Topsail High School Electric Vehicle Blog

Always something!

2012-01-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

We came to class today only to find that our vehicle lift was sitting in a puddle of hydraulic fluid! The lift has a leaking seal on the hydraulic cylinder. This is a big issue because we can not lift our MR2 up to work on our BMS. We are trying now to find a replacement lift(donation) or to get this one fixed. It is an old lift and may have seen its' better days, so a replacement may be in order.
On the plus side our batteries have all stabilized to 3.37 volts after a long charge period, essentially pre-balancing our pack for when we install the BMS. Of course, we need a lift to do so! Always something.

Balancing act

2012-01-19T07:23:00.000-08:00

We have removed all 48 cells from the MR2 and have wired them in parallel for a balance charge. As you can see in the picture, we have set the voltage to 3.6 volts and will be monitoring the current as they charge. As they charge, the current will slowly get close to zero until they are balanced. No telling how long this will take, but we will be baby sitting for as long as it takes.

Our BMS has arrived!

2012-01-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

Our BMS arrived last Friday and needless to say, we are overwhelmed. The MR2 has to be totally rewired top to bottom to accomodate the new component. The BMS will monitor all cells during charge and under driving conditions, giving us real time analysis of the Lithium batteries. This technology will help preserve the lifespan batteries and help to keep them a balanced set. The performance of the MR2 should be more consistent and we will have the opportunity to data log our charge and discharge cycles. Two students are working on a program that will create an interface that incorporates both the Synkromotive controller and the BMS parameters on the same in dash display.
Today, we began removing all of the Thundersky batteries so we can top balance the entire set in parallel. By doing this, we will have a balanced pack, and the BMS will have an easier job for the initial few charge cycles.

Brand used transmission

2011-11-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

We developed a noise in our MR2 transmission and ordered one from a MR2 message board member in Texas. We decided to remove the old one after the NEAT Rally. When we returned, we removed the motor and transmission, cleaned up the new one and replaced the old. To our dismay, the "new" one had the same sound. After consulting with our "go to" mechanic, he agreed that it was one of two things. Either it had the same issue as the old one, or it is a noise that is inherent to the MR2 transmission. Well, we decided to replace the "new" one with the old tranny and take the "new" one apart to see what we could find. Stay tuned....We will take it apart soon and let you know what we find. On a side note, we are really good at removing the motor and transmission, having done so about 12 times in the past month!

NEAT EV Rally results

2011-11-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

The Topsail Electric Vehicle Team travelled to the 17th annual NEAT EV Rally in Northampton County this past weekend at the NCCAR facility. The students competed in seven events and tied for first place overall in the competition. The team had many compliments for their attitude and work ethic. They represented Topsail High and Pender County with class and dignity...as always. One instructor even wanted to take Ryan Mowrey back with him to show his students how to act! The weather cooperated for the most part, and the vehicles performed very well. Our truck, nursing a battery with a bad cell was only able to manage 12 laps of the NCCAR 2 mile track. The Toyota MR2 drove 56 miles in the range and could have travelled another 25 miles but had won the event. The lithium batteries make a huge difference in the range and performance of the car.
We would like to congratulate the NEAT team for their results and thank them and their instructor Thomas Pope, along with Harold Miller, for putting on a fine event. We look forward to next year! We will practice the pit crew before the event this time.

The results were as follows:
First overall
Acceleration: First Ranger
Acceleration: First MR2
Range: Second Ranger
Range: First MR2
Design: First MR2
Autocross: First Ranger
Autocross: First MR2
Jeopardy competition: Second

Water Miser Vent Caps

2011-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

Since the "speed caps" on our US Batteries had begun to crack and fail, we decided to get new standard type vent caps. EV Team member, Matt, did a bit of research and ran across a company called Flow Systems. They offer a better vent cap that reduces watering, hydrogen venting, prolongs battery life and keeps valuable electrolyte in the cells by using a hydrophobic cindered disc to return all water and acid droplets back into the cells. We installed the caps today and are looking forward to the minimal maintenance to come.

New Warp 9 install

2011-10-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Bob Batson at EV America, and George Hamstra at NetGain motors, we were able to get our old motor covered under warranty. Not only that, the motor that we received was actually the new Warp 9 with 28 improvements that will help overall efficiency! The new motor went in without a hitch, but we seem to have noticed a new problem with the transmission that we never noticed before, a rattling at certain RPM's. We think it was pre-existing, but we can not do anything with it until after we compete in the NEAT Rally competition next week at the NCCAR facility in Roanoke Rapids, NC. We think it may be a synchronizer, but will not know until the transmission is removed and taken apart. We only hope it hold out until after the NEAT Rally.

Battery problem!

2011-10-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

On a routine check of the batteries in the truck, we discovered a slight problem. The students had learned how to use a refractometer to check the specific gravity of the lead acid cells to determine the state of each cell in comparison to the rest of the pack. The results found the 14 month old US Battery US145xc batteries were within a few tenths of each other except for one cell was considerably lower than the rest. Upon checking it out further, we noticed the water level was lower as well, even though we had topped them off the day before. We also noticed that there was a considerable amount of oxidation underneath the battery box below where the battery in question was.

We removed the battery to find that it had been leaking around the side seal near the top of the battery. We contacted Fred Wehmeyer at US Batteries and he suggested we try to fix the leak by melting the side where the seal was broken, and if that did not work, he would try to get the battery replaced under warranty since it had been leaking since the day we installed them. The fix did not work, so Fred contacted Larry at Battery Specialists in Greenville, SC, a distributor, and arranged for us to have the battery replaced. Larry assured us that we would have the battery before our event on November 4th! Stay tuned.

Leading the homecoming parade

2011-10-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

What has become a tradition at Topsail is just another way to spread EV awareness. Each year the THS EV Team leads the way for the homecoming court around the football stadium at halftime. We were only able to drive the Ranger since the Warp 9 motor has been sent off for repair.

Removing Warp 9 motor for repair

2011-10-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know it, our MR2 motor has developed a very rare problem. The balancing putty has broken off the armature and in turn has created a bad vibration within the motor. Supposedly, this only happens if the motor has turned over 9000 RPM's. Not likely this has happened, but nonetheless, NetGain is repairing the motor for free. This week, we removed the motor in the MR2 and shipped it off to Warfield Electric for repair. Of course, we have a competition November 3rd, so hopefully we will have the motor back in time to install before then.

