The DRC tubular subframe has been made and is getting powder coated, so it should be shipped to me soon.

In the mean time, I decided to drop the subframe . The ball joints seem ok , but do you guys feel it’s worth upgrading to whiteline ?

 

Do all the things your budget can handle! I love this project.

 

Today the DRC subframe came in. I asked to keep everything as factory except the exhaust hangers are not needed.

Well, the one I received has factory hangers and also it seems like the transmission mount bracket is integrated. I’m not sure if this is a design revision of some sort but most other pics I’ve seen do not have this. So now I have a subframe that has two pieces that I absolutely do not need (exhaust hangers and integrated trans mount bracket). Also, why no brand sticker ?

I’ll have to give him a call tomorrow . Maybe I was sent the wrong one?

 

Alrighty , I spoke with Dan and he said that the subframes were revised a little while back and come with the “integrated” bracket for the transmission mount. I was not aware of that and just assumed it would come as factory setup is. So anyone looking for subframe , keep that in mind.

As for the exhaust hangers it was an error on their part for including it . It’s not the end of the world, but it would have been better without those pieces , especially the trans mount bracket. So I’ll just use it as is and post some pics as soon as I have some time to install it.

 

Had a little time time to transfer over the goodies (control arm, sway bar and steering shaft ).

 

Subframe is on the car. When I was disassembling the steering rack , I used brakeklean to degrease and clean things up . Well I also cleaned off the sharpie marks I put to help align the steering. So the install process took a little longer as I tried to eye ball both tires and center the steering wheel and repeat till I think it’s all straight now.

Comparing my manual steering to power steering (both with car on jack stands) the steering is super light ! With the power rack you still felt a good amount of resistance as there was a internal piston ring trying to push fluid through small chambers... of course I won’t know the full capacity until it’s back in the ground or when driving .

 

Super Clean. Well done!

Have learned to appreciate E-power lately

 

^Thanks.

As I slowly inch forward in this build I’ve redirected my choice of power unit once again. The model s rear drive unit can be bought with power output ranges of 450 - 630 hp (335-475 kw) . But the downside is they are oriented in such that the inverted and motor are at the rear with the transmission axles towards the front of the car. I need the motor to be installed in the opposite configuration to clear the rear subframe .

I’ve decided to use the Model 3 Drive Units instead of the model s . The model 3 rear drive unit is rated at 283 hp but weights 100 lbs less (300lbs model s vs a little less than 200 lbs model 3) . I will be installing a “rear drive unit” in the rear and another “rear drive unit” in the front independent of each other. This should put me at 560 awhp , which is way different than what a 560 awhp internal combustion engine dyno power band looks like. The all wheel drive version of the model 3 has less powerful motor at the front and puts out about 483 awhp. Weighing in at 4,072 lbs the Tesla Model 3 awd performance package sprints 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. With all said and done , my Evo should weight 3200 lbs if not less. So I think I will still be happy with the acceleration.

I tried to scale the sizes as best as I could calculate but here is what the motors should look like installed .

 

Its time to put a stop to this madness !! And modify the brakes

I want to keep the ABS and simplify everything. So my options were to either add a vacuum pump or delete the brake booster. So big thanks to this thread I was able to find what I needed to make a working manual boosterless brake MC https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/we...l#post11892490

Today the last piece of my birthday present arrived. Its a 7/8” Master Cylinder made by “Centric” part number 130.46522 .This will help reduce heavy pedal feel when removing the brake booster. I also got the High Speed Engineering Brake Booster Delete to help delete the Brake Booster while keeping the MC in the standard position. The Ebay add description stated it was anodized red but I was actually pleasantly surprised it was anodized black.

Its kind of cold now and finding the time to work on the car is not making it easy. So I’ll install it when I get the chance and take some pics installed.

 

I was able to squeeze in some time to install the brake booster delete and 7/8” master cylinder . I didn’t have a chance to bleed the system yet so I can’t comment quite yet on how it feels depressing the pedal while stationary .

I had to re-use the oem u- joint that screws on to the push rod to attach to the brake pedal. Something was off on the push rod thread. The pitch seemed fine but the u-joint piece would not bolt on. So I used my cheap tap and die kit to chase the push rod threads. It’s supposed to be m10x1.25 but I think it was slightly thicker that was causing the issue .

 

Keep up the good work!! and please try to be as detailed as possible with what’s required. I’m highly interested in an E alternative for my evo, if I could get roughly the same performance it currently has and never again be concerned about smog and fix it tickets here in Cali, I would on board with a conversion in a heartbeat.

 

Thanks.

Many of the things that I’m doing to the car right now such as converting to manual steering and booster delete is for conserving as much energy as possible. Also, the simpler I can make the setup the better. Otherwise there are electric vacuum pumps and electric power steering pumps available for the EV conversion markets.

I was trying to unbolt the brake lines at the ABS modulator and bleed it from there (not optimal I know) but ended up stripping that bolt. Not sure if its the cold or the years that have them on that tight! So to prevent further stripping, I just unbolted the lines as the Master Cylinder bled it from there. Eventually I’ll do it properly from the calipers with either two people method or buying a bleed kit. The brake pedal feels pretty good as it sits. There is a good amount of travel as you depress the brakes unlike with a vacuum less booster that “locks up”.

No more emissions testing is very nice. But you need to also read up for your state what is required to pass any inspections for registering it as electric vehicle. I just got really tired of tuning it and with big power comes the price of no power in the lower power band. That really takes the fun away from driving.

 

Any updates on this?

 

No updates since last. Its too cold to work on the car right now. Unfortunately i dont have a heated garage, so it takes most of the drive to want to do anything to it right now. Perhaps, I might work on the interior a little. I tried to “carbon” wrap the shifter counsel panel but its too difficult for me to wrap it well around the edges and major corners. Maybe I should just spray paint it black?

I did contact a company called EvWest to check the status of the Model 3 motor availability . They responded very quickly and let me know they should have the model 3 controller available in the next few months. Also, there is another EV company 057 Technology that offers Tesla Model S Motors Controllers to run but they dont have the model 3 available just yet either and are working on it. So we will see who will have what and how much they will cost.

I dont think the venders will have an “AWD” capable controller. So I will be needing two separate rear drive units & controllers. One will be for the rear wheels and the other one up front for the front wheels. They will work independent from each other with their own controller. So I can turn one off and making it RWD or FWD or keep both on and AWD.

 

There's a rogue tesla mechanic called motherboard, have you heard of him, has second hand parts