[DRIVING] 1940 Chevrolet with Tesla Motor

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Well now that insurance has done their thing, I can share that about a week and a half ago, I was in a wreck driving the 40 Chevy. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the damage is repairable.

I had been out for a nice cruise to enjoy the weather, test a CHAdeMO station that was back on line, and generally relax on a Friday evening. On my way home, a car made "an improper turn" into the right rear of the car. Bent the wheel, crunched the fender, dented the body, and the tow home broke the coilover mounts and a coolant line.

I've started the process of getting her back on the road, but the next few weekends are filled with family events and a friend's wedding, so she'll probably have to wait until mid-June.

Here's a photo from before the wreck. These EA stations are pretty cool, I love the simulated neon.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

I posted this over in the Events sub forum, but wanted to share here as well:

Well, I did make it to Day 4 of Power Tour and back home again, but just barely. Forgive the long post, it's a long story.

The original plan was to leave my house around 8am, get to the track between noon and 1pm, and then head for home around 4:00pm.

Here's some background: The main highways in NC form an arc from Raleigh to Charlotte, via Greensboro and Winston-Salem. This arc is fairly well built up, and has plenty of charging infrastructure. There is a highway route that takes a direct line from Raleigh to Charlotte via Asheboro and is quite a pleasant drive. The last leg of the Power Tour route was on this highway, and since I wanted to drive part of the route, I chose to go this way for the trip down, then take the arc back.

There is some charging infrastructure on the direct route, and the first 2/3 of the drive was fairly easy. I was worried about the freshly installed, freshly balanced new rear wheel, and whether there was any unseen damage to the tire (which I had switched from the damaged wheel to the new wheel) but otherwise was enjoying the drive. I knew the last leg was going to be a challenge. My range estimates for the car ranged from 60-75 miles, depending on how I measured SOC, and I knew there were no chargers for the last 55-59 miles (depending on precise route). The thing I had on my check list but forgot, was to check what the elevation change was. Turns out, that last 55 mile stretch is almost entirely uphill.

About 5 miles from the charger I was targeting, and 2 miles from a backup location (at a dealership, always a crap shoot), I hit truly 0miles range, just before the crest of a hill. Fortunately, I was able to coax the car across the street and into a self serve car wash, where I found a 110V wall plug. At this point, I was 5-10 miles from the track, and already about 1.5hrs behind schedule, because I had slowed the charging rate at previous stops due to the heat. I managed to get just enough charge to get the car up the next 2 miles straight up hill, and coasted up to the charger at the dealer. Literally every single employee of the dealership came out to chat, and loved the car. I got some juice, before the charge failed. The employees mentioned that the station was iffy. I proceeded the next 3 miles down the road to the charger I had intended to get to, which absolutely refused to start charge, both via the card reader and the app. So back up the road to the iffy dealership charger. It again started then shortly after failed, and a wonderful employee offered to move some cars in their back lot and let me through the gate so I could get to the other station back there. I picked up a full charge and headed to the track.

I arrived around 5pm, 30 minutes after on-track time had ended, but 30 minutes before the event ended. After being sent on 3 wild goose chases, I finally found the check in, and then spent about 30-45 minutes wandering the vendors as they packed up. I got to see Chevrolet Performance's new EV conversion kit, and hear from their rep that while it's now on sale, you have to have their certified shop install it.

Then, it was time to head back to Raleigh. Because the nearby chargers were down or having issues, I planned to drive about 15-20 miles up the road to Salisbury, and plug into a Level 2 charger while I got dinner. Well, when I rolled into that charger, I discovered that yes, it was across the street from a brewery, but the park it was next to had a sizeable homeless population, and my car not only doesn't lock, but was full of my firesuit, helmet, GoPros, and other items easy to disappear. So, I chose to stay with the car and wait for it to charge. Here, a new problem reared its head: my PCS was only pulling 1.67kW from the 6.5kW station. SO after an hour or so, I decided to try an risk driving the next 20 miles up the road to a fast charger in Lexington. To make a long story short, I limped the car up the exit ramp, across a bridge, and coasted into the charging station in Lexington, and had to push the car to re-orient it when the cable wouldn't reach.