Spot Festival 2011 display

2011-09-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

We braved the rain and crowds at the 2011 Spot Festival in Hampstead, NC on Saturday to display our vehicles. All 10 members were in attendance to help raise awareness of our program and the feasibility of electric vehicles as a practical means of daily transportation. The crowd was a bit less than last year because of the rain, but that did not deter the class from reaching out to anyone who had questions. A great day of camaraderie for the EV12 Team!

Presentation to Cape Fear Society of Professional Engineers

2011-09-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today we made a presentation to the Cape Fear Society of Professional Engineers at Hugh McRae Park in Wilmington. All 10 EV12 team members were in attendance to show the vehicles and partake in the catered Bar-B-Que dinner. Also in attendance for support were our Chemistry teacher Mr. Jeffcoat and lead counselor, Ms. Rabe. The event was a great opportunity to show Professional Engineers what a group of High School students are capable of achieving. We were presented with a $500 check from Atlantic Tool and Die and also were able to have a 50/50 raffle to raise additional funds.
We made several very good contacts with area companies such as G.E, Corning, Sturdy Corporation, plus Cape Fear Community College and UNCW. We look forward to developing our relationships with these groups.

PLUG IN 2011

2011-07-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week! We had the awesome opportunity of representing the EV Challenge at the Plug In 2011 Expo this week in Raleigh. Not only were we able to gain experience about emerging EV technologies, we also were thrust into the spotlight as hundreds of vendors and guests viewed our MR2 and asked questions about our program. Wonderful exposure!
Three Topsail students, Stephen Henderson, Shelby Sessions and Ryan Berkey were on hand to field even the most difficult questions about the EV Challenge program and the MR2 conversion. Most notable was the typical reaction of "A High School did this?". Yes, it is out...High School students are capable of great things if given the proper education and motivation. Nothing like being able to convert and drive an electric vehicle to stoke the fires of creativity and passion!
Being the only non factory manufactured Electric or Hybrid vehicle at the show, the Topsail High MR2 seemed to stick out among the likes of the Volt, Leaf, ImEV, Focus and Prius. With the newly installed Lithium Ion battery pack, the MR2 can achieve close to 100 miles on a charge, a fact that was not lost on the onlookers as they marveled at the creativity and overall workmanship of the High School project.

Advance Auto Fundraiser

2011-07-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

Today we had the MR2 and Ranger on display at the Wrightsboro Advance Auto in Wilmington. We had a great time talking about the vehicles and selling hot dogs as well. Five of the EV12 team wee there including, Parker, Shelby, Tyan, Dylan and Roman. A special thanks goes out to the Mowry family for their support. Being on display helps the team to gain confidence in displaying the vehicles while raising awareness of EV's.

Classy Chassis car show at Poplar Grove

2011-07-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today the truck had the opportunity to show off at a local classic car show, the Classy Chassis Car Show at Poplar Grove in Wilmington. The show was rained out for Saturday and we had to cancel, but thanks to Ryan Mowrey and his family, we were able to show the truck today for most of the show. Ryan and his brother Mike, a former EV team member from several years ago, picked up the truck and drove it to the show where they were already showing Ryan's classic pick up truck. Needless to say, there were plenty of questions from a crowd that is not used to vehicles that don't make any noise!

Synkromotive controller installed in MR2

2011-06-22T06:09:00.001-07:00

We finally got around to removing the Raptor 1200A and installing the Synkromotive 900A in the MR2. The Raptor has served us well over the last 9 years, making appearances in three different installs. It is a very powerful controller, but that is all, it does not allow for programming or data logging. The Synkromotive controller has been working flawlessly in our Ranger for over a year, so we decided to install one in the MR2 as well.

Initial observations are the MR2 with the Synkro has a tad bit less acceleration. On the plus side, gone is the horrible accelerator delay we had with the Raptor. This issue reared its' ugly head in Auto Cross events where you had to press early on the pedal in anticipation of the power surge....not fun.

Now to drive the MR2 and data log the results. The data logging will really help us to track the performance of our Lithium pack as well.

8th Straight EV Challenge title!!!

2011-05-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

The Topsail High School Electric Vehicle Team won the EV Challenge final event for the 8th consecutive year this past weekend at the NCCAR complex in Roanoke Rapids NC. Placing First and Second overall in the competition against 14 schools from as far away as Iowa and Miami. Our now Lithium powered MR2 actually posted a better time than a $110,000 Tesla Roadster in the autocross event! Our Ford Ranger scored a perfect 100 in the Vehicle Design category, a feat that has never been accomplished. The Ranger team dominated in every category and tallied a perfect 10 cumulative score....the best score possible(Low score wins like golf).
The following students won awards:

Truck Team
Troubleshooting - Zach Fouty, Sal Castoro    First Place
Oratorical- Sean Bullock, Stephen Henderson   First Place
Vehicle Design- Alexis Demetrious, Chris Raynor   First Place
Range- Alexis Demetrious, Todd LeMaster   First Place
AutoCross- Joseph Graves   First Place

Modified Car Team:
Oratorical- Zeke Hartner, Joseph Graves     Second Place
Vehicle Design- Tony Capace, Joey Godfrey    First Place
Range- Tony Capace, Joey Godfrey    First Place
AutoCross- Sean Bullock    Second Place

Website Design- Shelby Sessions    First Place
School Initiative- First Place

This has been by far the best class I have ever taught while a Topsail High School. They represented the school with pride, dignity and class. The class went into the competition with the motto "Dominate", and they did just that. As Sean Bullock said, "Preparation = Domination", a formula that has worked for THS EV for 8 years!

Battery boxes and Lithiums

2011-05-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

We had battery boxes fabricated by Billy Vaughn at Wilmington Sheet Metal and they fit perfectly! We will now take on the task of mounting the boxes and wiring the 48 batteries in series. The other technical issue is providing a means to secure the batteries once inside the boxes. Always something to do...

