2001 Other Makes Doran EV3PO

TEX112097

Clear

Condition: Note about mileage: When the car was built it had a used Subaru dash installed. Therefore, the odometer read about 62,520.3 miles when it was newly built. When I bought it, the odometer read 65,428. Currently the odometer reads 78,747 miles, which means that the actual mileage is 16,227. Needs: Please buy and install a electrically operated vacuum pump to assist the braking system because of the extra weight of the new batteries. The Doran also needs a battery for the radio as well. It needs a new radio. The tires have 1/4 inch of tread and have traveled 16,000 miles. New upholstery is needed (it is not terrible but the car was not used by smokers). Paint scratches/chipping: 1)While the car was being transported from Eldon, MO to Kintnersville, PA, it sustained damage which resulted in a pretty significant paint crack along the corner of the left rear fender. The crack extends about 4x4 inches on both sides (see pictures). 2) Right rear fender, small chip 3) Two scratches and one chip left front (including chips where the hood meets the base) 4) Two chips right front (including where the hood meets the base) Maintenance: Before/during/after driving The Doran should be operated with the motor cooling fan on at all times. After the ignition is on, make sure the magnetic lock for the hood (it is activated by the ignition key) is engaged (test it). The hood won't fly up while driving. There is not any power assist on the steering (it functions fine while driving); however, when you are parked, turn the steering wheel slowly. The turning radius is about 33 feet and the steering wheel will turn 2 full turns to the left and right of center. When you turn the ignition key to on, there is one more level to the right which is necessary to activate the turn signals. After turning the key two clicks to the right the key returns itself to the regular "on" position. You have to be careful when you accelerate. Very slowly and minutely move the acceleration pedal,otherwise it will give you give it too much torque. - it has maximum torque at stall. For safe operation I use the following gears/speeds (it is stick shift): 1st gear: 0-20 2nd gear: 15-45 3rd gear: 40-70 4th gear: (never tried it, I didn't want a ticket). When you shift from 1st to 2nd you have to let the motor speed slow down to engage second gear. The transmission has been rebuilt, but the syncromesh is weak going into second. If you are driving above 50 mph you may need to hold the doors down with the attached rubber bungy cord device. The Bernoulli effect might cause the doors to open. Try not to accelerate using more than 300 amps at any one time. 450 amps sustained for more than a few seconds can ruin the batteries. The safety fuse is at 500 amps so your driving habits matter. In the event that you are going uphill slowly and using more than 300 amps, you may overheat the controller and you may need to let it cool down. The controller has its own fan, which should be used in the event that the air temperature is high (above 90 degrees F). Its best to use a lower gear when climbing (I avoid slow, steep hills and instead went slowly 45 - 70 MPH up hills that don't have steep grades). The car floats effortlessly when going down hill. When you put on the emergency blinker lights, only one will blink (the turn signals are not out). When driving in fog, or valleys in winter use Rain X, which eliminates the fog on the outside of the glass when you hit cold air. I have not driven this car on ice. The roll over tendencies are no worse than a car with 4 wheels. In winter when it is below 32 degrees outside temperature, I would not drive the Doran (just let it sit) because the chemical reactions are compromised and you must reduce both your speed and distance. When operating the vehicle at say, 45 degrees, your distance is cut to a 12 mile limit and speed to 45 mph (you can go faster/further, but it will damage the batteries). It is best to operate the vehicle between 50 - 95 degrees outside temperature. In hot weather you can open up the gull wing sliding doors (partly) in order to provide ventilation (hatch two inches open, sliders half open). This helps to keep the controller from overheating (it may quit if it is over 105 degrees). It is not recommended to travel on rough or gravel roads because the weight of the batteries in the front could damage the frame, axles, or battery-holding supports if you hit a hole. In the event that you want to go to the limit of the batteries' life (not recommended), under no circumstances, proceed when the battery voltage reaches 132 volts. For best battery life, use a cut off of 68% charge or 132 volts as a self imposed limit. Door seals are not waterproof, especially in heavy rain. Use a tarp to protect the interior. Over-discharging the batteries (below 50% will damage the batteries). Over-charging the batteries will also cause loss of water in the batteries. When charging the batteries quit whenever the charger is putting out 2 amps or the charge is 98%. Weekly Maintenance Welded spots on the frame (on the axles and the sway bar) and on