In May 2008 I bought a 1974 Triumph spitfire with a blown engine with the goal of converting it to electric power. Once I got it towed home and dismantled, I found that the problem was that the two bolts holding piston #4 to the crankshaft had come loose, and the piston had crashed into the side of the engine and broken the side of the block. Here is a picture of the blown engine block. Note the gaping hole on the right.

It was a lot of fun dismantling the car. Out came all the internal combustion engine components, such as the fuel tank, radiator, exhaust system and of course the engine. What was left was a huge cavity where the engine had been and whole bunch of parts. Using the guise of saving gas, and selling my old Honda S2000, I got approval from the boss to start buying stuff. So I ordered the "universal conversion kit" from ElectroAutomotive and bought myself an oxyacetylene welding outfit.

The adaptor plate was the first thing to go in. I had fun welding a motor mount from an 8 inch diameter steel tube (picked up as junk from SIMS metal in San Jose). My friend Ed helped me mount the motor in the cavity. Battery boxes were next, made from L-bracket material picked up from Allen Steel in Redwood City.

Once everything was wired together and basically worked as promised, I had to address the weight issue. The front weighed roughly the same, the 4 batteries and the motor weighing roughly the same as the gas engine I took out (4x65lbs+1351lbs), so I didn't have to do anything special with the front suspension, but the back was much heavier with 8 batteries. The extra weight was compensated with a set of Monroe gas adjustable shocks (MA785). I blew the first set, as the rubber rubbed against the "vertical member" above the drum brakes. So I put two thick washers to act as spacers to give me about 1/4 inch minimum clearance.

New dash, including ammeter and voltmeter (state of charge)
View from the rear - note outlet in the gas filler cap

8 x 12V deep cycle batteries in the trunk. Note the main breaker to the left, and the charger behind.



The front showing the 4 batteries, the plate with the electronics, and the motor situated under the plate



Better view of the motor and the plate with the electronics