Summary

This Karmann Ghia was expertly converted to 100% electric drive and covered by a uniquely modified Fiberfab Aztec 7 body. Tested one-off commuter prototype. Very dependable, cheap to operate and green. Includes instructions, specs and project journals.

Details

This car is the end product and tested prototype of Roque Haines' Electric Aztec 7 Project, which he completed while working as an engineer at the Johnson Space Center. After they installed six EV-only parking spaces with power poles right outside of Building 20, he drove this car every day to work and plugged it in for free. He logged about 3,000 miles testing and perfecting the systems. He has since moved to a new job location, where his office is out of the car's range to drive to work. It is a head-turner and everywhere it is parked turns into a car show. This car has won numerous awards at car shows, including second place in the Houston Keels & Wheels Concours de Excellence open class. Included in the sale are the assembly instructions, technical specifications and project journals. Roque will be keeping the trophies and awards. The chassis is a 1971 Karmann Ghia. In order to accept the electric conversion and the new skin, the vehicle was stripped. New suspension, linkage, gearbox, shocks and coils were installed to accommodate the battery weight and steering complications. Disc brakes were installed on front and rear to handle stopping the load. A clutchless motor interface, similar to the Porsche Tiptronic system, was fabricated to use with the 4-speed rear transaxle transmission. Completely new 12V wiring, LEDs used for the signal and taillights and new overhead control switches installed. Low-profile performance tires and 19' Lamborghini-style alloy rims provide the needed weight-to-strength ratio. An air conditioner with 120V DC motor running off main battery pack to run air conditioning compressor, rear-view camera with dash-mounted LCD monitor and a real nice CD/MP3/IPOD sound system were installed. The battery pack is 15 Trojan T-875 8V, lead acid, flooded 170AH deep-cycle batteries that produce 120V and give a 128V traction pack. The 19hp single-shaft Advanced Wound DC motor, Curtis 72 120V 400A controller, on-board Zivan NG3 charger and Elcon DC Converter complete the electrical power and recharging systems. An independent 12V battery was added to run the accessories. All of the batteries are located outside of the Dynamat-wrapped cabin, and a steel roll bar was fabricated around the rear battery pack to serve as a rear bumper. The original Fiberfab body has been modified extensively. This body design was loosely based on the Carabo, a concept car designed by Bertone for Alfa Romeo. The Fiberfab body was also modified to allow it to open up for easy access to the batteries and electric drive components. The hood was modified to be one-piece and pivot open to the front. The rear was modified to fold back in one piece from the rear window and pivot over the rear wheels.