Inertia. It can be your compadre or it can be a mofo.
There's a certain amount of momentum needed to keep a project like this going. The frictional forces of an unusually busy (and odd) work schedule, wrenching on my other cars, limited availability of parts needed to move forward on the conversion, consulting projects, dealing with my rental property, etc. were all bringing progress to a halt.
Knowing the longer I wait, the harder it is to get started, I figured I should at least work on something. Even if it's not significant, it's a matter of keeping some momentum. The good news is since I'm not constraining myself to significant stuff, I might as well do fun stuff (the two are often mutually exclusive). And as Neanderthal-ish as I'm sure this sounds, power tools can be the source of tremendous amounts of fun.
In this case, it's a Craftsman 8 amp reciprocating saw (bought on sale for $59.99 at Sears).
Install the blade, plug it in, and in no time at all, the floor of the trunk was out.
Eventually, some sort of battery box will go back there. That's a problem for another day. Today it was all about having some fun.
I'd say: Mission accomplished.
But there's more!
Later in the afternoon, Chris and Aaron from Revolt Custom Electric Vehicles came by with their coordinate measuring machine to capture dimensions on my transmission. From these dimensions, a design will be created, from which a machine shop will build the adapter plate and hub. Also, since the design is now in Revolt's library, anyone else doing a conversion on an FD RX-7 will be able to get their own plate and hub through Revolt.
Normally, having the transmission removed from the car is preferred since there's more room to work and it's easier to ensure a stable base (and more accurate samples). Chris and Aaron were beyond accommodating and were willing to give it a shot with my transmission in the car. Overall, the measuring process went pretty smoothly. Although I mostly just sat back and watched, it was very cool to see a 3D model being created from the sampling of points and curves.
Due to not yet removing my flywheel from the engine, there is one remaining measurement pending, but Revolt has what they need to get started on the transmission plate and will come back once I'm ready.
3 comments:
Fantastic project. Let me know if you want any assistance. Of course my minute set of knowledge is limited to those archaic gas powered vehicles. If there is ever a chassis that needed an electric power plant, you found it. Keep going!
Stay motivated, I would love to see the end of this project.
Steve, extra hands / head are always helpful. Once I get closer to installing the main electrical components, I'll set up some sort of open garage an invite folks over.
Thanks for the encouragement!
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