It was at this charging station that I learned some important information that made the math make so much more sense. From stone cold dead to fully charged took only 22.5kWh. It's supposed to be a 32kWh pack. That's some serious degradation I wasn't accounting for.

From hear, things got easier, but not easy. By the time I left the Lexington charging station, it was around 9pm. I headed 22 miles up the road to High Point, to a station at a Hyundai dealership, because the ones closer to I-85/40 were marked as down on PlugShare. Well, that station was ICEd. Fortunately, there was another station around 10 miles away that, while PlugShare showed as down, EVGo's own app said had been used 6 hrs prior. I headed there, and the station worked flawlessly.

From here, things got easy. I tried to keep driving legs to 25-30 miles, just to be careful. I hit a charger in Burlington, then one in Hillsboro, which was the same charger I had used for previous range tests. From there I topped off once more in Briar Creek, and then headed home. I arrived home just before 2am.

All in all, I traveled 318 miles, and the car was either moving or charging from 8:30am until 2am, with the exception of 30-45 minutes at the venue. Many lessons were learned about the car and the planning, and I'm very glad I did this very terrible idea before Drag Week, rather than waiting until then to attempt long back roads drives.

I've got a long list of things to fix. Some of that includes but is not limited to:

• The PCS needs to be fixed so that Level 2 is a feasible backup option

• The motor/inverter cooling needs further improvement

• I must add cooling to the battery pack

• I need to install the gauges I have on order

• Front suspension needs adjustment/replacement

• I need a phone charger

Lastly, I'm considering a battery upgrade. Chevy Volt Gen2 would be the easiest, but the range improvement from new, healthy batteries would only be 40-50%,at best. Model S batteries would be the best option, but are very costly and would require a full rework of the battery box. The benefit of that might be getting to my original hope for a fully flat floor from cabin to trunk (as this is a business coupe), so I could easily sleep in the car on Drag Week.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

If anyone has suggestions for cheap, decent range, high power batteries, I'm all ears. (Yes I know those are the "pick two of these 3" options for batteries, but hey, worth a shot)

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

I got to the track for the first time this weekend. Mixed results, and definitely have a strange tune issue (see thread here: viewtopic.php?p=58099#p58099 )

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

So I finally finished putting together a very cringeworthy Youtube video with my footage from the track test. I promise this will make Damien's videos seem positively professional.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Oh and just to add: I have installed gauges since this video so, you know, slightly less sketchy.

[johu]

Cool video
Damien just set throtmax=92 to mask out the issue for now

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Cool video
Damien just set throtmax=92 to mask out the issue for now

Thanks!

I played around with that briefly after discussing with @Clanky, but 92 still tripped and felt sluggish. I haven't had much time to play with it more and see if a lower value works.

I can say that at the track I played around with just about every other parameter and didn't see benefits. I'm hoping to find time to back date the firmware to confirm which version the issue shows up in.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

A brief update:

I only have about a month remaining before Hot Rod Drag Week. Fortunately the folks that run tech at DW are great, and are excited to see the car, so we reached an agreement regarding the recent NHRA rule changes. I won't go into full detail there, but needless to say there is quite a long list of things to do before DW, between rule changes and problems identified during this summer's various "adventures".

A brief summary of the list:
- Assorted 12V wiring changes
- Assorted HV wiring changes
- Extend firewall by 2-inches
- Replace the radiator with an even larger one to hopefully eliminate the overheating problem
- Replace the Gen1 Volt batteries with Gen2 Volt batteries (best option that fits the existing mounts, is affordable, and I can hopefully get in time.)
- Add battery cooling
- Add things like a permanent tow strap, USB charging ports, and other small amenities
- Change settings in the BMS and add relay logic to disable charging in event of an issue
- Finish a few small things with the cage and harness

So far, I've made some of the 12V changes, begun work on both the firewall and the radiator situation, fought with a junkyard in CA over payment for the new batteries, and picked up relays, tow straps, and other small parts.