In the news. Morning show on WECT TV6 and Fox 26

2011-04-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

We had an excellent opportunity to be featured on the morning show on WECT TV6 and Fox 26 today. We had to be at the school at 4:30 for the live feed on location. All of the students were there and the reporter, Claire Hosmann, loved working with the EV 11 class. Were were live for an hour and a half where we would be interviewed every 20 minutes. All of the students were well spoken thus representing the program with class.

Lithiums have arrived!!

2011-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

Finally, we took delivery of 49 ThunderSky 100Ah Lithium cells. We will soon be installing them into the MR2 and replacing the ols, nasty lead acid batteries. Hello future! We should drop about 700 pounds in the switch and have a real electric car finally.

Food Lion Hot Dog Fundraiser

2010-12-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

We spent a cold and blustery day at the Hampstead Food Lion Saturday selling hot dogs and raffle tickets. We did not sell too many dogs, but we had a good time and made over $200 total including ticket sales. Every little bit helps, and the $200 puts us that much closer to ordering our Lithium batteries!

2010 NEAT EV Rally Champions!

2010-11-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

After two days of competitions, the THS EV11 Team came out victorious. Capturing first place overall and 10 other trophies made the event our most sucessful ever. Here were our team results:
First Overall Champion
First, Autocross- Truck class: Joseph Graves
First, Acceleration- Modified class: Tony Capace
First, Acceleration- Truck class: Kevin Mullins
First, Troubleshooting- Stephen Henderson, Sean Bullock
Second, Autocross- Modified class: Sean Bullock
Second, Pit Crew- Alexis Demetrious, Joey Godfrey, Zeke Hartner, Joseph Graves
Second, Jeopardy Challenge: Alexis Demetrious, Sal Castoro
Second, Poster Presentation: Chris Raynor, Sal Castoro

Second, Range- Modified class: Joey Godfrey, Tony Capace
Second, Range- Truck class: Todd Lemaster, Alexis Demetrious

Preparing for the N.E.A.T. EV Rally

2010-11-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

This week, our main focus is to prepare for the Northampton East Automotive Team 14th annual EV Rally in Roanoke Rapids, NC. This year we have a unique opportunity to participate in the rally at the new NCCAR facility. This state of the art vehicle testing site will offer a much improved location compared to years past. We are practicing for Pit Crew, Jeopardy challenge, Range, Autocross, Acceleration, Presentations and Troubleshooting. Our goal is to be competitive. We are really looking forward to the event.

Family Movie Night Fundraiser

2010-11-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

Friday night, we held the first ever community family movie night in the Topsail High School auditorium. After buying the rights for a one time showing of Toy Story 3, advertising the event to the three local elementary schools, we had 115 people in the audience to enjoy the movie. We sold popcorn, candy and water to help raise money for our program. Admission was free, but we asked for a suggested donation of $3. Everyone had a great time and the EV11 team worked hard to make the event a success. The movie night brought in $300 and was a great learning experience for our team. We will take what we learned and definitely have another movie night. Thanks to Mr. Jeffcoat for running the projector and sound system.

Hampstead Kiwanis presentation

2010-11-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Our EV Team had an opportunity to present our program and fundraising initiative to the Hampstead Kiwanis club early this morning. If the picture looks dark, it is because the sun had not yet risen! We were the featured guest and a wonderful breakfast was provided by Sawmill Grill. Sean and Stephen spoke to the group with a prepared speech and then opened the floor for questions. The Kiwanians were very impressed and had excellent questions that continued when they viewed the Ranger and MR2 outside after the meeting adjourned. We were able to sell our raffle tickets after the presentation. With over 25 tickets sold, the meeting was prosperous for our fundraising as well as community awareness of our EV program

Topsail Kiwanis presentation

2010-11-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Our EV Team had an opportunity to present our program and fundraising initiative to the Topsail Island Kiwanis club this morning. We were the featured guest and a wonderful breakfast was provided. Sean and Stephen spoke to the group with a prepared speech and then opened the floor for questions. The Kiwanians were very impressed and had excellent questions that continued when they viewed the Ranger and MR2 outside after the meeting adjourned. We were able to sell our raffle tickets after the presentation. With over fifty tickets sold, the meeting was prosperous for our fundraising as well as community awareness of our EV program.

ACE Hardware display and fundraiser

2010-10-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a beautiful day for informing the community about our EV program. We had both the Ranger and the MR2 on display at Hampstead ACE Hardware where we sold raffle tickets and displayed our award winning vehicles. Thanks for the students who took valuable time out of their schedule to help. We have an excellent dedicated group this year. With only 12 students, everyone has to step up and do their share...often. Many raffle tickets were sold, especially by Todd, our salesman of the day!

Zaxby's fundraiser night

2010-10-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

We participated in the Zaxby's school night on Wednesday by displaying the vehicles between 8-9pm. In return, Zaxby's agreed to donate 14% of their proceeds during this time to our program. There was a great turn out and after the total was tallied, we will get a $218 donation. Not bad for three hours. Good food and good times were had. Thanks to the THS faculty, students and families that showed up to support our program.

Hampstead Chamber of Commerce day at THS

2010-10-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity Saturday to promote our program at the Hampstead Chamber of Commerce day at the THS gym. We parked our vehicles outside for display and had a booth set up inside with a slide show and various EV parts to promote our program to guests. Thanks to our principal, Mr Skipper, the registration fee was waived, so we were able to sell raffle tickets and not have to shell out any of our own money. There were about 60 participants at the event and we spoke to many interested patrons. Thanks to Fouty, Sal, Sean and Tony for helping during the event.

New back glass graphics!!

2010-10-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Finally, we can drive around with the distinction of having an official Electric Vehicle! Well, actually, Empire Signs and Designs has made our vehicles official by donating perforated graphics for our back glass on each vehicle stating "Topsail High School Electric Vehicle". This is a huge step in the promotion of our program by allowing us to be recognized as an EV when we are out in public or on the street. Our next step will be to put sponsor stickers on the Ranger. Thanks to Joe at Empire Graphics for his design and installation.

