First Snowfall

The first snowfall came late this year, giving some extra time to get the vehicles in shape for winter!  I hope to make some more videos showing the ATV and other vehicles in action, so the first set of modifications lined up for IAP are intended to prepare everything for some off-roading in the snow.  More details coming soon.

In case you missed it, here's some footage from last year featuring the usual suspects:

Above, we got to do some cruising with the ATV and drift trike around the parking garage while gathering some preliminary data for my 2.671: Instrumentation and Measurement project. (April 2015)

Below, we got some new people to come try out the trike, testing how it handled while drifting on ice.  (March 2015)

Thanks to my roommate, Jon Morrell, for making the videos!  Check out his YouTube channel for some more crazy rides and stunts!

Merry Christmas!

Now that I have some free time back at home for the holidays, I've been trying to get back into catching up with all of my projects, website, blog, and everything else.  Time for my annual IAP attempt to document all my projects - hopefully I'll keep up for more than a month!

Going back home has always given me a venue for an entirely new set of backyard projects, including recently converting the back deck into a ninja warrior obstacle course.  I've long been a big fan of the tv show, and making my own course has been a fun way of getting in shape while building more crazy stuff.  Here's the classic salmon ladder:

With the day after Christmas an unusually warm 55 degrees, it was nice being able to still work outside in the yard.  I ended up not getting much done on the course, and instead cleared up the yard by chopping down some trees.  I like the workout, and after a long semester, it was good to vent and blow off some steam.  

Of course I managed to drop it the wrong direction, adding some excitement to the day.  The tree fell right on top of a few smaller trees and hung up in the air...

Daddio went in to assess the situation, but the big tree was perfectly wedged between three smaller trees and wouldn't be shaken loose...

It made quite a mess, but also made for a fun afternoon and a ton of firewood...assuming the winter ever comes sometime in the near future.

Gloucester Clean Energy Fair 2015, Porsche Appearance!

The 1976 Porsche 914EV recently made an appearance at Gloucester's TownGreen2025 Clean Energy Fair! Read more about the event here.

A handful of team members made the trek out to the event, where we got to display our Porsche as well as the electric ATV alongside the new BMW electric i3!

The Porsche was featured prominently right at the entrance to the Gloucester High School.  As people from the community entered the building to see both exhibits of research projects and vendors for green businesses at the event, we were able to tell them about the Porsche, our current Opel conversion project, and the work we do as a team.

We also had a great opportunity to check out the new BMW models!

The day's events made for an awesome team bonding experience, and it was great to see how well-received our vehicles were at the event.  The newer team members had a chance to learn a lot of info about the Porsche project as well.  We taught them the controls and made time for some driving lessons through the parking lot as we were clearing out!

OpelGT - Engine Removal Time!

There have been a couple of big developments with the EV team lately, and things are looking up for the new conversion project!  We've got a new Opel ready to go, and it's finally time to remove the engine!

The team made sure to take the necessary measurements for the original vehicle ride height and curb weight distribution, and then it was time to finally get rid of every unnecessary component and make room for some batteries!  

We knew it was going to be a big undertaking and not many of us had lifted an engine out of a car before, so we set aside the entire day for getting the job done.  Starting first thing in the morning, it was all hands on deck for the MechE team.  

We had the operation all planned out and prepared through the week leading up to engine removal day.  But with the usual clowns at work, it wasn't long before even draining the fluids led to a big mess...

Just kidding, aside from a couple of minor mishaps, the team worked effectively under the leadership of graduated EVT legend John Kongoletos, who had returned to give us a hand.  With everyone working away, the disconnecting and disassembly process was moving along efficiently.  

Everything was situated under the hood such that it was easier to leave the transmission coupled to the engine, and remove everything from below.  Having the car lift made the job much easier, as we could raise the vehicle and drop everything right out through the bottom...hopefully.  It seemed like a straightforward operation after everything was disconnected from the motor, but some stubborn stripped and corroded bolts holding motor supports in place added some extra challenge and significantly delayed the process.

We finally got the engine and transmission loose and up on the hoist.   It required some careful maneuvering to get everything to slide out, but with Jacob working the hoist, Joey and Jarrod handling the engine, and John adjusting the vehicle on the lift, we finally got it through.  It took nearly six hours to get the engine down and out after some unexpected difficulties, and although it wasn't graceful, we eventually got everything down onto the garage floor.

