Today I went and set up the engine lift at the garage space a friend has so graciously offered up.

It looks like I need to attend to the hydraulic fluid, as it didn’t pump up as it should have. (It’s new, but has instructions on what to do if it doesn’t work. Grr. That’s Harbor Freight for you, from what I understand.) I’ll need to buy hydraulic fluid before my next trip to the garage. All good. More stuff to learn. So, aside from that, it went together very well and only took me just over 2 hours.

Next step will be to turn the car around in the garage so it’s facing out and take the hood off – so the engine can be lifted out. I will be taking pics along the way, which will make this infinitely more interesting, but I’m having difficulty with the digital camera my dad had given to me. It seems to eat through batteries! I’ll think of something!

Update: The hydraulic fluid was not necessary – I just needed to twist the shaft of the lift to break the seal raise it fully, then lower it – it works like a charm now!

This Wed/Thursday, I plan on taking the hood off. It’s a 2 person job, so I’ve scheduled it on a day that my hubby can help me with it. Fun! After that, I have the fun of taking out the engine, and the exhaust system.

I had a “stock photography site” idea around 2003. The place I was working for had a photographer that would take extra photos that had nothing to do with what we needed while on shoot for a client. They were real good, and I thought it would be great to take advantage of these shots and start an independent stock photography site that was affordable. Not like the giants of the day: Getty Images. $200 or more for a photograph? Wow, I can’t afford that. We used PhotoDisc royalty free stock photo CDs (from $100-$300 ea.) most of the time, but it would be nice to have an alternative. And a good one at that! A gaping hole. This is where my ideas come from.

We’d just create the site for clients, you know? And maybe it would take off.

Specifically powerful, I figured if it were possible to gather up the search terms of what the people were looking for, we’d be able to build a better stock photography library. [I now know that is EXTREMELY easy to do!]

My boss at the time thought it was more trouble that it was worth and we didn’t do it. iStockPhoto came out around 2000 and was relatively unknown for a while – (nobody I knew had found out about it until probably 2005 or 2006).

But, it was last year, 2007 (I think), that Getty bought them. So they must have definitely been doing very well for themselves. Honestly, I am surprised to see it still in business in the same general form that they were in. I figured that Getty would act like the big oil companies and keep raising the rates of the photos until it was around the price of their royalty free photography. Thankfully, they haven’t.

I’m now trying to talk with Jim about submitting his photography to some of these stock photography sites. (Please help me convince him! He’s awesome! Here’s a link to Jim’s site.) Some stock photo sites offer 60¢ on the $1 for each photo sold on their sites. I know he could do it. I’m even considering trying to start a stock photography website myself, but for Jim to be the only photographer, it might be better for him to go with something that is already established than for me to draw a mass amount of photographers to my site. People GO to iStockPhoto to get stock photos. New sites come up, but unless you’ve got an extremely comprehensive library of images, people will pass you by because they’ve already purchased credits at iStockPhoto.com.

Anyway, it was a need I had at the time (to have good, new, relatively inexpensive stock photography at my graphic-designing-fingertips) that made me think of creating my own stock photography website.

There is another gaping need. Right now.

That’s why I’m approaching an electric car conversion. If I can convert mine, and it goes well enough, I can buy cars with good bodies and not so good engines and strip ‘em out and convert them to battery power.

There are quite a few start-up companies that are now currently racing to create new electric cars, but most of the population doesn’t want to (or can’t) pay $50 K – $100 K or more for an electric car. Mine, I am hoping would have an end cost of $20 K or less, making it more affordable for the general public.

Originally, I had gotten depressed to know that there are so many start-up companies on the verge of releasing their cars to the public. I spoke with my sister about it and she was very wise to know that there will always be an undercurrent of need for used car conversions, even if new electric cars come to the mainstream. Strictly on cost. Then, there’s the factor that some people prefer specific models of cars & the new electric car manufacturers wouldn’t be able to produce such a proliferation of styles (at least, at first.)

I know I could sell ‘em faster than I could convert ‘em.