I'm planning on bringing my cameras on DW to film as much as I can. I know there are a few days that will be quite the challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. The biggest knot in my gut comes from the fact we don't receive the exact route until we turn in our timeslip each day. There are a couple of potential routes with charging holes, but I think I have a plan for if they send us those ways. I plan to take my time each day once I get the route and carefully plan my charging stops.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

This weekend, the '40 has gone under the knife. I've torn half the car apart to swap to Volt Gen2 batteries.

Yesterday, I removed the harness, seat, steering wheel, and battery to drivers compartment firewall, then pulled the Gen1 batteries out of the car. This took basically the entire day. When the batteries went into the car, I hadn't finished the roll cage, and even then it was a pain. Taking them out with the cage in place was an absolute bear. Worth it, though, for the peace of mind that having the battery entirely within the cage structure brings.

Today was a slow day. I started out by figuring out what changes to the battery box the Gen2 batteries would require. Because of the sizes of the sub modules, I had been able to configure each Gen1 pack into 2 rows of basically the same length. The Gen2 uses different sub-module sizes, so I could not do the same. One row is 3/4" longer than the Gen1 pack, and the other row is several inches shorter. Also, the cell taps are in different locations, so my straps over the top of the battery did not all work out.

I used a scrap piece of PVC, marked with the locations of the bus bars and cell taps, to figure out the best configuration inside the car. I also sorted out how I could repurpose the stock interbattery wiring, which in the Gen2 uses actual cables instead of the weird stacks of copper sheets in the Gen1.

Then I set about modifying the battery box. The cleats for the end of the rows need to be moved (out for long rows, in for the short rows) and I needed to delete some of the straps that go over the top. The previous set up was overkill with 3 per row (even according to the racing spec), and there was no way to reuse all 3 on any row. The addition of the roll cage made this work even more difficult than it made battery removal. I managed to get everything cut out and paint stripped without severe injury, so that's a win. I also managed to prep the new end cleats before I finished for the day.

The other issue that cropped up is that the Gen2 modules are narrower than the Gen1. So, I found some square stock to add inside the rack to narrow it. This involved way too much driving around to various stores, in addition to 3 other trips today for stuff like more cut off wheels, and tools that had disappeared (could not find my T30 Torx bit but had plenty of T25, T27, T40).

Tomorrow is Labor Day here in the US, but given my position, I need to do a bit of actual work tomorrow. I'll probably still take most of the day in the shop, and hopefully can weld in all the new cleats, run new connections to my HV junction box, get the Gen2 packs into the car, and maybe even run the cooling and HV lines. If I get a real burst of energy, I may even get the BMS installed and the SimpBMS reprogrammed.

If I don't get all that done, I'm going to be very close to out of time, so There's lots of incentive to move quickly and efficiently (unlike today which was neither.)

[RobCote]

Following

Can you share any resources you have regarding NHRA requirements for EVs? I've been struggling to find them. Did you do a pre-event tech review? How did you arrange that?

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Following

Can you share any resources you have regarding NHRA requirements for EVs? I've been struggling to find them. Did you do a pre-event tech review? How did you arrange that?

NHRA's rules for EVs slower than 7.50sec are included in the rules for the Summit Racing ET series, specifically section 4.H of the NHRA rulebook. You can find the rule book on nhraracer (https://nhraracer.com/content/general.a ... zoneid=132), or directly at the link below:
https://www.nhraracer.com/Files/Tech/20 ... _08_23.pdf

Note: NHRA issued a complete re-write of the EV rules in July of this year. Prior to July, the NHRA rules, like IHRA, WDRA, and Loring Timing Association, were based on the National Electric Drag Racing Association's (NEDRA) rules. The rewrite changed the focus of some rules, and added significant new requirements. It would not surprise me if there is another substantial rewrite this off season. I'm planning to offer some suggestions once I have time.

