Armstrong

I found a manual steering rack through Craigslist, no tie rod ends or boots but I did get the universal shaft with it so hopefully I can mate it to the stock steering column shaft without difficulty.

I'm piecing together an order from Autohaus Arizona (great prices) which includes the tie rod assemblies and boots as well as drive axle seals and the transmission main shaft seal. By replacing these seals, I hope to have a non-drip car that my family and I can enjoy for many years.

Motor's Out

The 6 point socket and the breaker bar got the motor mount bolt loose and later we were able to lift out the old ICE. It's done its job of dumping around 60 to 70 tons of CO2 into the air.

Later we separated the motor and tranny.
I still have to remove the flywheel from the old ICE. So now things are moving along.

One Stubborn Motor Mount

I thought my father and I would have the ICE lifted out last evening however we were defeated by a very stubborn right side motor mount. The bolt is rusted or some how frozen to metal that is inside the rubber isolator. Every time the bolt turns so does the isolator and even though the bolt is no longer threaded into the nut on opposite side, it will not pull out. Our next step is to try to grip hold of the metal that inside the rubber isolator to prevent it from twisting and then use a good 6-point socket connected to a long breaker bar to break it free or twist off the bolt. If that doesn't work we will try removing the mount from the block.

I have received most of the kit parts from ElectroAuto. Only a few component brackets and mounts are remaining. The battery boxes look very nice as does the adapter plate and coupler. I'm searching salvage yards and other sources for a manual steering rack to replace my current power rack.

Exhaust

Put the Cabriolet up on stands. Disconnected exhaust..
Started removing the drive axles. Preparing to lift out the motor in January.

Many parts have arrived.. Battery boxes shipped last week.

Getting started

I removed the radiator hoses and disconnected the fan wire in preparation for pulling the radiator as well as disconnecting the ground from the battery.

Water Pump

Some EV parts have arrived:

• The Instruction booklet arrived in September
• 10/8: Impulse 9 motor from Warfield Electric Company
• 10/13: The Curtis 1231C controller
• Today: High Voltage cable (45 ft.)

The weather here in Virginia has been great for riding in a convertible, but for the last couple of weeks the Cabriolet has been just sitting idle. My wife noticed a large puddle under it one day and on further investigation it appears to leaking around the shaft on the water pump. It's probably too much for a "Stop Leak" repair, so I'll take it as the "Drain coolant" step is already completed for the ICE removal. Well maybe not completely. I want to warm the engine up at least one more time so I can get a good compression test and have those numbers available to a prospective ICE buyer.

Not Much New

Not much happening with the conversion process. The Cabriolet has been resting calmly in the garage though we take it out on the weekends for errands. I'll probably drive it into work (about a 70 mile round trip) several times next month so I can use up its last tank of gasoline.

I've received an invoice number from ElectroAuto with an itemized list of the VoltsRabbit components that should be shipping. The conversion instruction manual is the first item that will be arriving.