Update #33 - I hate rust # 2026-06-20 Wow, no update in over a year. A lot has happened. The pace has picked up relatively recently as I have a few hours a week set aside just to work on the car. I seem to have got to the point now where I’ve broken the back on the chassis rust removal and repairs. It’s finally starting to look like a solid base that I can start building on. ...
Update #32 - BMS design # 2023-03-14 In the last post I mentioned briefly that I was designing a Battery Management System (BMS) for the EV Mustang. I’ve been trying to gather information on BMS design from different sources and apply it all to the design of my system. So, I thought it would be good to do a post solely about that. What batteries am I using in my conversion? ...
Update #31 - Cowl tank installation + BMS # 2023-03-01 It has been a long time with no update! The next job on the agenda was to put in the brand new cowl tank that I bought. The old one was completely rotten and unrecoverable. This is a very common area for rust and rot in these cars. Leaves and other debris gets lodged in the tank. This damp stuff sits up against the cowls and slowly rots them away. ...
Update #30 - Making a motor mount and removing the cowl tank # 2022-08-22 I mocked up the front part of the motor mount in cardboard to check for fit. Then transferred the design to a piece of 6mm steel and cut it out with an angle grinder. Turns out you can get a pretty neat cut of you’re very careful. I don’t have a great sense for how strong the front mount is or needs to be. ...
Update #29 - rear battery box and front motor mount # 2022-02-21 With a socket finally wired up in my garage for my welder, I’m getting stuck into making up the rear battery box. I’m making a frame out of 3mm x 30mm right angle steel. I then plan to line it with 1.5mm sheet. Don’t look too close at my terrible welding! This is the first thing I’ve ever welded. ...
Update #28 - motor mount design # 2021-09-07 Doing a few sketches to see how I might mount the front part of my motor in the engine bay. At first I thought I might just put a 50mm x 50mm piece of box across the front and mount it to the frame rail on either side. The problem with this is that I want to keep the original steering rack as-is and this would be in the way. ...
Update #27 - Rear battery box CAD # 2021-09-06 I did a little CAD (cardboard aided design) this evening. The first version was a bit too big and wouldn’t fit into the old fuel tank area. After trimming about 10mm off the width and 10mm off the length it would just about squeeze in. This is why mocking up this stuff before you make the final version is such a good idea. ...
Update #26 - Checking the CVT fit in the transmission tunnel # 2021-09-03 First fit of motor in transmission tunnel. Did a first fit of the motor in the transmission tunnel this evening. It fits better than I expected to be honest. Not perfect, but not terrible. The oil pan will stick out a bit below the frame rails, but not by much, maybe 30mm or so. The steering rack bolts to the frame rails here. ...
Update #25 - throttle control of MG2 # 2021-09-02 I popped a fresh 9V into my multimeter and it’s back in action! This allowed me to go through the process of figuring out the wiring of my BMW e61 pedal. There are 6 connections in total. According to the wiring diagram, the pedal has two sensors in it. Each sensor takes a 5V, a ground, and has a single output signal. ...
Update #24 - syncofs tuning and CAD # 2021-08-28 Today was syncofs tuning day. I was able to dial it in suspiciously quickly. Unfortunately, I managed to leave my multimeter turned on for the past few days so the battery ran flat. This meant I couldn’t figure out the wiring of the BMW e60 throttle pedal I’m planning to use. So, I’ll need to come back to this to confirm that I have the right syncofs value. ...