Raffle ticket sales at Ace Hardware

2010-10-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

We had the Ranger and MR2 on display at Ace Hardware in Hampstead Saturday to promote our program and sell raffle tickets. We had the usual responses like, "I don't believe in that", "it's gas for me", "Why don't you put a generator in that thing?", "why don't you use solar panels to charge it?", "what is the gas mileage?", and my all time favorite...."BAAAAAHHH", which I think is a sign of disapproval! Aside from that, we had a successful day and made some good contacts and possible sponsors. Several people had no idea we had this program at the high school, even though it has been in existence for 11 years now. I guess we need to do a better job advertising. We have sold about 250 raffle tickets and have 2 months to sell the rest so we can purchase our Lithium battery pack.

Presentation to Topsail Elementary second graders

2010-10-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

We took all three vehicles to visit Mrs. Johnson's second grade class this morning. The student of the week, Allison Garrett, invited her dad to speak to the group. Well, since her Dad is our instructor, we got to present the EV's to the students. Allison was very excited since she had helped work on the MR2 conversion. The students asked very well thought out questions and all of the EV students were happy to answer them. It was a pleasure to show the youth of tomorrow a technology that will surely be a part of their transportation when they are older.

Raffle, Raffle, Raffle. Anyone want a Raffle Ticket?

2010-10-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

Buy our raffle tickets!! We will be selling them until December 17th when we have the drawing for several prizes including a $2800 Tempur-pedic cloud supreme mattress. Please contact us if you would like to purchase them online. They are 1 for $5 or 3 for $10.

Homecoming 2010

2010-10-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

The electric Ranger and Mr2 led the homecoming parade at halftime Saturday night. Also, we had a member of the homecoming court ride in our electric Miata. I think this would be the first time an electric vehicle was used by a student on a homecoming court! We were also selling raffle tickets at the game. Make sure you contact us if you would like to purchase them. 1 for $5 or 3 for $10.

AutoCross at CFCC

2010-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Several hundred auto enthusiasts were "shocked" to see how well a battery powered MR2 can do on an Autocross course. Thanks to Brad Draughn and the Cape Fear Chapter of the SCCA, we were allowed to make several runs on their Autocross course Sunday at the CFCC North Campus. EV11 team member Sean drove with co-pilot Brad for two runs, finishing with a respectable 55 second run, good practice for the Autcross event we will participate in at NCCAR this November.

Brad, a tech for Toyota of Wilmington, took the controls for two runs with a low time of 49 seconds. His first drive in an EV, Brad was impressed with how well the MR2 performed. He definitely had an "EV grin"! The fastest time of the day was in the low 40's, so we did very well against our gas powered competition.

Spot Festival 2010 display

2010-09-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

The EV 11 team has spent two days displaying the EV's at the 2010 Hampstead Spot Festival. Thousands of visitors stopped by for fun, festivities and a Spot fish dinner. We had hundreds of very interested visitors stop by our display for information on our project. This event is the largest one we have locally, and it draws quite a crowd. Our push this year was to inform of how we intend to raise funds for a Lithium battery transplant in the MR2. Hopefully, we can raise enough money to buy a new Lithium battery pack.

National Speed sponsors EV 11 Team shirts!

2010-09-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

National Speed in Wilmington has agreed to sponsor our team shirts for this year. Intracoastal Design in Hampstead provided the shirts and printing of the logos. The shirts look great and certainly make our team look more professional. Thanks to National Speed and Intracoastal Design for a job well done.

A day full of display

2010-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Friday was a busy day for the EV class. The entire Pender County Schools employees came to Topsail High School for the beginning of school Convocation. Over 900 employees got a chance to see the EV's and ask questions as they made their way into THS for their day of meetings. Sal was the early bird and did a great job showing the vehicles to anyone who stopped by.

Later, we showed all three EV's at the football game against Trask. We positioned the vehicles so that everyone entering the game had to walk by them. Most people stopped and asked questions and were very positive about our program.

Display at THS Wrestlers car show

2010-08-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

School is just around the corner and we took the opportunity to display all three EV's at the Topsail Wrestlers car show. This was their second show at the Topsail High School campus and we were amongst about 75 other cars showing off their wheels.

Kiwanis Presentation

2010-07-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Todd, Alexis, Sal, Zack, Josh, Joey, Stephen, Chris

Early Tuesday morning, the EV team made a presentation to the Topsail Island Kiwanis club. We met at 7:00am at the Smokehouse in Holly Ridge for their weekly meeting. Breakfast was served and we had a 20 minute presentation with a question and answer session. There was plenty of interest from the 60 members present as they asked the team about the vehicles and the future of electric transportation. Thanks to the students who attended, who got up very early on a lazy summer day to help promote the program.

New motor install in MR2

2010-07-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today we installed the new Warp 9 motor into the MR2. The ADC 9 motor we removed needs to have the commutator surfaced and new brushes. We will refurbish that 6 year old motor as a side project this fall.
The install seemed to be going well until we realized the Warp9 has a different bolt pattern on the auxiliary shaft end than is on the ADC 9. We also found that dimensionally, the Warp is a slightly larger motor overall as well. We ended up having to make some modifications to one of the motor mounts in order to make the motor fit. The whole process took almost 6 hours, but we had to have the MR2 ready for a presentation at the Surf City Kiwanis meeting tomorrow.

Thanks to the following students who showed up at 8am to work. Fouty, Todd, Alexis, Sal, Stephen, Joey, Tony and Kevin. It was a long and challenging day, but it was worth it in the end. The install was also a very good troubleshooting exercise.

Classy Chassis car show at Poplar Grove

2010-07-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

We took the opportunity to show the truck at the Classy Chassis car show at Poplar Grove today. The car is out of order right now awaiting a new motor, so we just showed the truck. There were almost 200 cars there, mostly classic pre-1980 cars, so the attendance and exposure were great. It was hot and muggy, but still great to get out and allow the students to display the truck and gain experience in showing the public our program.

Thanks to Sean, Stephen, Tony, Kevin, Marissa and Zach for showing up and helping to promote our program.

p.s That red 1961 Bug belongs to Mr Garrett. We should convert it to EV!

Electric Miata donated to our program!

2010-05-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today we took delivery of a 1991 72 volt electric Mazda Miata conversion. The car has 12 miles on the conversion and the overall mileage is only 105,000! The car, converted by local businessman Irving Smith, will be used as a rolling learning platform for troubleshooting and project development for the EV class. Mr. Smith and some of his friends converted the Miata "just to see if they could do it". After the successful conversion, Mr. Smith decided to donate it to the Topsail Electric Vehicle class so it could go to a good cause and a worthy recipient.

