Steps forward

Registration:
The inspection as an ICE went well, and the car is registered and on the road since September 12th.

Design:
My wiring diagram is in progress, it will be periodically updated here.
This is a snapshot as of today:

Parts:
The motor has arrived at REV Consultants, where it will stay until the conversion.
The adapter, contactor and inertia switch have arrived.
The controller is late -- production delays at Logisystems.
The fuse and precharge resistor will be shipped with the controller.
To be ordered:
- Breaker (Hienamann)
- Chargers (Dixon)
- Gauges and shunts (ElectoAuto or KTA)
- RPM gauge and sensor (Equus/CanTire)
To be sourced/supplied by REV:
- Wiring Lugs / connectors
- Dashboard indicators
- Start relay
- Charger interlock
- Battery boxes / insulation / heating
Unsure:
- Ceramic Heating element
- Spaceheater / Timer
- Ventilation
- DC/DC

Second try at inspection

Last week, the Ghia parts made their way here.

Of the remaining outstanding issues, these are solved:
- The new mirror is installed.
- The new relay for the high beams was installed a few weeks ago.
- The headlights have been aligned.
- The new brake and clutch pedal pads are in place.
- The electric windshield washer pump/reservoir is in place and working; though it will be relocated when the batteries invade the front trunk.
- The wiper issues have been fixed.

One last inspection issue remains:
- The back seat fastening clip needs a bit more work, and the existing (replacement) ledge under the rear window needs to be notched out to accommodate the clip. This should be a test of my reupholstering "skills" -- I hope I don't make too much of a mess of it!

So it looks like I'll be back at the inspection centre some time this week.

Once I have proper plates, I'll get the window cracks fixed and an estimate for the door seals and seat upholstery (seems like more work than I'll make time for).

I also want to go see a local suspension place to see about beefing up the suspension. The rear should be easy: just crank the adjustment screws. The front is a bit of another game: it involves the installation of Avis adjusters. The entire suspension needs to be dropped, taken apart, fitted with an adjustment device, put back together and tuned for ride height then alligned. New shocks are probably called for front and back, too.

The other mechanical improvements will include the replacement of the front/back wheel bearings and perhaps the rear drive axles. The transmission fluid (the only one left apart from windshield washer), will be changed to a light synthetic.

Parts, parts and more parts

The purchases have begun.

1. The motor (Warp9) has been ordered from Richard at REV Consultants.

2. The controller (Logisystems 1000Amp, 144-156VDC) from EvSource, along with the fuse, fuseholder, and precharge resistor.

3. The VW motor adapter (CanEV), main contractor (Kilovac EV200) and inertia disconnect switch will be ordered from CanEV -- as soon as I can get them on the phone: its a busy summer for EV supply houses.

4. The various parts for the Ghia are on their way from Karmann Ghia Parts and Restoration.

I am trying to source a cheap DC breaker (Airpax JLE series, probably) in Montreal, but no luck so far. It is likely to come from KTA-Services along with a few other odds and ends (potbox, shunts, rpm sensors); they have very attractive prices.

The intrumentation is a bit of a challenge, I'm pretty sure I've settled on wanting motor amps, motor RPM, pack amps and pack voltage front and centre. But adding four gauges to the dash seems a bit much.

WesTach has some very nice combo gauges:

Which would be way less cluttered than individual gauges:

So I'll try to contact WesTach this week to get a that moving. Individual volt and amp guages are about 58$ a piece from WesTach/ElectroAuto, and the lowest price tach I've found is from Equus being 63$; so the instrument cluster will cost easily 250$.