12/25/19 After realizing (later than we should have) that we are not going to do any more high speed attempts with the D2EV, focus has shifted to converting Car 1 to street use, finishing it and Car 2, and delivering both to the customer. A massive amount of work remains in that regard and the fact that we essentially lost 2 months trying to figure out where to run top speed next has set us back some. No matter, on we march. The next deadline was the PRI show in Indianapolis, where C1 was invited to do 'booth girl' duty. The original intent was to fully finish the car and have it continue to Detroit for its next life, but it quickly became apparent that it's not going to happen - just too much to do in too short a time. The doors continue to be the biggest challenge and obstacle. As a company we simply have no direct experience in doing that yet, so everything has to be figured out, tested, then figured out and tested again. People have been building cars with doors for over a century so it's clearly not an impossible task, it's just a steep learning curve for us, amid all kinds of other challenges. But it's coming along.
Along the way many other bits got figured out like interior paneling, new AEM dash, and so on.
As is the norm, the car wasn't quite ready for pickup at 8pm so we had to push it out till 4am and made full use of the extra time. But load it we did. Even on a full size car hauler the width is a challenge.
The show appearance was a success and now C1 is back in the shop for the final touches along with its sister C2.
Need to maintain the pace because a lot of other work is in the queue, with some pretty exciting stuff coming in the new year (as well as finally finishing some long-past-due stuff). Looking forward to it. Happy holidays and a successful new year to all! 11/11/20 A lot has changed since the last post on this blog, but we're still here and much work has been done. We are putting finishing touches on the two D2EVs (crazy how hard it is to make doors actually work!). We're also moving forward with the D47EV and have some really cool stuff in the works.
12/5/20 A major milestone for us: D2EV 'Car 1' has been completed, loaded on the transport and is on her way to her future home in Michigan. It took 9 months from first concepts to a drivable chassis, even though not a single tube (literally) is shared with the D2, nor a single piece of the drivetrain or suspension. They do share most bodywork panels, but that's it. Completely different cars underneath - the D2EV was designed to be AWD electric whereas the original D2 is RWD and gas powered.
After the first drives and then successful Pikes Peak and Bonneville outings in the summer of 2019 (see separate blogs for those) , it took us another year to fully finish the interior, street-oriented systems like lights and ventilation, and most importantly the doors. Doors are a pain. Major car manufacturers have literally hundreds of engineers whose specialization is 'closures'. Doors. I had to figure it out on my own, and Tristan, Jay and Valerie had to make all the iterations and failed attempts until we arrived at a functional design and process. Still many improvements to be made, but at least they work as doors. Below is progression of doors from Pikes Peak where only a windowless 'doorlet' upper part of the driver side door was operational, to Bonneville where we added a lexan window (and massive rollcage mods) but still stationary lower section, to final version that fully opens, closes and latches.
There were multiple changes to the rollcage, suspension and systems along the way. And we were building 'Car 2' at the same time - it is now only weeks away from completion. So in many ways this is like standing on top of a tall mountain after just climbing it in adverse weather. A mixed sense of accomplishment, relief, and wonder at the view.
Many adventures lie ahead. Onward! Site Sponsors and Links:
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