the struts should be checked once a week. Most of the original welds have been replaced with professional welding, but it is better to check. Check the steering connection from the steering wheel to the steering box gear weekly. Check the air pressure in the tires weekly and aim for 40 psi in the front and 30 psi in the back. Every 3 Months Maintenance About every 3 months you should clean all the electrical contact terminals on the lead-acid batteries to make sure they are bright, clean and polished (this would not be necessary if you had sealed lead-acid batteries - I could not find this kind of battery which had 150 amper hour capacity). All batteries need distilled water added every 3 months. Take off the hood and carefully lift the top layer of batteries to access the bottom layer of batteries. If they are more than one half inch below the observation square/hole, then you should add distilled water (typically it takes 2 gallons every 3 months). Do not fill above the meniscus in the observation hole. Yearly Maintenance About once a year, check the brakes (by taking off the front wheels). Other Maintenance Tips/Information When jacking the car up, make sure you rest the jack under the the metal frame (not the fiberglass/foam, which cannot take the weight). Other information: Use Wiki How to tell which way a diode should be attached to the master contact switch. Features/History: In 2005 I purchased this vehicle from Mark Kohler (from Austin, Texas) for $5,000. Mark constructed the vehicle from 1999-2001 using used parts from a front-wheel drive four speed 1985 Subaru transmission. The car was based on the 1978 design (by Rick Doran) published in Mechanics Illustrated. The design showed how to build an all-electric foam fiberglass Subaru four-speed, three-wheeled motorcycle. During the construction, Mark spent $13,000 in parts and 2 years of labor for him and three others who were also Master's degree engineering students in Austin. After the car was completed in 2001, it placed third in an all-electric vehicle race (coast to coast) in Costa Rica (without a single problem, documentation of the car's progress through the race is available. Detailed information about (and plenty of pictures of) the construction of the car and the Costa Rica race are available on Mark's website. Mark's website is accessible if you Google "home roadrunner ev3po" and click on the 5th link which is titled, "Story Part 1 - Road Runner Home Pages" (If you have trouble with this, please contact me). When I purchased the Doran, it had the following characteristics (these have remained unchanged unless noted): Vehicle: 2001 3-wheel Doran (an electric vehicle based on the designs of Rick Doran, 2 wheels in front, 1 in back, front wheel drive, front electric motor, gull wing doors) Dimensions: Wheel base.....90 in. Track F/R......52 in./0 in. Length.........144 in. Width..........65 in. Height.........47 in. Clearance......5.7 in. now 4.5 " Chassis Construction: Fiberglass foam core composite body, integral roll cage, steel backbone frame Motor: Series wound DC traction motor (Prestolite 7.2" diameter) 65 peak horsepower, 85 ft. lbs. of torque at stall, 1 hr. rating 20 H.P. @ 4400 RPM/185A, 85% efficient, 105 lbs. Drive-train: Subaru 4 speed manual trans rebuilt. Controller (original): Auburn Scientific Kodiak (Model C600, Serial #149) 144 Volts/600 Amps; air cooled Controller (currently): Flight Systems Industrial Products, Carlisle, PA Curtis RP77-1231C-8601 96/144V 500A (0-5K) PMC Batteries (original): 12 Panasonic 12-Volt, sealed, deep cycle lead-acid (EC-EV1260), wired in series for 144 Volts. Energy capacity(?) = 6.57. kilowatt-hours. Functioning KWH = 2.7. Pack weight = 512 lbs. AGM (50 amper hour) Batteries (currently): Batteries:12 NAPA 150 amper hours lead acid (you have to add distilled water about every 3 months) functioning KWH =4 at 70 mph for 18 miles System Voltage (original): 144 Volts System Voltage (currently): 148-150 Volts Charger (original): Zivan K2 high frequency on-board charger, 220VAC input, 144VDC output (14 amps) (takes 5 hours to charge when empty) Charger (currently): Zivan NG3 220V input, 16 amps output (takes three hours). It self regulates and the charging slows down to 2.0 amps when approaching 98% full charge. It will continue to charge at 1.2 amps, but to do so only creates hydrogen and oxygen from water and makes it so that you have a potential explosion hazard (open the hood and rear hatch while charging) and you will have to add distilled water more often. Suspension (original): Front....unequal length control arms, coil over shocks (Honda Prelude), anti-roll bar Rear.....trailing arm with coil over shock (Subaru) Suspension (currently): Coil over shocks manufactured individually for this vehicle (to handle the added weight) DC/DC Converter: Todd PC-40LV 148 V down to 13 V Instrumentation: a) E-meter V, Amps, KWH. b) Motor Current Ammeter Top speed (original): 80 MPH (128 KPH) Top speed (currently): 85 MPH in 3rd gear, 4th gear unknown Acceleration (original): Not slow, but no jack rabbit. Acceleration (currently): Excellent Range (original): 20-25 miles reported