1984 Dodge Daytona electric vehicle

Before it's street legal,

it needs a horn. I'm unsure what the deal is, I need to figure out some stuff about how it's wired.

Actually, after further investigation, the horn is (now) fine.

Regenerative braking

I was told the car had it. If not, this may well apply.

KTA Kit #4 and a 1984 Daytona equal our car

One of the pieces of paperwork with the car is instructions for KTA Services Conversion Kit #4 which even today is $5300. We paid $2000 for the whole car. I am pleased.

From that page:
KTA EV Conversion Kit #4...suitable for propelling 1000 to 4000 lb. kit car or compact passenger car/pickup...at speeds up to 85 MPH...96 to 120 V...basic kit without extras includes:

>Advanced DC motor #203-06-4001 (28HP continuous, 30HP 1 hr thermal, 85HP peak)
Curtis DC motor controller #1221C-7401 (400 amp 2 minute rating, 250 amp 5 minute rating, 150 amp 1 hour rating)
KTA motor clamp #M008
Curtis swing arm throttle control #PB-6 (5k ohm with microswitch)
Albright contactor set #SW-200B
Bussman safety fuse #FWA-400
Sevcon DC-DC converter #622-11014 (13.5-14v/25a)
GE electric vehicle circuit breaker #TQD-200 (up to 500 amps)
Westberg ammeter #2C6-30X (6-30 amps)
Westberg voltmeter #2C5-28X (50-150 volts dc)
Deltec ammeter shunts #MKB-500-50 and #MKA-50-50
K&W battery charger #BC-20 (20a max charge rate)
Magnecraft auxiliary charging relay #W389ACX-9
Prestoflex welding cable #2/0 (800 amps max)
Magna #2/0 GA x 3/8" cable lugs

and of course a manual transmission adapter plate for the Dodge Daytona.

Missing variable here is what was used to convert the system to vacuum braking assist. It is likely, if purchased from KTA, to be:
Gast vacuum pump #MOA-V111-JH

Further reading of the converter's notes indicates a
P&B high voltage relay #PRD-7DJO-12
was likely used to power a power steering pump motor.

Oh, and the tires are Michelin Proxima Low Rolling Resistance runflats, P175 65R14.

Battery box

For a cold climate, an insulated battery box can make all the difference if you're using lead-acid batteries. I should retrofit mine.

A fiberglassed styrofoam battery box is probably a good idea.

Heater

The car came with its A/C and heat removed. I plan to readd at least the heat.

I don't know how much of the ductwork from the factory heating system is left, but my hope is to add an electric heater or possibly a DES-MEA liquid heater designed to replace the combustion engine as a source of heat. A gasoline heater as some cars came with is right out.

DC-DC controller for 12v system

There's a 12v battery for accessories, with a small charger attached to it. It appears to be a fixed charger that runs off the 96v car pack. If I don't already have one, I plan to get a DC-DC controller, but it appears there is one (hidden under the front battery rack) and that this car has a battery-augmented accessory power subsystem.

Actually, the wires run under the front battery rack, but the DC-DC converter, a Sevcon, is not hidden. It's just mounted further back.

Charge!

Since before I actually moved into my house, the garage has had plywood laid flat in its large (4' x 8') dimension. The story has been that it's "cabinet grade". Well, I decided to put this theory to the test. I cleaned out the garage enough that I could move around, and took the plywood off the sawhorses. Some was nice, more was exterior grade, some was laminated, and some was whatever the crappy grade is.

In any case, I moved around some multi-hundred-pound cast iron interlocking machine parts and got the garage empty enough that I could squeeze the car in... and then

squeezed it in.

I had to climb over to the passenger seat to get out, but it did fit. The center console cover seems to have cracked plastic hinges, unfortunately. I guess that's another part I should pick up.

I plugged the car in via the heavy extension cord it came with.

The cord plugs into the gas cap opening. The K&W BC-20 has a cooling fan which kicked on as the car started charging.

With the snow still on the ground, I went out and checked out the car a bit. The front bumper fascia has a crack in it near the right front parking light. The hatchback struts do a poor job of holding it up. In general it seems like it's in decent shape.

In the hatch, I found various documentation, which I brought inside to peruse. Included were a chassis/body (but not an engine/electrical) service manual. I didn't have time to do much more. I did note, though, that the converter's name was in fact Dale Ross rather than Russ as the auction stated. A quick Google search turned up Dale at the Santa Barbara EAA chapter.

Learning about the new toy

With the snow still on the ground, I went out and checked out the car a bit. The front bumper fascia has a crack in it near the right front parking light. The hatchback struts do a poor job of holding it up. In general it seems like it's in decent shape.

In the hatch, I found various documentation, which I brought inside to peruse. Included were a chassis/body (but not an engine/electrical) service manual. I
didn't have time to do much more. I did note, though, that the converter's name
was in fact Dale Ross rather than Russ as the auction stated. A quick Google search turned up Dale at the Santa Barbara EAA chapter.

New Car!

On November 30, a 1984 Dodge Daytona converted to electric propulsion located near Burbank, CA, closed on eBay. The previous (but not original) owner, Jean Zuhorski, was moving further from work.

I'd been looking at other efficient vehicles, including the Dodge TEVan and Dodge EPIC minivans, both of which were limited production electric vehicles from Chrysler. Some TEVans made it into the wild, whereas the EPIC seems to have been lease-only. I also had been following the Dodge Intrepid ESX-3 hybrid. This never even made it into production. In any case, the situation was pretty depressing. I couldn't have a Chrysler product at all (my father works at a Dodge dealer) and I could only likely get a Ford Ranger EV as a from-the-factory electric if I didn't want one of the Toyota or Honda hybrids. Some converted options existed.

I found a 1966 VW bug, but then the Daytona appeared on eBay. It was attractive because:

• It runs
  
• It's a Chrysler
  

Well, 2 weeks later (I failed to get a shipping quote before the first auction ended, but no one bought it) I won, and on December 17 Dependable Auto Shippers (or more precisely, their contracted local delivery agent, McGann and Chester) showed up with the car.