1976 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce EV Conversion

Click on photos for enlargement

The car

On 2008-10-11, I sold this car. Now it lives in Atascadero, California.

The cool stickers are for sale for $15 each, plus $5 for shipping any quantity.

118 Marathon Norco Aerospace 36H120 (BB600) Flooded Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) Batteries, and new Curtis 1231C-8601 controller

The total pack voltage is 142 volts, which fits perfectly into the previous location of six Trojan 27TMH batteries. The Curtis controller is screwed to the top of the empty rear battery box until I find a good way to mount it. There is a large heat sink underneath.

The charging system in the trunk: the Manzanita Micro PFC20 charger with inline GFCI, external plug, and Zivan NG1-DC DC-DC converter

Under the hood: the KTA power brake system; the vacuum sensor, vacuum pump, and vacuum tank

The motor, with the attachment to the transmission (spline)

In the passenger compartment: the Curtis FP-6 foot pedal and pot box

Some useful tools: Fluke voltmeter, current probe, temperature probes, insulated torque wrench, insulated nut driver, No-Ox-Id "A" Special

Description

This Alfa Romeo was originally converted to electric by Sam Timberlake of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. I purchased it directly from him on May 4, 2005. The only things left from that conversion are the motor, battery boxes, and cables. Almost everything else has been replaced or added since. The conversion, as it is now, consists of:

• Advanced DC X91-4001 series motor, 6.7" diameter, 10 HP continuous, 40 HP peak, 72-144 VDC, reversible
• Curtis Instruments PMC #1231C-8601 motor controller 96-144 VDC, 500 A max, with mondo heatsink
• Curtis Instruments FP-6 footpedal and pot box
• 118 Marathon Norco Aerospace 36H120 (BB600) flooded nicad batteries, 40 Ah, for a total pack voltage of 142 VDC
• Manzanita Micro PFC20 Charger
• Zivan NG1-DC AC-DC/DC-DC converter, 108-168 VDC to 13.8 VDC @ 55A 900W continuous
• KTA Services Power Brake System
• Bridgestone Potenza RE92 165/65/R14 Tires -- very low rolling resistance
• Kidde Auto 5B-C Fire extinguisher

Modeling

I wrote a spreadsheet to model the performance. It gives accurate predictions. Here it is in Luke Skywalker (OpenOffice.org) and Darth Vader (Excel) formats.

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