WE HAVE A TRUCK!!!

We finally found a donor vehicle!! Ryan drove Dakota, Adam, Brady and myself up to Raeford NC to purchase a 2001 Ford Ranger Edge 2wd truck. The truck is in pretty good shape and is a one owner truck originally from California with only 59,000 miles. The owner was glad to get it out of the yard, and we were glad to get it on our trailer! The only major issue is a damaged door jamb that will need some bodywork and possibly a replacement door, plus a few more cosmetic issues. Time to look for a body shop to take on the task....anybody want to sponsor us?

The Edge is a 2wd based on a 4x4 chassis. The problem, as far as a EV conversion candidate, is the obvious higher than stock ride height. We will need to see how the truck stance is affected by the added battery weight, but some suspension adjustments may need to take place....early in the game for that though. For now, we need to inspect and inventory what we have and determine our conversion plan sequence.

Chickngas?

No, we have not changed our name, we just decided to have a little fun at our fundraising event at the Mayfaire Chick-fil-a in Wilmington on Thursday. The event was held between 5-8pm, and we will get 20% of the proceeds within that time period for all customers who purchased meals and mentioned they were supporting the Topsail Electric Vehicle program. There was a large turnout, so the results look promising. We hope to do more events such as this one in the future since it is such good exposure for our program. Thanks to all who showed up to support us and to the EV10 team who stood in the cold for 3 hours!

Ahead, Warp factor 9!

In preparation of our new conversion this year, the team decided to begin collecting the needed components. We already had a Warp 9 in the Toyota Paseo, so out it came. The motor was removed along with the coupler and adapter plate. After inspection, it was determined that the motor bearing was fine and the brushes were in very good shape. From this point, we will need to begin the design process for a new coupler and adapter plate. Of course, we do not want to put the cart before the horse, so we probably need to acquire a truck to convert first!