Manual Steering Box

I have never owned a manual steering automobile but most people suggest replacing the power steering box with a manual one on electric vehicles to save power, so that is what I did. My buddy Tom and I went on a scavenger hunt to several area junk yards in search of the part. The good thing is that older S-10s (later body style) used the same mounting configuration as my truck. The bad thing is that most junk yards have already scrapped all their older S-10s.

We finally ended up finding one, although it wasn't in the condition I was hoping. It had been cut off of a vehicle at some point and was sitting in the mud for who knows how long. Against my better judgment we went ahead and purchased it. It cleaned up nicely and I don't feel any internal problems when I move it but only time will tell if this component will hold up.

Perhaps once my vehicle is operational I will devise a plan to add power steering back into it.The ugly used manual box I picked up, and this is even after I removed a lot of mud.
I scraped and ground the paint off and applied a rust protection primer.

The final part all cleaned up and painted black. Not too bad if I do say so myself, especially because this is my first time using a paint sprayer.

ICE is gone!

My buddy Tom came over and helped me pull the internal combustion engine out of the S-10. It took a lot longer than I expected but we finally accomplished our goal. The service manual suggests disconnecting the engine and the transmission and then pulling the engine. However, for the life of us we couldn't figure out how to get the bolts off that where holding them together. There was barely clearance to get your finger over the bolt let alone a wrench or socket. We ended up just pulling the engine and transmission out together. The key to it all was to lift the motor enough to get to the engine mount bolts and then remove the engine mounts. Once those were out of the way we were able to shimmy it out slowly.

The ICE before the surgery ;)

Tom under the mid-section of the car removing the transmission support. Had he put down the cigurette maybe he wouldn't have dropped my 1/2 inch socket into the frame, thanks Tom ;). [Update: was able to retrieve the socket after purchasing a automotive magnet pickup tool]
Starter, drive shaft, and transmission support all needed to come out before we started pulling engine.Taken before one of our many attempts at pulling the engine.

We placed the floor jack inline with the transmission so we could control the transmission height as we pulled with the engine hoist.

One of our failed attempts at getting it out, I know this because engine mount is still installed here.

Tom giving me his, "I am too tired for this s***" look.Finally! it came out. The key was removing the engine mounts from the frame so we had the needed clearance.


What a mess! I should have done a better job draining the transmission before all of this.Temporarily supported engine and transmission on jacks. I am going to build a simple support out of wood so I can reclaim the jacks, definitely going to need those for the rest of the work.

Why I want to do this

You might be asking yourself why I would want to be spending time and money to convert a late model vehicle to pure electric. The main reasons I am doing this is

1. Learn a few things - about all sorts of things like mechanical, electrical, fabrication, etc.
2. Have a vehicle that does not directly contribute to our environmental problems like internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles do.
3. Save money on gas. It is cheaper per mile to run on electric than gas, although actual savings are negated by initial investment I am still hoping over time I will come out ahead.
4. Meet people w/ similar interests. I plan on joining the Electric Auto Association (EAA).
   
5. To have a hobby that gets me away from my daily stress.

Well now you know!

Found the donor car!

After looking around for a suitable donor car on Craigslist for several weeks I finally have a winner. I went out today and picked up a '98 S-10 truck from a nice kid in Pevely MO (about 50 minutes from my home). The truck has a blown engine and doesn't run but that is exactly what I was looking for. The engine failure obviously makes it cheaper than blue book and the body and frame are in decent condition, thankfully I don't think they use much salt out there in Pevely. I had the truck towed back to my garage and I can't wait to get to work on it.

Gateway EV website

I created a new website for our Gateway EV chapter of the EAA. It is a work-in-progress but my hopes are that it will reflect what our chapter is all about. I also create a forum section so members and guests can share ideas. Check it out!

Joined the Electric Auto Association

When working on complex projects it is always good to have people around that have been-there and done-that. That is the main reason I just joined the Electric Auto Association (EAA). A few guys around Saint Louis started a local chapter of the EAA called Gateway EV. The individual that pushed me the most to join Gateway EV was Ron Erb. Ron lives in my town and recently converted a Ford Ranger to be electric.

Welcome

Welcome to my S-10 Electric Vehicle (EV) conversion blog. This site will contain periodic updates of my progress on converting a 1998 S-10 to an all electric vehicle that is road capable. I look forward to sharing more of my experience on this journey with all of you.