Miata Update Finally, and YES There Is Still Room

in the workshop: we are definitely running folks!   I really wanted to post this final announcement & invitation earlier in the week but circumstances conspired against me so this opportunity is available only to the TRULY spontaneous & last-minute souls who wanna jump on spending July 25-30 in an air conditioned auto lab putting together an EV and learning a lot -- it is going to be great!  I can't wait!

I have so appreciated the folks at the Green Jobs Academy of Bucks Community College for their support of this course and all the effort that they have put into making it a reality.   Be sure to check out their Fall 2011 lineup of other green jobs trainings!  Also note that we will be offering a one-day intro class on EV conversion on Saturday, October 22

So okay all kinds of behind-the-scenes stuff has been going on, little of which on examination holds much entertainment value.  Here's a shot of Brandon with the Mazda fresh on the rotisserie back in June.  We had just installed the vacuum pump (I actually helped!).  The following photo shows the engine bay as it looked this afternoon when we picked up the vehicle from BH Electrics.



With the hood and trunk now back on (a final test that the installed kit fitted as planned), the components will be coming back out over the weekend in preparation for our build!  We spent two hours screwing in battery interconnects this afternoon and I've been assigned to unscrew them all tomorrow; this is what happens when I forget to emphasize that my role in this process is "head honcho organizer person who flits around taking pictures of other people working on the car" and not "unskilled labor."

We were easily able to tow the Miata, batteries in place, from Lancaster back to Bucks County with my Highlander Hybrid and a dolly -- it's a breeze to transport compared to the much heavier e-Van!  Bill asked me today, "Can we think about the future?  How are you planning to get two EV's to the Energy Fest in September?" I was happy to be distracted from strategizing for next Monday and since I know Kempton is 50 miles from my house I informed Bill that the plan is to drive the Miata there!  I'd sure like to get to a show in an EV for once!

With everything about to get super-busy I am not sure I'm going to get the last EV news round-up posted, but I'll give it a try -- otherwise yes, expect the class to be documented here, possibly with more words than pictures as I am in an exceedingly mutually hostile relationship with my new camera.