Posts Tagged ‘james’

Alternative Fuels Expo

Friday, May 1st, 2009

A few weeks ago we went to an Alternative Fuels \ Vehicles expo in Orlando.  The big showing was for compressed natural gas.  The directed audience was industry, so not too many consumer goodies, but it was still interesting.

This is made by VPG Autos. It has an automatic ramp that extends out for mobility options. Their website is spectacular.

Pretty cool lawnmower. I assume it's CNG powered, but didn't look too closely. Mostly it looked like it had beer kegs attached for those farm-sized lawns.

I don't know what this truck was for, but it was pretty cool too. Looked like a mix between Internationals and a Ford Excursion

Motor is here!

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

The motor was delivered last Monday. It was a bit of an experience, or so I hear.

I thought I had requested and paid extra for residential delivery, meaning a truck with a lift on it. I had not. So I got an email on Friday evening that the motor would be delivered on Monday by Fedex Freight, between 1 and 3 pm and someone would need to be there to help unload the motor.

There were two problems with that. The first was that my wife and I were going to be on vacation, far out of town and probably without phone access. The second was that I hadn’t expected to have to unload 300 lbs from a delivery truck, rather, that I would have to ask someone to skip work and unload 300 lbs from a delivery truck for me.

After much headscratching I was explaining my situation to neighbor Mike who was going to watch the cats while we were gone. Good old neighbor Mike (you’ll recall him from the engine removal too) offered to help brother James unload the truck. But brother James could only stay until 2:30!

Fortunately the motor showed up at about 2:20 and they got it unloaded and dragged inside. So here it is, a WarP11, waiting to be mated to the Trans Am, now renamed “Trans Amped”. Very cool.

I'm heavier than 250 lbs...

I'm heavier than 250 lbs...


Torque Monster.. if I got the batteries right

Torque Monster.. if I got the batteries right

Summary of motor order and delivery:
1 – Getting shipping quotes, delivery by truck with lift gate is smart, but only if you remember to do it from the vendor you choose to order from in the end.
2 – Total time from mailing the check to motor receipt was about 7 weeks for the WarP 11.
3 – Those suckers are heavy. Real heavy, so I hear.
4 – You ought to do something nice for neighbors and brothers that help you out.

Hello world!

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

Thanks to my brother James for setting up the fancy site for me.  Below are the updates I’d been writing as this goes along.  The first one is here.

Still to come is a page that keeps tabs on time and expense.

Another Trans Am is going EV too.

August 9, 2008 – Hoodless and drained

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

My brother James wanted to take stuff apart so he came over the help.  I like his shirt.  It shows the relationship between pirate population (dwindling) to global temperature (rising) over the years.  If more people drove an electric car maybe the pirates could make a come back.

We took the hood off and stored it on the roof.

About as expert as it gets

About as expert as it gets

We took the fuel tank out to see how batteries might fit back there.  If you ever have to remove a fuel tank from an f-body, make sure you raise the car high enough and lower the rear end low enough.  Otherwise your jack and stands are all being used and you find out you’re about an inch off.  In our case we just bent the fuel tank filler tube because we shouldn’t need it again…

The fuel tank was awfully dusty and I kept shaking it loose while holding it over my head.  James said he only did it once.

Don't let my wife see me inside this dirty

Don't let my wife see me inside this dirty. I don't know why I'm sideways?