EV Trans Am

Got word that the adapter should be machined near the end of this month. So February could be a big progress month. Time to get started on he battery racks for sure.

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of visualization of how the motor and transmission will couple. I plan to keep the clutch and transmission so I’ll need an adapter to mate the flywheel to the motor. Electro Automotive’s site was very helpful to me in understanding how the pieces fit together. The taperlock bushing was a new concept to me. I know how the pieces will fit together, but don’t have a solid idea of the depth of the adapters – that will determine the distance from the flywheel face to the rear of the motor.

I found a drawing that is the layout of the rear of my engine, front of the bellhousing. This is extremely helpful because I’d previously matched up the bolt holes to holes I made in a used pizza box.

This is a drawing of the type of adapter I’ll need. The dimensions are just working numbers to help me understand how the gap closes. I’ll leave it to the machine shop to determine the actual bushing dimensions.

[I removed the image because it wasn’t accurate and don’t want to confuse anybody]

Last weekend we went to the craft store looking for something that would be useful to build a model of the motor. I was originally thinking a foam block that could be trimmed, but then we spotted some cardboard boxes that were about perfect. They are 11.75″ diameter and the motor is 11.45″, close enough. Here are some pictures of the process and what the model looked like in the engine bay. I’ll probably continue with cardboard to add detail to the ends and a dowel through the middle to act as the shaft. Working up the adapter to go between the motor and the transmission is still going to be a challenge. Molly Cat said she’d help me figure it out.

I’d like to go with the WarP11 because of the weight of the car. I may have some issues with clearing the steering rack though at that diameter.