For Drag Week specifically, there is a tech inspection on arrival for all cars, but since I was in Street Machine Eliminator, it was pretty cursory, focused mainly on helmet, harness, and roll cage. Higher level classes have more rigorous inspections. Because the rules changed so close to the event, I did make numerous changes/updates, but I did not have all of the new equipment, however I had discussed that with the race director when NHRA announced the changes, and they were ok with it for this year.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Ok so I realized I didn't update this thread, but I did make it to Drag Week, and survived the week, albeit with many many challenges. For more info, see here: viewtopic.php?t=4166 I think I've finally gotten caught up on sleep.

I've been taking it slow on the repairs. At some point, after spending all summer thrashing on the car, I needed a bit of a break. I've also been trying to fix things the right way this time.

Here's the list of everything that I need to do before I take on another Drag and Drive event:

• Repair LDU mounts

• Fix the WOT tune issue

• Replace a burned out charger coolant pump

• Add a coolant reservoir to the battery cooling system

• fix the onboard charger power issue

• replace all 4 tires

• change the offset on the front wheels

• add coilovers to the front suspension

• fix the horrible amount of rear camber that destroyed my drag radials

• Add a limited slip differential

• Replace the taillight damaged while trailering home

• add proper window tracks

• add some aero improvements to help range

• upgrade the headlights and front turn signals

• add the new NHRA safety systems (isolation monitor, new indicator lights, fire suppression)

• Finish developing the Volt Gen2 version of SimpBMS

• fix an annoying rattle of the firewall

• Make the windows and trunk lid something closer to watertight

• add windshield wipers

• Add CCS fast charging in addition to CHAdeMO

• create a spot for my phone and wallet while driving

• fix a few small items I rushed to get to DW

As you can see, its a long list, and a significant mix of EV things, old car things, and comfort things.

I'm starting with getting the car back on the road, but even that has led to lots of decisions. Shortly before going on a day of Power Tour (which helped discover the need for new batteries before DW), I had picked up a Sport LDU that I was told had a bad gear set. After opening up the inverter, it has some bubbling in the Musk-goo, but the electrical measurements check out, meaning that it could be fine apart form the gears. When the motor mounts broke, one ear on the original base LDU broke (on the motor end), so now I have a conundrum. Do I repair and reinstall the base LDU for now, finish fixing the base tune, and later repair and install the Sport LDU, or do I wait until I can afford the parts to fix the Sport LDU gearing and add LSD, test it, and then install that, hoping that it solves the tune issue as well? Or do I take both units apart and Frankenstein together some functional combination?

For now, I'm working on rebuilding the motor mounts. Of course, two mounts broke but the third was always a bit sketchy and I think it contributed to my rear camber issue, as it was pulling on parts of the suspension. So I started by removing and refabricating the one intact motor mount (front). Last weekend, I also refabricated the rear motor mount, and I'm hoping next weekend I can sort out the third (motor end).

I'm also considering what to do about the charging. Here's my current line of thinking: The PCS has given me and others a lot of trouble. I've yet to find a public Level2 charger with more than 7kW available, meaning even if I get the PCS working properly I'm not really using its full 11kW capability. I need to add CCS (gut feeling is that DW will be in the midwest next year, where a lot of the fast charging infrastructure is GM and Ford dealerships with only CCS) which right now means adding a Zombieverter. Zombie can control the Leaf Gen2 charger/DC-DC, which tops out at 6.6kW, and as noted above, that's plenty with the stations I've seen. Therefore, it seems to make sense to replace the PCS with the Leaf components, and use the Zombieverter with i3 LIM to add CCS and control the Leaf stuff.

Regardless, my budget needs some time to cool off, so most of those changes will likely begin late this winter or early spring. I'd really like to have the car on the road and ready for the entire race season next year, so I've got to plan and prioritize. Right now, that's starting with fabricating new motor mounts.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

I got a bit of work done over the weekend.