Range (currently): 18 miles at 75 mph up hill, dropping the charge from 98% to 68% charge, more if you are on level ground and drive slower Energy usage/Watt Hours/Mile (original): 210 Watt hours per mile mixed driving conditions Watt Hours/Mile (currently): 205 Watt hours per mile, mixed driving conditions Interior: Seats/adjustments.....Bucket/fore and aft Seating Capacity (original): 2 adults Seating Capacity (currently): 2 adults (the passenger foot room is compromised by the presence of 2 batteries) -most people need two pillows in the seat to see over the hood. A person over 6'2" would have limited head room. Curb weight: original 1,850 pounds (840 kilograms), Front/Rear weight distribution 74/26% Curb weight (currently): 2,300 pounds F/R 80/20% (approximate) Heater: none Air conditioning: 2-60 air conditioner (2 small windows open at 60 mph; no actual air conditioning) Wheels and tires: P175/70/R13 low rolling resistance radial tires (TOYO Ultra 800, Treadware 700, Traction A, Temperature B), steel rims. There is a spare tire that comes with the car. There is also a small, temporary spare tire that goes inside the car (along with a jack and lug wrench). Frontal area: 18 sq. ft. Brakes: Front/Rear. . .Disc/drum Accessories: The radio battery is there but needs to be replaced. The radio itself did function but I think should be replaced. The 4 speakers are there but are not hooked up. Changes I made: 2005 (soon after purchase) - Replaced 50 amper hour batteries with 100 amper hour batteries October 17, 2005 - Sent the motor, clutch, and flywheel to Pennsylvania for balancing @ (8000 RPM) (this much reduced the vibration) ($2000) October 2005 - Hydraulic compression lifters to hold the gull doors up May 31, 2006 - New red paint June 11, 2007 - New rear tire, new left transaxel July 24, 2007 - Weld the sway bar holder September 21, 2007 - Remanufacture sway bar attachments November 29, 2007 - The car only went 12 miles and required new 100 amp hr batteries. May 19, 2008 - New amp-meter August 3, 2009 - 12 new 110 amp hr batteries (12v) - New Zivan charger, electric conversions Sacramento, CA - New controller - New pot box March 17, 2010 - New upper ball joints bilaterally April 1, 2010 - Replaced only one battery (it would only hold 10v charge; this was a very bad decision as all batteries must be replaced when one is damaged). There was a massive short 150v 500 amps during the assembly of all 12 of the 110 amp hr batteries due to misreading of the electronic plan July 2011 - Replaced all 12 batteries using larger NAPA 150 amper hour batteries (need water maintenance) ($1800) - New hood - New paint ($5000) - New battery holders (Clarence Coffman, Eldon, MO) November 26, 2011 - Mileage on odometer 77,380 January 31, 2012 - Added 2 gallons of distilled water to batteries. October 11, 2012 - New struts manufactured - Alteration of the metal frame - Repositioning the position of the new struts on the metal frame - New '83-'85 Subaru trans axles - New steering knuckles to accommodate new struts November 12, 2012 - Aligned front wheels - Added 2 gallons distilled water to batteries The car is currently in the best shape in which it has ever been. All of the ball joints have been replaced. I needed to go at highway speeds for 18 miles in order to use the Doran for commuting, so I adjusted the car accordingly. Currently, it takes 3.7 KWH to go uphill at 70 miles per hour (for 18 miles during which time the charge goes down to 68% charge). Why am I selling this car? I retired from the medical profession (and no longer use the Doran to commute), moved the Pennsylvania and bought a Mitsubishi which will go 68 miles on a charge. All proceeds go to my granddaughter's education. This is a rare, efficient car which requires a lot of maintenance. It gets the equivalent of 95-112 miles per gallon. Shipping and payment: Payment is through eBay via PayPal. The car is sold as is. We have tried to state the condition of the car as honestly as possible to alert potential buyers of any known problems in the car. There is NO warranty and NO guarantee on the condition of this vehicle. Please contact us with any questions regarding the condition of this car BEFORE any bid is placed. Remember, when you place a bid you are entering a legally binding contract agreed to by the act of bidding as explained in the terms and conditions of your eBay user agreement. Only bid if you intend to purchase this vehicle. There are NO REFUNDS. The car is located in Kintnersville, PA (about 1-2 hours from Philadelphia). The buyer is responsible for picking up and/or shipping the vehicle. All shipping costs are paid by the buyer. Vehicle must be picked up within 4 weeks of auction's close (if you absolutely need to pick it up after this, please contact me (the seller) to see if an arrangement can be made). If you have any questions, please ask. Do not assume anything not listed is included. I reserve the right to cancel bids for users with no feedback or excessive negative feedback. The car is being sold at no reserve. Any disputes arising from the terms of sale of this vehicle will take place under Pennsylvania law.