Sparky, The Electric Vehicle (EV)

Electric Vehicle Project: Springs/ICE Removal

4/19/2006 I had two leafs added to each of the rear springs. This was done to support weight of the batteries.

4/22/2006 I'm in deep now...
Well I've gone and done it...We (my wife Tina and friend Dean) pulled the ICE out of sparky. It was quite a day. I am fortunate to have a good friend, Dean Gacita, who is pretty comfortable with working on cars (He owns a couple of vintage 70's Mustangs). He also is a retired Air Force reservist which allowed us access to the hobby shop at the US Air Force Academy.
Here we were able to use a hydraulic lift, an overhead engine hoist, and all of the tools we could imagine. The guys that run the shop were very helpful, and all are interested in the project.
We started the day allsmiles and clean, brimming with confidence.
The accessories came off pretty easy. We started around 9:30 am and were ready to pull the engine shortly after lunch.
Here is a picture after we removed the radiator.

Little did we know the troubles that awaited us...
The engine proved to be quite a bear to lift out of the truck. I wanted the transmission along with the engine pulled as a unit. This was so we could transport the truck home safely and I also need the transmission out in order to align the electric motor and coupling later.
This added an extra degree of difficulty, as we thought we could pull the whole thing out at once. We found we could only lift the system part way out of the engine compartment before it would hang up on something.
With some help from the shop guys (Thanks Pete! Thanks Stan!) we were able to re-arrange the hoist chains so that it pulled the system forward and up. Once we did that we realized we needed to remove the engine mount brackets. That was the final key to breaking it loose. Finally, around 6 PM we got 'er out.
The shop closed at 6:30 so we had to come back on Sunday to finish the job and get Sparky home.
We had to break apart the transmission from the engine, which proved to be pretty easy. The right tools make a big difference.
Here's the yard sale (note the engine still on the hoist in background): Gas Anyone?
We sorted the parts into 2 piles: The Keep and the Giveaway piles. Fortunately we had enough takers in the shop that day that I did not have to bring anything related to the ICE home! I even sold the engine on the spot! What a relief.
We loaded the tranny into the bed of the truck before we pushed it on to the trailer for it's ride home.
Overall it was a pretty succesful weekend. We got the truck home safely (we parked the trailer half way up the street, pulled the truck off of the trailer and got a good downhill run at my driveway, the neighbors must think I'm crazy) we now have it parked in the garage waiting for the next steps.