1976 Alfa Romeo EV Conversion


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The car

The Alfa Romeo was originally converted to electric by Sam Timberlake of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. I purchased it directly from him in 2005. The only things left from that conversion were the motor, battery boxes, and cables. Almost everything else had been replaced or added my me. In 2008 I sold this car to someone in Atascadero, California. In 2012, after some years of abuse and neglect, it found a new owner in Waco, Texas. I believe that the new owner parted out the car, so it no longer exists.

Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce Electric Conversion; front Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce Electric Conversion; side Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Veloce Electric Conversion; back
I had the cool stickers made up myself and sold the unused portion on the web.

Battery Pack

The pack consisted of 118 Marathon Norco Aerospace 36H120 (BB600) Flooded Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) Batteries. The total pack voltage was 142 volts, which fit perfectly into the previous location of six Trojan 27TMH batteries.

Marathon 36H120 (BB600) Flooded NiCd Battery Pack Marathon 36H120 (BB600) Flooded NiCd Battery Pack

Controller

The Curtis 1231C-8601 controller was screwed to the top of the empty rear battery box until I found a better way to mount it. There was a large heat sink underneath. Off to the left was a Kilovac contactor (relay) connected to a switch on the accelerator pedal.

Curtis 1231C-8601

Charger

The charging system in the trunk: the Manzanita Micro PFC20 charger with inline GFCI and external plug

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Manzanita Micro PFC-20 Charger Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: External Plug

12V System

Zivan NG1-DC DC-DC converter for the 12V system.

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Zivan NG1-DC DC-DC converter

Power Brake System

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

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Power Brake System Vacuum Sensor and Pump Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Power Brake System Vacuum Tank

Motor

The ADC X91-4001 motor, with the attachment to the transmission (spline)

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: ADC X91-4001 Motor Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: ADC X91-4001 Motor Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Spline

Accelerator

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

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Curtis FP-6 Footpedal and pot box

Useful Tools

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

Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: Fluke voltmeter, current probe, temperature probes Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Electric Conversion: insulated torque wrench, insulated nut driver, No-Ox-Id "A" Special

Description

The conversion, as it is was when I sold it, consisted 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 (defunct) 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 OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice format and Microsoft Excel format.


Categories Electric Vehicles

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