Taking out the engine was a big first step in prepping the Opel for the new conversion.  There's a lot more work to be done on the new car before we can start adding batteries and the new drivetrain components, but the team is ready and enthusiastic!  More updates to come soon.

New Opel

It's only been two weeks since we cut up the white Opel, and we're already back in business.  Our faculty advisor and big Opel fan, Professor Dan Frey, has been a huge help all along the way and already fixed us up with a new Opel, one in much better condition than the previous car.  

With the excitement of bringing in yet another car, we brought in recent alums John and Thomas to take a look and assess the damage.

The body is in much better shape, and the new interior looks awesome as well, with everything complete and in very good condition.  It's definitely a relief to not need to worry about a full and complete restoration!

The Porsche 914 and Opel GT are now both in the garage and make quite the combo.  It took a while to obtain the new Opel, but now that we have it in the shop, we're ready to get started and excited by its possibilities it presents as a conversion platform.  

ATV Reveal: TechX 2015

After nearly five weeks of working nonstop on the ATV, I got it together in time for the reveal at TechX!  A combination of the funding I had received for the project along with a big deadline helped me to finally construct everything and get it in working order.  A major snowstorm the night before the event made it difficult to even travel from the shop to the gym, but after a frantic morning and some quick repairs, the ATV was ready to go.  The four wheeler is definitely one of my favorite personal projects, and I'm glad that I had an opportunity to get it together for TechX.

The event is a great opportunity to talk to recruiters and meet some business reps, as with any career fair.  More importantly, it was a lot of fun getting to tell people about the project and show them the ATV in action!

In addition to just finishing up the ATV and getting it running in the final week before the event, I made sure to save time for some extra flair to make it stand out, starting with a set of unconventional four-wheeler spinning rims...

And incorporating a 1000W amp, speakers, and a bass tube subwoofer...

And a new blue/black paint job, with a little bit of gold in the mix...

And of course some fairings with blue flame decals and sponsor logos...

There wasn't a ton of free space at the event, but I still managed to parade around with Nelson and his electric tractor, playing some music and telling everyone about our project!

Opel Destruction...

It appears as though the last major team effort before spring break is going to be in the annihilation of a car, rather than creating a new one.  The white Opel had been a bit disappointing in its appearance, with its aesthetic inadequacies apparent at the time of its arrival.  As we had continued working on the car for the next few months, we soon realized that the rust damage was irreparable if we wanted to one day restore it for any reasonable cost.  We consulted our faculty advisor, Professor Dan Frey, and came to the conclusion that scrapping the car and finding a new alternative option was necessary.

The MechE team had faced some frustration in recent weeks as we realized the difficulty of implementing the intended plan for the Opel drivetrain, and chopping up the car was a great way to vent!  Since the frame was so damaged, we couldn't find any viable options in recycling the body or selling the scrap metal.  Space is tight in the garage, so we salvaged what we could and got right after it with the reciprocating saws.  Jimmy cuts it right in half below:

Fortunately, there was a good bit that we found could be salvaged from the old Opel.  All of the glass was saved, in case we need to replace it on the new car for any reason.  The entire dashboard was removed and saved so that the EE team can start designing and developing the layout for the final set of controls and dials.  We also saved the entire rear end, cut down so that it would just barely fit through the doors of the milkdrop shop upstairs.  Having the back of the car will allow the MechE team to prototype the new suspension designs with the actual car geometry in mind, even before we get a new vehicle.  

After getting everything situated in the prototyping room, Trevor and Jarrod welded up a stand to hold up the car for easy access.  

We continued cutting down the rest of the car, removing nearly all the sheet metal from the body...

After hours of slicing up the old car, we removed as much as the reciprocating saws could handle before calling it quits with only residual bits still attached to the frame.  We had high hopes that this car would one day travel down the alley, and it was a bit of a bummer that it had to happen by us carrying it...

That white Opel presented unexpected challenges every step of the way, and even its final march was no exception.  After the exhausting day of tearing it apart, it took the four of Jacob, Joey, Jimmy, and Jarrod to get it down the alley and somehow fit it into the dumpster.  