We will now begin planning the future of the car as a learning tool for the EV class and others interested in electric vehicle conversions. We are very grateful to Mr. Smith for the donation and promised him the car would become an integral part of our program.

News story on local station WECT TV 6 wilmington

2010-05-21T05:35:00.001-07:00

WECT story on Topsail EV program

Extreme Makeover, Electric Edition!

2010-05-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

Seems like a good time to show the before and after pictures of our newest conversion. There is some confusion about this truck. First of all, it is a new conversion. This truck is not the old Ranger without stickers, we sold that truck last spring. Yep, "Roscoe" is a newly converted 2001 Ford Ranger Edge.

Below is a picture of our previous 1996 Ranger we owned for 8 years.

Seven time National Champions!

2010-05-16T04:33:00.000-07:00

The EV class traveled to Raleigh this weekend and emerged victorious again. We collected 11 trophies including first and third overall. This was the seventh year in a row that we have won first overall in the SMARTT Challenge competition against high schools from as far away as Iowa and Miami.
The new Ford Ranger conversion took top honors. We finished the truck just two days before the competition and really felt this was our best effort to date. Being our fifth conversion, we used our knowledge from the past to help us to make the very best conversion we could do with the budget we had. All of our hard work paid off with a $1000 check for first place!
The Toyota MR2 placed third and brought home first place in the Autocross competition, a feat we had not yet achieved. We also earned $500 for third place

Our Overall trophies were:
1st Overall (Ranger truck
3rd Overall (MR2)
2nd School initiative

1st Website

Our Truck team:
1st Range (Josh Parmeley, Jeff Harris) 53 miles
3rd Troubleshooting (Josh Parmeley, Ryan Stone)
3rd Oral presentation (Aaron Hackett, Sean Bullock)
1st Vehicle Design
2nd Autocross (Ryan Stone, Josh Parmeley, Aaron Hackett)

Our MR2 team:
1st Range (Aaron Hackett, Marissa Ruehle) 32 miles, could have gone 50, but we had already won)
6th Troubleshooting (Ashley Counts, Dakota Adcock)
4th Oral presentation (Arik Jones, Adam Markley)
4th Vehicle Design
1st Autocross (Dakota Adcock)

Its' alive!!

2010-05-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

"Roscoe" the Ford Ranger electric conversion rolled out of the garage on its' own today for the first time. Plenty of tweaking to do before the final event competition this weekend. Details to come, stay tuned.

Open house and raffle drawing

2010-05-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today, we held our first ever open house for the EV program. The turn-out was more than we expected. Many students, parents and interested community members showed up to inquire about the vehicles and also to watch as we drew for the fundraising raffle. Several of our sponsors made an appearance, including Mrs.Castoro of Hampstead Furniture and Ms.Adcock of Modren Woodmen. There were speeches from both showing just how valuable the community is to our program, We couldn't do it without you guys!

Battery wiring and bed prop

2010-05-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Today, we continued working on wiring the main battery pack. Most of the batteries are wired and loomed. We still have to finish the wiring as it moves to the controller. We also finally got some gas charged struts that help to assist the bed lifting experience. For years, with our old truck, we had to hold the bed up and place a prop rod in the right place in order to hold the bed in position. Now the assist is a very nice feature to have and it also makes the lifting experience much safer.

Saturday battery install

2010-05-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

This morning, five students got up early in order to get a bit ahead on the Ranger conversion. It is definitely crunch time and every bit of time we can spend on the truck is that much closer we are to the goal of completion with a truck entry at the SMARTT Challenge final event on May 14th. Several items needed to be done in order to install the batteries so everyone jumped in and worked as a team to get the job done. The front battery box was installed, foam insulation was measured, cut and installed and finally, the batteries were lowered into place. Everything went perfectly and now, let the wiring begin!

Rhino Liner

2010-04-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great experience with Doug at Rhino Linings of Jacksonville on Friday. We had the opportunity not only to get the bed of the Ranger coated, but to actually do most of the work! Doug explained to us the chemical properties of the liner and also the fact that it cures in 8 seconds! After prepping the truck bed, Aaron got the opportunity to practice before spraying our truck. We rolled the truck in the spray booth and the coating began. A short time and three coats later, the truck emerged with a beautiful hard finish. Thanks to Doug for his time and training.

We have Power...steering that is.

2010-04-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Dakota finished mounting the power steering pump today. All we have to do is plumb and wire it up for 12 volt operation. Since we removed the gas engine and all components, the power steering had to be revisited. We bought a 12 volt pump out of an MR2 that should do the trick. The only issue we will have is the current draw can be as high as 75 amps, so we need to design a circuit to limit the current draw under certain circumstances so as not to tax our DC/DC converter.

Fundraising at Harris Teeter

2010-04-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today was an incredible day of fund-raising at the Harris Teeter in Porters Neck. Every student who signed up for a shift showed up to sell their raffle tickets. We were at the store from 9am to 5pm, and the reception from the shoppers was phenomenal. We sold over $1000 worth of tickets for our upcoming drawing on May 6th. Way to go team!

Welding supports for battery boxes

2010-04-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

Today, Casey and Greg took some time to weld the battery box supports on the frame rails. The process went smoothly and now the battery boxes can be bolted onto the supports for the final install.

1200 pounds of simulated batteries

2010-04-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

This morning, we needed to find out how the truck will sit when the batteries are installed. We had to do this to insure that the rear battery box would clear the rear differential. What better way to test this out than to have 1200 pounds worth of students jump in the truck to simulate the weight. We were able to determine the placement of the rear box and also were pleased with the stance of the truck. Hellwig spring helper suspension bars have been installed and will drastically help out with the ride and handling of the truck after the addition of the batteries.

Kiwanis Breakfast

2010-04-20T09:03:00.000-07:00

Five of the EV students showed up at 7:00am to the Topsail Island Kiwanis meeting in Holly Ridge to sell raffle tickets. We will be giving a presentation about our program on May 18th, so Secretary Ray Barwick was nice enough to allow us to show up early and sell our raffle tickets. We did very well, selling $202 dollars worth in less than 20 minutes! We will be at the Harris Teeter in Porters Neck this Saturday from 9 to 5, so come out and buy tickets.

