The infamous YUGO. going green????? maybe.

So the worlds most famous autocross Yugo (long history on this board) is now residing in out HS shop. The plan was to build up the 1.3 - -megasquirt it....and get it back track healthy.

That IS option 1.

Now for option 2. make it a plug in electric. street legal and for autocrossing. Anyone attempt such a build here? I know virtually nil about doing the conversion, but I know race prep vs. street prep would be opposed to one another. But maybe with the 5 spd., we can be more flexible? autocross in 1st or 2nd. street drive in 3/4 or5???

Can anyone shed some light? anyone near or in central NJ that would be willing to lend a helping hand??

miclinmopar AT optonline DOT net is me reg. email to reach me directly if you want to help with this endeavor! thx

It will be more costly to convert than to leave the ICE and rehab it.

Cheap route:
1) This Motor Controller
2) a 9" DC forklift motor from your local forklift repair place. This thread will help
3) Half of a Chevy Volt battery pack from somewhere like Car-part.com Use factory water cooling and you should be able to beat the crap out of it.
4) A cheap charger
5) A cheap adapter using a clutch.

This system will give you ~150 ftlbs of torque from 0-3000rpm and keep your weight reasonable. More range is as simple as adding more battery. More power means a bigger controller, charger, more or tougher batteries, etc... If you are willing to spend 10-15k you could build an incredibly fast setup. But thats talking real money.

I recommend DC because DC motor/controller setups win the power per $ war.

I am more or less set on converting one of my two Insights to full EV status using the stuff i picked up from an old electric car i parted out.

Luckily my hardware is friggin fancy. 3 phase brushless motor makes about 52hp and 110lb ft at their respective peaks, at the rated voltage.

I know a guy that builds motor controllers by hand so i am sort of excited about the possibility of hot rodding the stuff a little bit.

The most expensive part is batteries. You need to learn how much your goal will cost JUST in batteries, and then make yourself ok with that, or you will never get the project off the ground.

I don't know what it will take, but I'd like to get: 60 mile range at 60 mph. 70 mph top speed. Would be nice to carry a small generator for emergency charging or increasing range if necessary.

Can't respond to the electric questions, but I can tell you a little about the tranny (since I was apparently the last one who owned it while it was still running).

The gearing of the 5 speed is terrible for autocrossing. They were broad and gutless- outside the meat of the powerband. They were designed for economy, not get up and go. That's why I built the 4 speed that is in it.

The 4 speed did not have 70 mph in it, without unreasonable rpms.

That, of course, assumes the 1300 cc motor. Completely different with electric.

Carry on. I'm watching, with interest!

High RPM electrics are pretty much a myth in conversions. Most motors used to convert are not going to hold together well over 6000 RPM. Hell, the reasonably priced DC and AC systems make all of their power from 0-3000 RPM.

The exceptions are the sweetest dollar to power setups I know of: Kostov K11 Alpha or a WarP11HV motor with a Soliton 1000 Amp motor controller with 300-350 Volts of really high quality batteries. That setup will get you ~300 foot pounds of torque from 0-5000 RPM. Still sub 6000 RPM, but man that's a nice torque curve.

It's really sad for me to realize I was the last one to drive this car!

Get to work!!