The Pace Quickens

It's been a long time since we've updated the project, but it's not for lack of progress. Getting the e-Bugeye ready to ship took some of my time, but Robert, Keith and Bob have been full steam ahead. Let's start with the body:

Robert has completed the painting and started a trial fit of all the body pieces in his shop with fender welt cut and in place. I couldn't be more pleased with the finish and look of the bodywork! Here are a few more views:








The color shifts somewhat depending on the brightness and background. The actual color is closest to what you see on the rear clip here out of the direct sun.












Robert has sprayed the inside of the hood area with bed liner and the bottom of the fenders with black undercoat for quieter ride and protection from the elements. The contrast is very effective and will provide a great base for the red accents of the interior and grill.

Final adjustments to the doors and fenders will have to wait until it's mated to the chassis and all the weight of the battery packs and motor/controller are in place.









Meanwhile, the chassis has been at Pro Automotive and Keith and Bob finished out the mechanical prep work so Robert could caulk and spray the chassis with bed liner on top and undercoat beneath.

The front end received new disk brakes, wheel bearings, master cylinder, shocks, and tie rods.

The rear also got new brakes, new half shafts with CV joints and boots, and new wheel bearings to go with the freshly rebuilt transaxle.









All of this prep work led up to the motor installation. It is such a pleasure to have the right tools available to make the job so much easier. 










The Netgain Impulse9 motor on the transmission jack made it a simple matter to install the clutch pack working at a comfortable height. With the clutch installed and a fresh release bearing in the bell housing, it was a breeze matching the height of the car on the lift to the motor on the transmission jack.





The motor just slid into place and locked in beautifully.

Now it's my turn to get to work. The Helwig H60 brushes came in a separate package. The H60 is about 2.5 times harder than the original brushes and features a split brush design, four leads instead of two for higher current ability, a mylar sheath on each lead to avoid case shorts, and a closed terminal connection for maximum seating area. The result is lower carbon dust, longer life, and better commutation.

The H60s are very easy to install, especially since the car was on the lift and adjusted to the optimal working height. The original brush is on the left and the new Helwig H60 is on the right.







The rest of the afternoon was spent installing new clutch and accelerator cables with the guide tubes that go with them. Tomorrow we'll install the new trigger shifter and the tricky little nylon bushing that goes with it.

The chassis will be ready to acccept the body and we'll have something that starts to look like a car!