Long day, double duty

2010-04-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today we had two events to participate in, our raffle fundraiser at Ace Hardware, and Earth Day in Hampstead. Six students showed up at various times to help sell raffle tickets and to show off the car. People were very interested in the MR2 conversion and most were surprised that it was done by high school students.
We have passed the $1250 mark for raffle sales indicating were are half way to our goal. Next week we will be at Harris Teeter in Porters Neck from 9am-5pm. We also will be heading to the Topsail Kiwanis club on Tuesday to sell tickets before their program begins. All this and a truck to convert makes for a busy week!

Battery boxes have arrived!

2010-04-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

We picked up the last of the four battery boxes today and they look great. Thanks to Billy Vaughn at Wilmington Sheet Metal for his fne work and attention to detail on the welded aluminum boxes. The largest of the boxes will hold seven batteries and will be located in the rear of the truck underneath the bed. We still have to decide on a mounting system, so if all goes well, they should be installed next week. Our 2/0 cable will be in next week as well, so we can beging the process of assembling the wiring of the system.

We have batteries!

2010-04-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

Our batteries were delivered today. We are breaking from tradition this year and will be using US Batteries instead of Trojan batteries. The Trojan representative never returned our seven messages therefore we decided to go with a manufacturer that would provide us with a quality USA made battery and excellent customer service. The US 145XC specs out exactly like the Trojan T-145 we have used in the past, they look great too!

The transplant is a success!

2010-04-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Today we installed the WARP 9 electric motor by attaching it to the Ford transmission. The coupler went on the transmission shaft as smooth as silk. We bolted the adapter plate to the transmission and ran the motor with 12 volts to see if all was well. If there were any problems, the motor would vibrate or the transmission would not rotate the rear wheels when in gear. Everything was fine and so we began the process of attaching the clamp motor mount to the frame of the truck. Our battery boxes and batteries should be delivered today, so keep in touch!

Fundraising at Hampstead ACE Hardware

2010-04-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we all had shifts at ACE Hardware starting at 7:30 am through 2:00. We were amazed at the support and generosity of the customers. Each student needs to sell 200 tickets in order for us to reach our goal of $2500 and Saturday helped several of the students sell half of their tickets! Thanks you to Teresa and Tommy of ACE for letting us share the parking lot for our fundraiser.

Raffle, Raffle, Raffle. Anyone want a Raffle Ticket?

2010-04-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

We have begun our yearly fundraising effort to secure funds for future projects. The class goal is to leave the program in better shape than you found it. So, with that in mind, we have been working with Toni Castoro form Hampstead furniture and Jo Adcock from Modern Woodmen to create a fundraising package that help us achieve our goal of $5000. We will be raffling off tickets for a chance to win:

An Ashley rocker recliner

Webber grill

Kawasaki string trimmer

Napa $100 gift card

Framed autographed picture of Hurricane Eric Staal.

Tickets are 1 for $3.00 or 2 for $5.00

Woodmen of the World insurance company will match our efforts up to $2500!! So this could potentially be a very successful opportunity. We will hold our drawing on May 6th at our first annual EV open house.

Wheels!

2010-04-08T04:27:00.000-07:00

We bought wheels for the truck this week. Richard at Midway Tire was able to get them for us at his cost, plus he donated the tires for free. Thank you Richard!! We mounted the wheels and tires on the truck just to see how they look and the response is mixed. Some love them and others think the truck looks "thug". Well, when all is said and done, and the truck is lowered down a few inches, it will look just fine. Let us know what you think. Like them or not, they are staying!

Putting it all back together

2010-04-06T04:19:00.000-07:00

With the truck back from paint, we need to concentrate on getting everything put back together, painting the unfinished areas and also cleaning the over spray. We have a long way to go and a short time to get there!

Tasks needed for completion include, mounting motor, making battery boxes, installing control board and components and installing batteries. We are still waiting on our controller, which has been delayed due to manufacturing issues, so hopefully we will actually have a controller before the final competition in Raleigh.

Time for paint!!

2010-04-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

With Spring break here and a week out of school, it seemed like a good time to get the truck painted. Harry Rowland at Rawls Customz agreed to paint the truck for a good price. Some minor body work needed to be done and a color change. Therefore, the door jambs, engine bay and under the hood required prepping and spraying. The truck was painted Chrome Yellow like our old Ranger, and it turned out great! I will let the photos speak for themselves.

The bed finally hinged

2010-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

We finally got the bed hinged. Harder than it seems, it took a bit of time to balance the bed vertically and align the bed to the frame rails. Anyway, just wanted to share another small step toward the completion of our Ranger conversion.

Nine years of winning!

2010-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

We just took this picture of the MR2 and the trophies we have won over the last 9 years in the SMARTT Challenge and at the Northampton East EV Rally. We hope to continue our winning ways this May 14-15th at the final event in Raleigh.

Bed prep and hinge

2010-03-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the bed off the truck and prepared it for the Herculiner bed lining. The bed was also hinged for easy access to the batteries. With the some extra room under the bed now, we are now designing battery boxes for optimum placement and drawing the designs as a solid model on Inventor to determine where to place battery boxes. We are planning to have the bed raised by a linear actuator if we can determine the correct geometry.

Out with old, in with the new

2010-03-12T04:32:00.000-08:00

Eariler this week, we recieved our new adapter plate and motor mount for the truck . We have taken the coupler design to be machined at a local machine shop, Atlantic Tool and Die Company in Hampstead. They will be making revisions to an older design we had from a previous conversion, and creating a new coupler to fit our Ranger transmission.

We also had to grind off an inch and a half of the input shaft of the transmission so the electric motor shaft would clear the input shaft when the motor and tranny were attached. It really made sparks fly!

Truck and transmission back from blasting

2010-03-11T05:18:00.000-08:00

We got the truck back from getting a blast from the past. The transmission and drive shaft were bead blasted and the truck rails were also blasted in preparation for painting. The engine compartment was pressure washed to remove all of the oil and grease build-up that had occurred over the past 9 years of driving. We now can begin designing the battery box and engine compartment control board.

