He was trying to post on the new Open Source Car category:

I am completely serious, and I'm sorry if it came off as Spam.  I've been working on this design for a few years while I was not working -- but now that I am employed again (in architecture) I have much less time to build it.

You may be right on the door -- I have to build the first prototype (which as I mentioned, I just begun to do) to see how it works.  I am concerned with weight and strength and I think this chassis would be safer in a crash than if it had side doors.  Or at least lighter and simpler to build.  I will be very happy to prove out the aerodynamics and range and all the myriad of critical things that it needs to have for maximizing efficiency; like the hinged wheel skirts, and how it works on the road in real conditions.  The electric drive train needs a lot of thought, and I'd like to work on using rigid wheels with super-low rolling resistance (like the Energy Return Wheel) and also to try out regenerative shock absorbers, like those from Levant Power.

My goal is to get the energy consumption down to >100Wh/mile at 55MPH.

As you may know, side doors can get jammed shut, so getting out of any car after an accident can be difficult sometimes.  Side windows can be broken out.  A roof escape hatch for the driver can be installed (like a sunroof or on a school bus).  The jaws of life can open any part of the chassis.  Or, I can add a side door -- it would have 2-3 latches in addition to the hinges, to greatly stiffen the structure and help the crash strength.

Neil

Okay -- I'm a little confused by this forum format; it is not what I am used too.

How come we dont consider the m38 Jeep design?  It is out of any sort of patent and the design has already been replicated many times.

The last three photos are of a M38 Jeep I built a couple years ago.

Neil, don't let our criticism deter you from your progress. You can always add doors later and redesign anything as necessary. I can't imagine that adding a door later would cut performance enough to have to start from scratch.

I am going to use an all electric drivetrain, probably dual direct drive motors on the front wheels, and the battery pack in the floor.  I was planning on working with FVT who had their eVaro at the X-Prize.  The CarBEN EV5 drawings and SketchUp model show the EiG cells that FVT uses and their twin motor drivetrain.  It gets 100% of the braking power from regenerative braking, and is very quick 0-60mph (under 5s).

I was able to go to the X-Prize Knockout Round in June 2010 as a guest member of the Edison2 team -- they were the eventual winners with their Very Light Car that got ~110MPGe.  They have since made an electric version that got ~245MPGe on the EPA Combined cycle. I was thrilled to be there and meet and talk to many people who have built their own cars.  The Illuminati Motor Works team is driving their '7' car on the road and they could have won the X-Prize if they had not put a clutch in '7'.  Electric motors are way too torquey with no lag, and they have lost several sets of gears in the transmission and the final drive.

My PhlatPrinter 3 was not working properly today -- I tried to cut a foam sheet with the exact same settings as the previous time, when they worked fine.  The X-axis was skipping steps, and I thin the reason is the sheet was a bit wider and dragged a bit more on the roller side rails.  I will be swapping out the 2.5A per channel driver board with a 10A model and using a higher torque stepper motor on the X-axis.  Moving the whole 2" x 2' x 8' sheet of foam is hard for the 1A stepper, when it has any sort of snag.  I need a bit of "headroom" to avoid skipping steps and getting accurately cut pieces.

Neil

HI Neil,
You might want to look at the xr3 personal transit vehicle.  There are plans out there you can purchase.  125mpg on diesel alone with a top speed above 80mph.  http://www.rqriley.com/xr3.htm

As others have said you can always add on doors and things later.  I'd be interested in helping. nwakeup@gmail.com

Good luck.

It has (obviously) been a while since I've visited this forum, and I've been building the first full size prototype of my CarBEN EV5 design!  Here's my photo album of the work process; that starts with the newest picture:

CarBEN EV5 Build Photos

I'm about halfway through the shaping and smoothing process, and I will try to start the fiberglass application as soon as the weather is warm enough.  If you want to start at the end of the design process and then browse forward through you can start here, and the browse using the left arrow.

I need to test some fiberglass samples for bending strength - does anyone have a jig that they have made to do this?  The samples are ~10.5" x 6" x 1" thick and I would like to at least get their relative strengths (6 different kinds of fiberglass fabrics and 2 surface treatments for a total of 12 samples).

I'd like to test the bending strength either by a support on either end, and load it in the middle of the top of the piece, or in a cantilever mode.  If the strength can be quantified, that would be even better.

Here are pictures of the samples.  I would like to use Titebond III glue (because it is no vapor, easy cleanup, and it has a chance at being biodegradable), and I think it is strong enough.  Testing the samples would help me at least get a feel for the strength, and if I can quantify it, that would be great.

Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.