have to rotate the brake master cylinder 90 degrees and extend the brake booster out from the firewall (if you can call it that) by a few inches - meaning I have to extend the push rods on both ends of the iBooster.
In the rear, the battery pack fits nicely on it's own, but my original plans had me using the stock Bolt EV high voltage component bracket and leaving them in the same relative spots - this is the inverter, charger, dc-dc converter, and high power distribution module. But they don't fit. I thought the battery pack would sit low enough to have the HV components on top, or far enough back to fit the HV components on the firewall, but neither were true. I need 18" between the pack and the firewall and I've got 12". Instead, I'll be attaching them directly to the firewall and sides of the engine bay instead. It might make running the cooling tubes a little more challenging, and I'll have to end a lot of wiring, and I'll have to fabricate a mount for each component, but overall it's not a huge road block.
Oh, I guess lastly... I want to get the car able to move on it's own in roughly 10 weeks - 4th of July week. Because of that, I'm going to start relying on SendCutSend for parts more than I have previously. They really are very reasonably priced, and since I have a lot of 3d modeling experience it wasn't too difficult to pickup the basics of Fusion 360.
Purchases:
- Nuts and bolts for firewall and mounting steering wheel and pedal assembly - Bolt Depot - $73
- All new seat tracks and stainless release bars and related hardware - DMCH - $313
- Brake Booster brackets, Brake Booster-Master Cylinder 90 degree rotation adapter, Front battery box mount tabs - SendCutSend - $71
- 1/8" steel firewall (footwell?) plate - SendCutSend - $65
- Borgeson Steering U-Joints - Summit Racing - $300
- 4awg studs, 4awg wire (black, for grounds), ground distribution blocks - Amazon - $159
- Copper terminal crimp kit, adhesive lined heatshrink tubing kit - Amazon - $39
- Borgeson steering u-joint and stainless steering shaft support (heim) - Amazon - $196
- Borgeson steering shaft - 3/4" DD, and steering shaft support (firewall) - Amazon - $95
- Weld nuts (M6, M8, M10) and double sided tape - Amazon - $40
Tools
- Plastic razors
- Countersink drill bit set (for metal)
- Argon gas flow meter
- New TIG torch and hoses
- Ratcheting wire crimpers
- Digital soldering station
- Terminal plug removal tool set
- Digital level and angle gauge
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