The forward and rear motor mounts are done and painted, and with some creative use of clamps and scrap square tube, I was able to straighten the motor end mount. I still need to modify that mount to pick up the third bolt, and to be better braced so it can't bend again.

I also used some JB weld to reattach the piece of the ear that broke off. Since that piece is not threaded, I'm a little less concerned about it. I also picked up much higher grade bolts than what I was using before, to hopefully avoid breakage.

I spent way too much time thinking about which drive unit is going back in the car, and cleaning up both of them. I spent some time investigating the Sport unit; for background, the story I was told by the seller was this: He was driving, was calmly leaving from a stop on a hill, lost power and heard a clunk, and could hear something spinning but not turning the wheels. The service center said the gears failed, replaced the entire drive unit, and let him keep the old one. I opened up the gear box drain, and didn't get much fluid (maybe 1/2 or 1/4 quart) but it looked clean, very little signs of debris, not really any glitter, and didn't smell burned. I think I have to open up the case and actually check on the gears and bearings, unless someone near NC has a borescope I can borrow.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

The '40 made it in a magazine!

Sick the Mag is a magazine created to cover drag and drive events like Hot Rod Magazine's Drag Week, Rocky Mountain Race Week, etc. The magazine now hosts its own series of events including Sick Week, Sick Summer, Death Week and the Sick Shootouts.

The '40 got a two page spread, with some nice photographs and a great write up about the amazing and brutal experience I had at Drag Week 2023.

(for anyone wondering about the "sick" magazine name, the magazine was founded and is published by Tom Bailey, who became known for "Project Sick Seconds" his '69 Camaro built with the aim of running six seconds on Drag Week. Sick Seconds 2.0 became the first car to make a pass in the 5's on Drag Week and complete the week a few years ago.)

[Aragorn]

Sick Week 2024 next?

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Sick Week 2024 next?

Unfortunately, no. Signup for Sick Week was the Sunday immediately after Drag Week, and I just could not afford that registration after the money poured into getting the car to and through Drag Week. (in my opinion, terrible planning by the Sick team, but I'm sure there was a reason)

I'd really like to go. It's great that the Sick events have a place for EVs (within the Sick Freaks class) and I'm on the interest list for Sick Summer. I should have the car back up and running by then too.

[Aragorn]

Ah thats a bit annoying. I have heard though that you can just "turn up" and you'll usually get in (certainly to dragweek). I think that while they're full, they inevitably get no-shows from folks who have paid but for whatever reason arent ready in time. So there are usually spots available for those that just turn up. Ofcourse its a bit of a risk driving all that way

That said, a few extra months to get thru some of the niggles cant hurt and might make the whole experience somewhat smoother and more enjoyable!

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Ah thats a bit annoying. I have heard though that you can just "turn up" and you'll usually get in (certainly to dragweek). I think that while they're full, they inevitably get no-shows from folks who have paid but for whatever reason arent ready in time. So there are usually spots available for those that just turn up. Ofcourse its a bit of a risk driving all that way

That said, a few extra months to get thru some of the niggles cant hurt and might make the whole experience somewhat smoother and more enjoyable!

For Drag Week, if you're on the waitlist, yeah you can show up and if there are enough spaces left after registration closes, you can get in. There was a whole holding area for them. Usually there are enough spaces for everyone that shows up. If I remember correctly, Sick Week may have done away with that last year for their event, but I'm not sure.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

The slow grind to get the car back on the road continues. This weekend I found enough time to finish massaging the new front and rear drive unit mounts so that everything fits. The drive unit will still need to come back out so I can modify the driver's side motor mount, which right now is held in by a single bolt, but it was a good moment when I could finally pull the lift table out from under the car.

I also need to do some work on the axles before the drive unit goes back in for good.

I'm leaning towards rebuilding the Sport unit gear box and installing that, rather than the Base unit that was in the car before, but I still have not made up my mind. I'll likely make that call in January.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

She's back alive!

