Project Green

Living in the Past, Getting Beat by the Future! (Dec. 13th, 2000)

by admin on October 9, 2011

in Project Green

Considering the Silver Streak project – the 400 mile per charge EV1-powered Insight currently under construction, it seems appropriate to repost the following story about my adventures driving an EV1. Recently discovered photos I had taken on that trip eleven years ago, help tell the story better this time around:

Hello to all, I am once again, on the road on business, traveling by air and doing the usual car rental thing, but this trip is a bit more interesting, and I wanted to share a highlight with all of you.

As my travels had me going into Orange County, CA, I had originally made flight arrangements into John Wayne. As I have made it my policy to rent environmentally friendly vehicles whenever possible, I often rent from ‘EV Rentals’ who is associated with Budget Car Rental. While in Phoenix, I rent Insights as they do not offer pure EVs at this time, but since I was in southern CA, I looked into flying to LA instead of Orange County, as the EV Rental facility there has the largest choices of EVs and hybrids to choose from, and if possible, I wanted to rent an EV. As it turned out, I also saved my company some money with the less expensive Portland / LA round trip fare, as opposed to the Portland / Orange County trip fare.

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Silver Streak Update – Rinehart Motion Systems to Power EV1 Motor!

by admin on October 9, 2011

in Project Green

Hello to All,

It’s been a rough road to get to where we are today with the Silver Streak project, the l-o-n-g range 71.5 kWh, EV1-powered Insight, but I’m happy to report that this past weekend on Saturday Sept. 17th, we finally began the conversion process. A project of this magnitude needs to be carefully planned with all the pieces lined up before the tear-down can begin. The final crucial element I had been searching for - the all important inverter/controller, has been procured. I am very excited to announce that we have partnered with Rinehart Motion Systems (RMS) and will be using their model PM100DX to power up Silver Streak’s very special AC motor. Conservatively rated at 70 kW continuous, this liquid-cooled inverter can easily output 100 kW and is an ideal match up to this car, as it’s compact size and resulting light weight (just 16.5 lbs.) frees up valuable real estate under the hood while its output capacity is right at my target power level. More details on this great product – including how I will squeeze a bit more power from it, and RMS’s involvement in the project, to follow. [click to continue…]

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More on the Silver Streak

by bob on March 8, 2011

in Project Green

For those of you who haven’t heard the details on the Silver Streak project, I’ll give you a quick overview.  The Silver Streak is a (you guessed it) silver, 2000 Honda Insight Hybrid that is owned by John Wayland, aka “Plasma Boy”. In concert with John and the Plasma Boy Racing team, Fab Tek will be working on the conversion of the Insight to a fully EV with a 400+ mile range (batteries courtesy of Dow Kokam). Stay in touch as we move forward with the project. We will be posting photos and video as it progresses.

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The Silver Streak project begins, OPB to do documentary

by bob on March 8, 2011

in Announcements,Project Green

Great news! I’ll be starting on the battery clamp connector prototype for the Silver Streak today. We’ll be using the Blue Meanie as a test bed for the new connection system. OPB will be stopping by the shop to film the machining of the first pieces. They will be doing a documentary of the entire build process, as well as the testing of Silver Streak when completed. Exciting stuff!

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The Silver Streak

Here’s some great “Insight” into the new project! Quoted from Plasma Boy’s most recent writing. It’s been in the works for quite a while, but I’m happy to announce the birth of an exciting project, Plasma Boy Racing’s long range electric Honda Insight ‘Silver Streak’! My Silverstone Metallic colored Insight with its teardrop aero shape [...]

by bob February 20, 2011 Project Green Read the full article →

The Honda Insight EV Project

Fab Tek is pleased to be starting on the new Green project that we mentioned in a previous post. We will be working with John Wayland, aka “Plasma Boy” of White Zombie fame, converting his 2000 Honda Insight from a Hybrid, to a fully Electric Vehicle. The state of the art Dow Kokam battery pack [...]

by bob February 16, 2011 Announcements Read the full article →

New Green Projects

I almost forgot to tell you.  Mike and I are embarking on a couple of new Green Projects.  We will be working with a special guest that is a well known celebrity in the EV world.  Stay tuned for more as things develop.  Can you say “A 400 mile range from an EV” ?  Photos [...]

by bob February 12, 2011 Project Green Read the full article →

’02 Altima EV

Today we are removing a 130hp AC electric motor from an aborted EV conversion. To bad this one couldn’t have gotten finished. It was a nice start.

by bob February 11, 2011 Project Green Read the full article →

Zero to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds — White Zombie electric dragster makes believers out of fossil fuel hot-rodders

Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, The Oregonian John Wayland runs a political machine on 12 lithium polymer batteries. It’s a 1972 Datsun called “White Zombie,” and it’s one of the fastest street legal electric cars in the world. It’s been clocked doing zero to 60 mph in 2.95 seconds. It’s walloped Corvettes, Camaros and 600-horsepower Vipers in [...]

by admin January 16, 2011 Project Green Read the full article →