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The JMU AFV is pround to announce that we recently won a $19,500 Grant from the University/National Parks Energy Partnership Program (UNPEPP), allowing us to partner with Shenandoah National Park to convert a 1994 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck to full plug-in battery electric. The primary focus of this project will be the implementation study and how the vehicle is accepted in the park from both the staff and the visitors' perspectives. A special thank you to the UNPEPP program for this terrific opportunity!
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Most of the time spent this week involved changing out the old transmission and swapping it in for a newer model. The problem had been that the first manual transmission we received was off of an older Chevy S-10 (from the '80s) and we had several fitment problems. The solution to this was to find a newer model manual transmission that was made at or around the same year as the truck we have. We found a useable transmission at a salvage yard in Staunton so we went down and got that. We unfastened the old transmission from the motor and attached the newer one. We also opted to use the engine mount to lower the transmission/motor assembly down through the engine well instead of going up from underneath (This proved to be a much easier and more effective way to do this!). This week we also finished the modifications on the battery boxes.. so next week they will be ready to be sent of for poweder-coating and a final mount!  This is the final motor/tranny assembly!
 This time we used the engine jack to lower the assembly down through the engine bay
 This hole was cut for the shifter
 Making some final modifications on the battery brackets
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This week we mounted the transmission/motor assembly under the truck (before realizing that we would need a different transmission model!) as well as mounted the brackets to the truck frame, which allowed us to see what the batteries would look like when it was all said and done! We also cut a hole in the interior frame of the truck to allow the shifting mechanism to come up to the cab. In the following week, we have to aquire a new transmission, remount the motor to the new transmission and then mount the whole assembly back into the truck.  Motor/Tranny assembly ready to be lifted on the jack
 Motor/Tranny mounted under the truck
 A look at the motor in the engine compartment
 This is where the hole for the shifter will be cut in the frame
 Bolting on the battery boxes
 More bolting
 18 Deka FLA 12v batteries under the dump-bed!
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This week signaled a new phase of the project - fabrication and placement of battery boxes! The hardest part was figuring out how we were going to fit 24 Deka 12v FLA batteries (Weighing in at ~65lbs each). We ended up having to mount 6 in the front of the truck where the engine used to be, and 18 in the back under the bed. At this point, fabrication is started but nowhere near being finished. Also this week, we unpacked our brand new electric motor, and attached the bracket and clutch set to it - which will allow it to be connected to the transmission.  Starting the fabrication process
 The bracket in the front has to be capable of holding 6 of the large batteries
 This back bracket will also hold 6 batteries
 The electric motor fresh out of the box!  The motor with the bracket(red) and flywheel attached
 Aaaaand the clutch-plate
 Full clutch set attached - ready to be connected to the transmission
 Preparing to connect the motor to the transmission
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The dump bed was created using a two-hinge system that mounted to the frame and underside of the bed, which only required us to make some very slight modifications (such as fashioning a bracket we could mount the hinges to) - and with the batteries arriving late last week, we only have to figure out how we are going to arrange them around the truck; which is important because of weight distribution and performance issues.  Mounting the hinges to the truck frame
 With the hinges secure on the frame, we just need to bolt them to the truck bed
 In order to secure the bed, we had to fashion two small brackets to act as spacers and give us a place to bolt the hinges.
 For safety and usability issues, we added two gas shocks to make the bed easier to lift and to allow for free-standing support.
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With the engine taken out, all we had to do was eliminate the gas tank and remove the bed from the frame to allow for battery placement. We also decided to make a dump bed feature to allow for easy battery maintenance (not to mention it looks really cool). Before we did any of this, we realized the underside of the truck was in dire need of a good cleaning, so we spent several hours power washing the frame and underside of the bed, then added a coat of protective paint to prevent rusting and improve the cosmetic look of the truck itself.  A look at the engine compartment once the engine has been removed
 In the process of lowering and discarding the fuel tank
 Here's what the S-10 looks like once the bed was removed
 Power washing the entire truck
 Cleaned and painted, looks much better!
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Electric Conversion for Shenandoah National Park