After a great deal of swearing, the use of my large crowbar named "IDA" (I'm Done Asking), and an impromptu water pump replacement, Shocking Chevy is back together and on the road. I had just enough time for a short test around the neighborhood yesterday, and today it's raining, but it looks like we might have some good weather later this week for testing and working on the tune.

I decided to put the base LDU back in for now to work on the tune issue. Since it's a known issue on these units, I feel it's important not only for my own education but also for the community as a whole that I figure out what parameter is causing the issue. I think I'm close, we'll see later this week. Later this year, I will put a limited slip in the Sport LDU, and then install that in the car. Then the tuning fun begins again!

I'll also need to take a bunch of the car apart again when I change out the OBC/DC-DC, and add CCS. Current plan is a Leaf PDM with Zombieverter to handle both. There are also some tweaks needed on the BMS, and I need to create the new system for indicating battery status to the exterior of the car.

As I expected, Drag Week 2024 will be in the Midwest, and looking at PlugShare, there are a lot of CCS only stations (mostly at GM dealerships), and they really fill in the map, compared to stations with CHAdeMO. It doesn't look like NACS adds much to the map (they're mostly co-located with CCS stuff) so I'm not prioritizing any work on that compatibility, but it remains my long term intention to explore getting that to function too.

[Aragorn]

Really looking forward to seeing this thing lay down some proper smoking fast passes

Can you retain Chademo and run the CCS alongside for maximum options?

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Can you retain Chademo and run the CCS alongside for maximum options?

Thats the intention. The CHAdeMO plug is on the driver's side, and currently the J1772 is on the passenger side; the OBC already has its own contactor box, so switching out for a CCS plug and adjusting the contactor setup shouldn't be too hard. Since I already have a CHAdeMO control board, I'll just leave that in place, and add a CCS setup, whether standalone or Zombie and BMW LIM.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

And Shocking Chevy is registered for Drag Week 2024!

Hoping to do some tuning today, it looks like the weather might hold off for a bit. If not, I might finally finish editing my video about Drag Week 2023.

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

I don't know whether to write screed aimed at the car or myself. The base inverter is blown.

While I had the car about 5 miles away at a local community college parking lot testing and working on the tune, the PCS failed to turn on the DC-DC converter after one of the power cycles. For reasons that remain a mystery, I decided instead of parking, waiting a bit, and trying again (which often solves the issue) that I would just drive straight home on the 12V battery and fix it there. I made it 3 miles, during which I could hear the cooling fan and pumps slowing down. As I slowed to make a turn at an intersection about 2 miles from home, the inverter shut off. Initially, I thought it was just the 12V system had gotten too low and needed to be charged. That happened on DW 2023, and charging the 12V was enough to restart. What I forgot was on DW, I was driving slowly up hill, not quickly decelerating. After walking home, biking back with a multimeter, wrenches, and spare battery, I determined that the inverter was going straight to an OC error as soon as start was triggered. Biked back home, and got a neighbor to tow me back using their truck. Winched the car into the shop with a come-along and then spent a hour getting it positioned in the right spot so I can park the daily and work on it.

I haven't yet pulled the drive unit or taken measurements on it. Right now I'm both pissed at myself for rushing home with no DC-DC, and frustrated that every time I get the car running an issue takes it back off the road. For the record so far its been:

1. Get running
2. break axle
3. repair axle
4. get hit by an idiot turning right on red into the side of the car
5. repair accident damage
6. discover batteries are more degraded than I thought
7. replace batteries
8. break motor mounts on DW
9. Repair motor mounts and possibly fix tune
10. blow inverter due to 12V

Replacing the PCS with something else was already the next thing on the list, and now it is a priority.

I'm considering repairing the drive unit, rather than taking this as a sign to go to the Sport unit. I really want to get a solid 1/4 mile time with the base unit, before going to the Sport, especially because I think I have a functioning tune now. So if you've got LDU power stages laying around, let me know; I'll buy them.