Slimmer and trimmer

2010-02-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

The truck has lost some weight this week with the removal of the V6 engine. We had an initial weight of 3247 pounds. We removed the unnecessary components such as the engine, gas tank, radiators and hoses, leaving it at a svelte 2460 pounds! Dropping the 800 pounds will be a good thing as we begin the conversion and put back approximately 1400 pounds. We need to stay below the gross 4600 pound vehicle weight to avoid disqualification. We should be fine, but the lighter the better!

Engine extracted!!

2010-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

We finally have removed the last hurdle in our Ranger conversion , the engine. After making sure all wires and lines were disconnected, we loosened the motor mounts, attached a strap and hoisted the V-6 from the engine bay. Now, the conversion process can be broken down into several tasks and assigned to student teams for design and implementation. Next week, the thinking begins!

Out with the old tranny

2010-02-10T04:30:00.000-08:00

This week we removed the transmission from the Ranger. With the help of Mr. Sessions, our technical advisor, it came out with ease and we can now start to plan our attack for creating an adapter plate to mate to the Warp 9 electric motor. Later this week we will be removing the engine and cleaning the engine bay. We may need to have the engine bay sandblasted since there appears to be quite a bit of sludge and oily deposits.

Finally, the conversion is beginning to start rolling. Our next step is to determine which components we intend to use and then begin the ordering process.

Sparks flying!

2010-02-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

The first challenge we face in terms of design, is the rear battery box. Structurally, the frame rails and cross members provide stability and rigidity for the rear suspension. The only issue we have is the factory placement of the cross members are not conducive to battery box placement. Without removing the braces, we will have very limited space for our 12 batteries under the bed. We decided to remove the braces and replace them with straight bar to provide the support for our battery boxes. Today, we began the removal process by grinding the rivets. Let the sparks fly!

Pleasant Air is good Air

2010-01-28T05:04:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week Dakota and Aaron went to Pleasant Air to get the Freon removed from the truck. Everything went smooth and we can now start to get parts off the truck to further our conversion.

Under pressure

2010-01-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

We are very close to beginning our conversion, so it is always good to have a clean vehicle to work with. Brian from Cape Fear Pro Wash generously donated his services so we could get rid of all the dirt and grime from the truck, especially the chassis. It is exam time, so the class met after the exams were over to help remove the bed to expose the dirty undercarriage. Arik even got to try his hand at pressure washing. The process took about an hour and now the truck is clean and ready for our first step in the conversion process, evacuating the freon form the air conditioning system.

Weigh in

2010-01-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

We are in the beginning stages of our conversion process with the Ranger. One of the first duties is having to determine the curb weight before all internal combustion and non essential parts are removed. We called Larry Hall and he graciously allowed us to borrow his set of scales for the weigh in. The truck weighs a hefty 3247 pounds at this point. Now we can remove the engine and other parts such as gas tank, muffler, radiator etc. and then weigh the truck again. This process is crucial so that we can determine how much weight we can add back to the truck during the conversion process and still weigh less than the gross vehicle weight as determined by the manufacturer. We should have no problem since the GVR is around 4600 pounds.

WE HAVE A TRUCK!!!

2009-12-23T19:16:00.001-08:00

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?

2009-12-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-04T04:59:00.001-08:00

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!

Winners once again! Trophy count now over 100 in 9 years of competing.

2009-11-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Congratulations are in order for the Electric Vehicle class and their victories this past weekend at the Northampton East EV Rally. We won first place in the Autocross event, Acceleration event and the Range event. The class also placed second in the Troubleshooting event. I was very proud of the class and the way they represented Topsail High School. The event officials commented on how my students had the best manners out of all the schools.The event was held on the Aulander air strip and it was a beautiful day for flying evidently because we had to stop the event and remove cones from the runway a few times!

Topsail Middle School 6th Grade visit

2009-10-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity today to show the MR2 to sixth grade science students at Topsail Middle today. The students were very interested in the car and the SMARTT Challenge program. Some of them will be participating in the Jr. Solar Sprint this year. Thanks to Adam, Arik, Brady and Jeff for talking to the middle school students about the EV class.

Fall Festival

2009-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

We displayed at the Hampstead United Methodist Church annual Fall Festival on Saturday morning. It was a cold fall morning and to make matters worse, the Coastal Cruisers car club did not show up, so we did not get the traffic and attention were would have gotten if they had. It actually looked like we had broken down at the Church! Visitors to the festival kept parking all around us so we decided to leave around noon. Sometimes it is better to cut your losses. Anyway,
thanks to Ryan, Brady, Ashley and Aaron for working a shift even though they didn't have many viewers. There will be many more opportunities in the future to spread the word of Electrics.

Doughnuts and Specific Gravity

2009-10-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

2 dozen glazed doughnuts from Surf City Deli

Dakota looking through the refractometer

The true measure of a battery state of charge is the specific gravity value. As you can see on this page, a fully charged battery should be 1.265. We made a chart and measured the specific gravity of the electrolyte of each cell in all 13 batteries. We used an instrument called a refractometer to do the testing. We are trying to determine if we have any batteries or cells that read lower than the others. Readings should not vary more than .05 differences between cells. So far, so good. We have a couple of batteries that are "suspect" right now and we may have to desulfate them and recheck later. We did find last week that we had one battery with a dead cell, so we replaced it and things are looking better for now.

P.S. I bribed the students with doughnuts to get them to work!!

Spot Festival

2009-09-28T05:17:00.000-07:00

We had the MR2 on display at the Hampstead Spot Festival again this year. Usually this is the most exposure we get with our program, but this year the rain kept people home and the crowds were light. We displayed on Saturday and the team volunteered their time with the festival on Saturday and Sunday, parking cars, picking up trash, hauling hay, and breading fish in the Spot fish dinner tent. I was pleased that all of my team showed up for their shifts and represented the school well. Hopefully next year will have better weather.

Homecoming parade a washout

2009-09-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

We took the freshly washed MR2 to the homecoming game on Friday night only to have the parade cancelled due to bad weather. So we just displayed the vehicle and made the best of the situation. On a bright note, the Pirates won! On the the Spot Festival tomorrow and hoping for good weather.

P.S. No, we are not promoting gangs here...it is just the guys showing the "EV" sign with their hands...clever.

DC/DC Converter installed!

