Yes that was me at Nichols EV last year. There were some Saturns with manual steering and I changed my rack and pinion for the manual. I don’t miss the power unless I am just starting out and have to get out of a tight spot. 
Hey I am having a little trouble locating the wires to reconnect the factory spedometer and odometer. I found a harness on the upper back part of the transmission that has 2 wires, a purple and a yellow, that I think would wire the spedometer. Can you let me know which wires you used to connect the spedometer and odometer and what to wire them in to? I am thinking they would need to be both wired in to the keyswitch but maybe one is wired through the keyswitch and one is a ground?
The Speedo is connected to the transmission and should work, the tach wire is in the wires that were connected to the coils it is a white wire. Hope you didn’t cut the wire harness as they can be difficult to locate.
Sitting during the winter this year has taken a toll on the battery pack. It is like breaking in a new set of batteries! Three times out and only up to 27 miles on a charge I hope it keeps imroving. I am really glad I put in the gauges for every battery it lets me know if imminent falure is abut to happen.
Total battery pack voltage can still be good and failure can be happening in one battery.:eek:
useful information… thanks for sharing…
I have had a problem with the car this year and I couldn’t decide if it was a electrical problem or a mechanical problem. I drained the trans fluid just for giggles and there it was …finely ground aluminum. I filled the tranny and the performance is back but it still shudders when I start out. I am going to drive it some and drain the fluid again and see what it looks like. I have one on the shelf and will change it if I have to. :yo:
:cheer2:I was on a five lane road tonight and there are two lanes going both ways and one for turning, had a vet in front of me going 45 mph and he suddinly stops flat out not moving. Heart pounding panic stop!!! The car responded great, the investment in the slotted rotors and ceramic pads really paid off. Had I not changed them there would have been fiberglass from the vet exploding all over the battery acid in the road. LOL I have been thinking about going to slotted rotors in the rear but now I think I have good brakes and don’t need the extra stopping power. NO MORE FLINTSTONE!!!
Oh yes the reason he stopped is even though there was a turning lane a guy decided to block the oncoming lane to the fight of the turning lane to make his left hand turn into Meijers. Guess he owns the road. LOL He almost caused a major accident cause of it.
When I get back from vacation I have to tear down the transmission and weld the pin that holds the sun gear together the pin is loose and the standard Saturn fis is to weld it together. The case has to be split then welded and then put back together. I have seen a couple of theese trannys that literally blew up. It makes the motor jump and shudder at higher speeds I thought it was the controller but last week I found out the welding tid bit. Better to do it before the case comes apart. LOL When it does it stops going and leaks ALLOT of trans fluid!!!
I have the transmission out and it was not the pin as i origanally thought. The Planatery gears are binding because of a loose shim. It will be a week before I can get to it and get my car back running,
I put in a transmission I had on the shelf and within two miles it self destructed. the Spider Gears came loose and bam out the side of the case they came. back to the drawing board!!! I found a brand new Saturn Transmission on ebay for 500, nice deal with a 90 day warranty. It was delivered today!!! I hope to be driving it later tonight. The spider gear problem is a common one with Saturn Trannies. the first one I tore apart had worn shims behind the gears I caught it before it exploded, it is thought the barrell pin comes loose and allows the main pin to fall out of the main gear allowing the spider gears to come loose but in the transmissions I have had in the shop I did not find that. The pin has always been in place!!! I looked at my scrap pile to confirm that. I’ll post more later.
I am replacing the clutch plate also the springs are loose I have one laying in the shop that has tight springs in it. More later!!!
I have changed my pb6, had the controller rebuilt. Changed the transmission, had a spyder gear come out thru the side of the transmission, bought a rebuilt transmission and then installed it… and still the same problem. The controller is the problem… it can only be diagnosed with a oscilliscope. Back to Flight Systems it goes and with a show 2 weeks from now to go to. The first year I put on 2600 miles, this year only about 170 miles it is frustrating with insurance and all. I talked to David Freep today and am waiting for a call back about the controller. More later. new dawn:(
I took my car to the rally at Schoolcraft College and ran the road rally despite my controller problems. I ran against Motorcycles, Trucks, Other Cars a Pulling Tractor, and one Dragster. My best lap was 27.02 and the Dragster had a 26.84
What fun it was sighn me up for all that are in my area!!!
I feel my car did really good in the rally and next year a better time will be on the books with the controller fixed.
Got to tear it down and send it in to be fixed.:amen:
I think I have found a donor car for the requirements the IRS has about electric cars, to be able to qualify for a tax credit. :fencing: I am going to build a station wagon this time a little more .practical on my end. Goint from gold to silver in color!! I will take lots of pic!!! 
Still wating word on the controller.
new dawn, as in the dawning of a new era.:bump2:
I had a friend that understands how to do the calculatations do all the calculatations and he came up with 288 watts per mile is what my car uses.
Can you post a link about the tax credit. I am in the planning stage of doing my on EV. You have a great story to tell. You should write a book.
Here are all the developments and written materal on the fedreal tax credit. the most recent informatation is at the bottom of the page. new dawn as in the dawning of a new era. I think I have a couple of books in me, not sure how many would sell, LOL Bob:rapture:
http://www.electricforum.com/cars/tax-credits-federal-state/119-federal-rebate-ev-s.html
I have this car up for sale on the site. I have stripped it of all the special things I put on it and transferred it all to my Station Wagon I need to start posting about my progress on that car. If you are mechanically inclined and are looking for a rolling chasis drop me a line, the first $450.00 cash takes it home with a clean title.:director:
I’ve seen a list of best electric cars 2011. I’m not shure there are the best picks… whatever. This is the list : Best Electric Cars 2011
[QUOTE=new dawn;98]#1 My son grinding on rear battery compartment #2 My son welding on rear battery compartment #3 My first attempt at the front battery tray #4 The front battery tray today, I still need to modify it but it is getting closer to something that will work. #5 Installing the clutch to the motor, there are several steps to do this and this is the first step. I lost a couple of others as I shut off my camera too soon and the pics wern’t stored on the hard drive, a mistake I’ll not do again.[/QUOTE]
Where did you get a motor like that. I live in South Africa and have tried to source one locally byt we don’t seem to have companies manufacturing motors like that.