There’s enough new cars made each year to fill the worlds dumps. By converting cars, I’m extending the life of the car.

If I get bored with strictly doing conversions, the teacher in me may want to have a big enough shop to have lessons available to people who are interested in doing conversions themselves.

I can dream.

Let me know if you share this dream. We can help each other. Drop me an email.

My Dad offered up his trusty car to me! I learned how to drive standard shift in this car. I love this car! It gets just about 50 MPG!

Also got a “new” car. Not new, but new to me:

I bought the VW with the intention of it being my first conversion. The people that owned it before me didn’t seem to believe in changing the oil. The muffler rattles around when I accelerate and the brake indicator light is on most of the time. It has something to do with my emergency brake. I hear a click near the e-brake handle, and then the light goes on & stays on. Also, it’s hard to put it into first and second gear. A new friend told me that it was probably the spacers in the linkage, and not a problem with the transmission. Phew! Most of the problems would not have mattered if I were converting it, which was my intention when I looked at it & put the deposit down.

On the way back from Rhode Island, when I was putting the deposit down on the VW, the clutch went out in the Geo.

It is a difficult choice to decide which to convert. Here are my considerations:

Reasons to convert the Beetle:

• The Metro gets better gas mileage, so converting the Beetle would allow me to continue getting the 50 mpg from the Metro when I need to make the longer trips that the converted car couldn’t make. A trip to my Mom’s is 125 mi and to my Dad’s 230 mi.
• I’d be driving this car most of the time around town. It’s a more comfortable car.

Reasons to convert the Metro:

• The Metro is not as complex as the Beetle – making for an easier conversion. The Beetle has power windows, locks, brakes, steering, cruise control, etc.
• The Metro needs a new clutch & is not drivable at this time.
• The Beetle has cruise control, making long trips more comfortable for the driver.

The Beetle gets about 30 mpg. (meh.) I’ve been driving that & hope that it lasts me long enough to get the Metro converted. It’s got a pretty powerful engine & is quite forgiving when I have it in higher gears and lower speeds. Once I convert the Metro, I hope to drive it most of the time and eventually convince my husband that we could have 2 cars rather than 3 – one for local driving, and one for long-distance driving. Right now, we have 3 cars: the Metro, the Beetle and Jim has my old Sunfire, which was originally his car

Well, I don’t know if anyone would be interested in reading all of my blathering on about my cars & EV plans, but it’s here in any case anyone gives a crap!

24 VDC 1.54 HP LAWNMOWER MOTOR

New. Tecumseh 90000A. Built as motor for cordless electric lawnmowers. Permanent magnet motor. End bell of motor is aluminum casting similar to gas engine mower mount. Shaft end tapped 3/8″-24 RH. Price $69.95

SPECIFICATIONS

* HP 1.54
* Voltage 24 DC
* Amps 4.5 no load
* RPM 3,200
* Rotation reversible
* Duty intermittent
* Mount: four 5/16″ holes on 8″ B.C.
* Shaft 7/8″ diam. x 2″ w/keyway
* Size 8-3/4″ dia x 7-1/2″ long
* Shpg. 15 lbs.

Finally, the fun stuff: Videos!

I took the mower to my new found friend’s house & he helped me to get it working this weekend!!! It started for the first time on May 28, 2007! This video is the mower’s “HELLO WORLD”! Awww… isn’t it cute?! Thanks hubby for filming and taking pictures of it’s “birth”!

My friend was so kind as to not mow his lawn and allowed me to REALLY test out the motor’s capabilities! hehe! It sounds like an airplane!

After we stopped recording, I edged my friend’s lawn. It lasted just about a half hour before the battery lost power. I think that’s that!!! Oh, except I plan on sharpening the blade. It kinda ripped the grass rather than cut it, so sharpening it will make it a MEAN GREEN MACHINE!

Update: It did well to sharpen it! Also, I was able to add the bagger back on & can mow my lawn and bag the clippings and leaves as well.

Thanks for following along with my project!

Next… the car conversion! Wish me luck!