 When it was all said and done, we still had to clean up a mess of rust and residue left over in the aftermath of dismantling the car.  Overall, everyone had a fun time and made some good memories, in what we expect to be the only time we get to entirely disassemble a car with reciprocating saws.  Now we just have to catch up to get back on track with the Opel project!

IAP ATV Plans

It's been a while since I have gotten to work on my ATV, but finally IAP will give me an opportunity to get it rolling!!  I got funding through the Techfair, and now I'll need to get something done in time to present it at the February 2nd event.

I'm sticking to the plan of using the overpowered AC-24 with the Sevcon controller.  Roberto had started to help me during a couple of the summer marathon meetings to work on tuning the motor so that it will work with the controller...

But we didn't quite get it to reach working order, and ended up just dismantling one of the Sevcons to see what was inside instead.

I did get a front differential from a 1998 Yamaha grizzly for the drivetrain, as it provided a relatively inexpensive option on ebay.  I planned on keeping the original solid rear axle though, and removed the differential gears to just allow the unit to function as a right angle drive.  

I started prototyping different swingarm and differential mounting configurations, and began working on a solution to coupling the motor shaft with the differential.

I've reached a preliminary setup for the rear swingarm and suspension, and it seems to be off to a good start, but there's still plenty of work to be done before the machine's ready to roll.  

EVT: Marathon Thursday Opel Updates

 For the first time since the summer EVT months, we're getting back to Marathon Thursday meetings!
With just a handful of the crew around, we got started with Antony working on the blog, Eric and Joey learning some solidworks, Jimmy starting a new electric scooter, and I got some work done on my ATV.  After a few more of the troops arrived, we went down to see what we could do with the rusty Opel...

The main goal for the night was to start removing the unnecessary or unusable components such as the exhaust and to start cleaning up the car.  Given the rough shape of the car, we had some flexibility to go to town and have fun tearing apart the car.  After Joey made sure to remove all the hornet and bird's nests, we took a look at what we were up against on the underbody of the car.  Here Joey and Jimmy cut the muffler out with a hacksaw and remove the exhaust pipes:

We took a good look at the rear suspension setup with the panhard bar.  We were having fun inspecting all of the components, and nearly removed the entire rear axle before Eric brought up that we probably want to keep the wheels on so that we can move the car...

We still proceeded to drop down the driveshaft and the transmission.  Jack, the shop manager in D-Lab, gave us a quick lesson on torque tubes and rear suspension configurations.

Opel Driveshaft and Transmission

Next, we brought the car down on the lift and began to take a look at the engine bay and interior.  We ripped out all the dry-rotted tubing and deteriorating rubber from under the hood, and did what was possible to clean it out with a shop vacuum.  Without an engine or any components, there is a ton of space for batteries under the hood!

As we moved to the interior of the cab, the last main task for the night was removing the gas tank.  After ripping out the shelves and other brackets for the spare tire that were concealing the gas tank, we began the removal of the last major, unnecessary component in an electric vehicle conversion.  

This turned out to be a bit more intense of a task than we expected.  The Opel has a large open space in the rear of the car, but no rear hatch for access to this trunk area.  Therefore, Joey and I squeezed into the cab of the tiny car while Jacob and Eric helped us navigate from outside.  

After a long effort to remove all the hard to reach and rusted bolts mounting the gas tank to the car, we had it loose.  It turned out to have a very irregular shape that was difficult to pull up through the tight fit in the cab.   

Then we had yet another unforeseen complication, when we realized that there was actually still a substantial amount of gasoline left over in the tank.  At least this was just as safety-master Rango made his arrival and assured that we disposed of it properly!  With the help of our FSAE friends, we located a gas can and slowly drained the rest of the gasoline into the tank.  

After plugging and capping the openings to the gas tank, we were finally able to remove the tank and waited to consult EHS regarding its proper disposal.  The removal of the tank revealed another substantial open cavity in the rear of the car, optimal for battery placement.  We'll continue mapping out these spaces moving forward, as we continue working to find a suitable battery option for the car.  But for now, the long night of work concluded with our usual late night trip to Beantown Tacqueria!

Open space!