2009-09-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

We finally got around to installing the Iota DLS-45 DC/DC converter this week. The unit was installed under the car in the tunnel that previously housed the gas tank. So we would not any issues with the converter turning on before the controller, we used a small contactor that is activated at the same time as the main battery pack contactor. We found out the hard way last spring that if the auxiliary battery is low on charge and the DC/DC turns on before the Raptor controller, it tries to charge the battery and pulls high voltage through the controller thus destroying the pre-charge circuit. So this time we did it right and ....no smoke!
One benefit of the work this week was that several new students were able to gain a better understanding of the vehicle schematic. Knowledge is power.

Storage a plenty

2009-09-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

The EV garage is in the process of getting a makeover with the addition of shelving in the storage room. We never really had time to organize and make the garage our own last year since, by the time we moved into the new school, we immediately began the MR2 conversion.
The EV10 team took control with Ryan Stone in charge and within a day, the shelving was erected. Thanks to Jim Stone for the lumber donation and to the students who took the time to help complete the project(see photo). Now it is organization time!

EVcast.com interview (Podcast #270)

2009-09-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

We were interviewed Saturday by Nikki Bloomfield from aminorjourney.com about our EV program. Two students and myself fielded questions for an hour during a conference call over Skype. Marissa and Arik did a fine job with the questions, answering honestly and with candor. Nikki was very impressed with the program and did a great job of promoting what we are doing and making it known that fundraising is a crucial part of our program. Looks like the Topsail EV team has gone international!
You can catch out Podcast by going to EVcast.com

It's back!! Up and running again with new Raptor.

2009-09-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

We received the rebuilt Raptor controller this week from Peter Senkowsky and installed it during class with the new EV10 students. I must admit, I was apprehensive and nervous about firing it up, but we managed to not let the smoke out and all is well. I have not driven the car enough to determine if this one is "peppier" since it does not have the"mild" chip that Peter had in the loaner controller, but I will keep you posted.
The EV10 students seem very eager to learn and to participate, hope this enthusiasm continues throughout the year as we embrace a new conversion. Next up, installing the DC/DC converter.

Raptor Extraction!

2009-08-06T11:03:00.001-07:00

Today, we finally had to say goodbye to our "loaner" Raptor from Peter Senkowsky. Several EV10 students (Arik, Adam, Marissa and Josh), an EV9 (Rob) and Jeffcoat showed up to help with the extraction. It took an hour and a few small jolts to Adam's leg before the controller finally bid farewell to the MR2. I spoke to Peter today and he informed me that there was a slight delay in rebuilding our controller due to a few design changes. He should be sending ours out within 10 days. Meanwhile, the MR2 is resting on the lift awaiting the heart transplant. I will keep you informed.

Controller exchange time

2009-08-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Back in May, we had an unfortunate controller meltdown just days before our final event in Raleigh. Bad news for sure, but even worse, the Raptor controller has been out of production for nearly 5 years. Fortunately, I contacted Peter Senkowski in Ca. and he agreed to send us a Raptor "loaner" overnight and he would rebuild our damaged controller. He has finished our Raptor and completed a 200 mile burn-in so it is time to send the loaner back. This Thursday, we will remove and ship out the controller and await the return of old smokey. Hopefully we will not have a repeat performance requiring the fire extinguisher!

Presentation at Wilmington Men's Club

2009-08-02T06:25:00.001-07:00

The Mr2 conversion was presented at the Wilmington Men's Club on Friday morning at the YMCA in Wilmington. Five EV10 members were there, Adam. Arik, Ashley, Brady and Josh. They fielded questions during and after the presentation and showed the MR2 outside to a very enthusiastic and supportive group of about 100 elderly men. We were impressed by their energy and enthusiasm plus their insightful questions. We were introduced by an old friend in Bouty Baldridge who showed his Lithium powered Geo Metro.

MR2 conversion video

2009-07-30T21:05:00.001-07:00

Fiero sold and shipped!

2009-07-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Fiero was loaded up and sent on its way to the new owner in Florida today. Yesterday, we got the Fiero moved from the old garage and washed in preparation for the transport to Florida for the new owner. Thanks to Chris, Ryan, Marissa, Jeff, Brady and Arik for the help!

Car show

2009-07-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

We displayed the MR2 at a car show today sponsored by the Topsail Wrestling team. There were over 60 cars there from 1937 to 2010...of course we were the only electric car so there were plenty of questions. Thanks to Brady, Adam, Marissa and also Rob from last year for showing up to help answer the tough questions!
Next week we show the car at the Wilmington men's club.

Goals

2009-07-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

Goals for EV10:
Convert a new 96 volt truck
Convert a full size truck to a Plug-in Hybrid
New web page
Monthly newsletter
Add MR2 to the EV photo album
Troubleshooting board
THS EVent- EV by the Sea (Markley will need help from all of us)
Fundraising early and often
Change MR2 interior color
Networking (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging...etc)
Build storage shelves in shop

New steering wheel

2009-07-13T03:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an 18 year old recall, the MR2 now has a brand new steering wheel! I had noticed on the MR2OC message board that there was a recall on the MR2 steering wheel dating way back to 1991 and there may be a chance my car would benefit. I do not know why they had the recall, but our wheel was showing the effects of age and ozone degradation on the foam padding. A quick check with the dealer showed our car was eligible! We went with black even though our interior is blue because we plan on changing the interior color soon.

$100 is better than 0$!

2009-06-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

Fundraising was not so successful. We were promised $100 from Jeff Gordon Chevrolet and had several "Come back later's". Britt Motorsports said they could not donate cash but would try to find and alternative way to help us such as the possibility of a motorcycle raffle.
I know this is a tough time financially for everyone, but I also feel that we will never know unless we ask. Maybe next week we can strike paydirt. Feel free to provide any contacts you may know who might be willing to help out out team. Thanks!

Fundraising Tomorrow

2009-06-25T15:26:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow some students for next years' class will be going around the Wilmington area looking for sponsors for our fundraising campaign. For the past 9 years, the EV program has been self-funded through sponsorships and donations from area merchants and gracious individuals or local service organizations. We have ambitious goals for "EV10" next year and we will need quite a bit of money to complete our goals.

Hopefully tomorrow will turn out great!