That's quite an innovative thought there. (making a spitfire into an EV).
Anyone else notice how little a spitfire weighs compared to modern day
cars of it's size? According to several books I own. The dry weight of a
spitfire is ~1700 lbs.
That's....
550 lbs. (25%) lighter than a '99 Mazda Miata
950 lbs. (36%) lighter than a '98 BMW 1.9l Z3 Roadster
1100 lbs. (40%) lighter than a '99 Mercedes-Benz 230 SLK
1300 lbs. (43%) lighter than a '99 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
(The spyder is 22 inches longer than the spitfire, so that's probably not a
very fair comparison, but the others average only around 5 to 10" longer)
And I wonder how many of those have metal body panels.
Terry L. Thompson
'76 Spit 1500
At 08:14 AM 8/7/99 PDT, you wrote:
>
>Hi Ralph as a spitfire owner and builder of 3 hybrid electric cars i'd be
>interested to keep track of your progress. Off list we could compare some
>notes on your design choices. anyway... I'm not familiar with your setup to
>use the transmission. In our 3 series hybird electric cars (the latest used
>a fuel cell stack!) we didn't use a transmission. The GE motor that was
>given to us had an integrated transaxle, that was shiftless. As you well
>know an electric motor runs at constant rpm with a flat torque curve, making
>shifting gears to maximize power to the wheels unnecessary.
>
>ok assuming you keep the driveline, the hp could be handled by the setup.
>the late spit 1500 diffy's are has hardy as anything thiumph ever made. (I
>run a 78 in my 72) People have replaced the drivetrain with datsun 510 and
>toyata 2.2 (old supra maybe?) trannies and rears. I'd be more worried about
>battery placement and what type of stresses that will place on the
>suspension. I don't know how much range you'll need, but battery weight was
>probably the biggest problem in our hybrid cars. Perhaps stepping up to the
>GT6 rotoflex rears would be another alternative.
>
>If you have any questions about electric vehicles email me directly and
>check out our web page at
> http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/org/hybridcar/
>
>Ryan Smith
>Hybric Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT)
>Virginia Tech
>72 Emerald Green Spitfire
>
>
>
>
>>From: Ralph Goodwin <rgoodwin@ipass.net>
>>Reply-To: Ralph Goodwin <rgoodwin@ipass.net>
>>To: Auto Cross Discussion Group <autox@autox.team.net>, Spitfire
>>Discussion Group <spitfires@autox.team.net>, Triumpn discusion group
>><triumphs@autox.team.net>, Vintage Racing Discussion Group
>><vintage-race@autox.team.net>
>>Subject: Spitfire High School Project
>>Date: Sat, 07 Aug 1999 10:36:34 -0400
>>
>>I am working with a local high school to convert a 1980 Triumph Spitfire
>>to electric power. Part of the competition includes an autocross
>>competition. The web site used by event organizers for last years
>>competition is linked below.
>>
>>http://www.rptnet.org/ev
>>
>>The finished project should be at or near original weight and weight
>>distribution. Peak HP of the installed motor will be around 100 hp.
>>Torque will be significantly more!
>>
>>We are planning to use the stock drive train from the bell housing back,
>>including clutch. It may be possible to run the car in a autocross
>>event without shifting gears, but we aren't sure, so we went with the
>>clutch. It will also help absorb the torque from the motor, protecting
>>the rear end. The transmission in the car has an overdrive.
>>
>>Can you advise on any drive train mods that will help ensure
>>durability. We don't plan on drag racing the car, but we suspect the
>>rear end is our weak link. Rules will allow us to make substantial
>>modification. Someone suggested a Datsun 510 differential, but they
>>hadn't seen it done and didn't know if it is a valid suggestion.
>>
>>We would also appreciate any suspension mods, suggestions etc. Have
>>thought some about coil-over shocks on the rear.
>>
>>Please don't come back and tell us how we are ruining a classic! This
>>car was DEAD!
>>
>>Any suggestion would be appreciated! Thanks for your help!
>>
>>Ralph
>>
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