I’ve been working hard on the car, but progress has been slow. I was missing some BMS boards — I should have counted them 6 months ago! So, I had Justin and Evolve overnight them... [read more]

How about just some pictures?

Don’t forget about the original design: http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/2010/12/plug-bug-battery-box-design/ I did modify it slightly as I went along. I learned a lesson from the front box: add 1/8″ or so to the total length to avoid it... [read more]

I’ve been working on fabricating the battery boxes out of 1/8″ steel angle iron and flat stock for the past two weeks. The first step was to strap them together to get an accurate measurement... [read more]

Here’s how I strap the Thundersky batteries together. As previously mentioned, I bought the Mini Polyester Strapping Kit 5/8″ x .040″+seals + tools for $80 (plus shipping) on ebay. The pack of 4 (or 5)... [read more]

The unladen weight of the stock bug is 1807 lbs. The gross vehicle weight is 2645 lbs. Front axle load: 1080 lbs, rear: 1609 lbs. The front axle had the 10.6 gallon tank removed —... [read more]

I did some research on what people have done for battery boxes. The cells need to be contained well so they don’t go flying around in the event of an accident. A few interesting posts... [read more]

I’m a little behind on the status of the project…I got the batteries on Dec 8th, but was really busy that week due to Louise’s show, Left of the North Pole. It was a pain... [read more]

My batteries are in California! I just need to have the guy call me to pick them up. I’m dying to get them and put the car together, but in the meantime here’s what I... [read more]

I wanted to have a good sound system in the car. I bought an Alpine stereo and a set of speakers. I was initially going to mount them in the doors, but I read that... [read more]

A typical gas powered car has a large 12 volt battery mainly for the purpose of turning the engine over during starting. That usually takes a lot of amps to crank it over. Since my... [read more]

It’s raining today but I did add a cool option to my car. The iPad mount! I was originally going to make my own mount, but that would take days of machining time and would... [read more]

I got my heater installed; I can test the fan and make sure the contactor comes on, but heat won’t come out until I actually have my battery pack installed. I cut a hole on... [read more]

I’m still waiting for batteries, but i’m getting a lot of the little details done. The car could be drivable if I actually had a battery pack. I can turn on the key and hear... [read more]

More progress tonight. Here’s aluminum L angle pieces to mount the radiator on. I slotted the car with a 4.5″ angle grinder (plus a cut off wheel) to keep the L shape and make the... [read more]

The project is moving along slowly. I was pretty busy with other things last week and didn’t get much time to work on it. I wanted a 1/8″ sheet of aluminum to back the motor... [read more]

I worked on the bug a bit yesterday but didn’t get much done; things go slow! I ordered a Heater Kit from Canadian Electric Vehicles – http://www.canev.com/KitsComp/Components/Heater.html — the easiest way to do a heater... [read more]

Last weekend was a big weekend for the project. My buddy Aaron, who has a lot of home-built EV experience and now works at Tesla came over to lend me a hand. He brought over... [read more]

A quarter shot of the bug with the painted wheels, white walls and new dome style hubcaps (from CIP1):

Not much to say, but I got a bunch of the rust off of the seats, fixed some broken parts, painted them and then put them back together with new foam. I got new seat... [read more]

My rims started out like this, with a bunch of rust on the sides and white painted part: I thought it wouldn’t be too hard to clean them up, but I was wrong! After some... [read more]

An electric motor doesn’t need a big flywheel to keep the engine running. It also doesn’t need the starter gear teeth around the edge. In fact, all it really has to do is engage with... [read more]

The speedo in the bug was broken. Ed, who I bought the car from, said it was just the cable that needed replacing and that he had replaced it a few times. I suspected something... [read more]

I needed to replace the seals in the little vent windows and put in a new handle. This involves pulling the glass out out of the vent window channel and riveting on a new handle.... [read more]

General Tips on Restoration Classic VW Bugs – http://www.classicvwbugs.com/restotips.htm – Lots of videos on how to do various restoration items.. This is where I first learned how to install windshield, and he gave a great... [read more]

Well, the project’s batteries are going to be delayed. I checked up on the battery status, and it turns out there was a mishap with the order – Evolve Electrics goes through Alliance Batteries, which... [read more]

I was really nervous about installing the headliner. I heard it was really hard to do, and frequently didn’t come out right or required a second headliner due to the first one getting messed up.... [read more]

I ordered the wrong seal for the hood, but I finally got the new one and stuck it on. The car is looking great! It looks really high in the rear since there is no... [read more]

Note: this post is out of order; I did this quite a while ago, but our internet (Surfnet Wifi) has been down at home. The rear luggage floor, behind the rear seat, was rotten with... [read more]

I finally pulled some pictures of the final painting of the car. No front picture yet, as I haven’t put on the hood (I bought the wrong seal). I’m quite happy with the result. Metallic... [read more]

I basically have two jobs right now; working at Apple by day, and being a car painter at night and on the weekends. I’ve been working really hard to get the primer all sanded smooth... [read more]