Author Topic: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1  (Read 28171 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Tothwolf

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 95
  • Country: 00
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #25 on: April 18, 2014, 07:11:08 am »
These links might be of use for your rebuild project:

Novus Plastic Polish
http://www.novuspolish.com/

Enersys Cyclon Batteries
http://www.enersys-asia.com/downloadarea/download.asp#cyclon
http://www.enersys.com/Cyclon_Batteries.aspx?langType=1033

On the bicycle side of things, you might also check these out:

Sheldon Brown - Bicycle Technical Information
http://sheldonbrown.com/articles.html

Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance
Lennard Zinn
ISBN 1-934030-98-8

Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance
Lennard Zinn
ISBN 1-934030-59-7

The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair (Park Tool BBB-2)
Calvin Jones
ISBN 0-9765530-2-3

The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair
Todd Downs
ISBN 1-60529-487-X

The Bicycle Wheel
Jobst Brandt
ISBN 0-9607236-6-8

...and if you want to get really serious ($$$) about bicycle repair manuals, you'll find these books on a seasoned bicycle mechanic's bookshelf:

Sutherland's Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics 7th Edition
Howard Sutherland

Barnett's Manual
John Barnett
ISBN 1-931382-29-8
 

Offline ToughBookMikey

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 5
  • Country: us
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #26 on: April 18, 2014, 07:36:04 am »
Hi Dave:

Looks like an interesting, challenging and expensive project. Most of what I was going to say has been said already but I'll just say some of it again. That trigger switch with all of the wires and transistors is a variable speed, reversing speed control from a cordless drill. I've thought of using one for a similar project but I've never been able to acquire everything necessary to even begin to build any of the electric vehicles I have in mind (everything is so expensive and for a disabled parasite like myself who can barely survive there's just not much chance I ever will), but I would certainly do it better than that (wiring and layout wise and what not) if I could do it at all. Also that chassis appeared to be in really bad condition (from what little I could see on the small video), and if I had the kind of resources you do I would try to get it de-rusted in an acid bath and then repaired and then electrolytically plated (so it would get inside and out) with another metal such as nickel or tin or zinc or any number of things and then have it powder coated and then dipped in the best paint you can find (again to cover the inside also). And I also don't think a front hub motor is a very good choice (especially on hills). I'm not a fan of hub motors at all but if you have to use them I think you should put it/them on the rear. I think the most efficient design would be a very high RPM permanent magnet (preferably rare earth) brushless motor mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Did I mention I want to build my own electric vehicles?
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 07:38:07 am by ToughBookMikey »
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

"The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants."

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
 

Offline digital

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 47
  • Country: au
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #27 on: April 18, 2014, 09:34:38 am »
Dave most of the work to be done in restoration could be done by the average handyman,the motor will have to conform to the Australian regulations in regard to power output in Watts.The biggest obstacle will be time and not losing interest in the project
 

Offline Wytnucls

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3045
  • Country: be
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #28 on: April 18, 2014, 10:05:04 am »
Dave doesn't strike me as a consummate handyman.  ;)
Take the wreck to someone competent who can take care of the mechanical side in a short time and concentrate on what you really enjoy, its electrical systems.
 

Offline ErikTheNorwegian

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 494
  • Country: no
  • Asberger, aspi, HIGH function, nerd...
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #29 on: April 18, 2014, 04:22:53 pm »
Some take their C5 a little further than gearing it up.. way further...and some further away from pedals to the spaceage.
This is awsome...

http://www.jetpower.co.uk/c5_media.htm



http://www.jetpower.co.uk/c5/media/avon_c5.wmv
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 04:25:59 pm by ErikTheNorwegian »
/Erik
Goooood karma is flowing..
 

Offline Refrigerator

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1540
  • Country: lt
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #30 on: April 18, 2014, 05:25:41 pm »
Can't wait to see some big ass brushless outrunners with some huge LiPo packs and an enormous electronic speed controller in it.  ;D
Ps: that rust will come off pretty easily with some sandpaper and you can fill that crack with a welder, after all that you can sand and repaint it for some more longevity.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 05:30:52 pm by Refrigerator »
I have a blog at http://brimmingideas.blogspot.com/ . Now less empty than ever before !
An expert of making MOSFETs explode.
 

Offline koitk

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 6
  • Country: ee
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #31 on: April 18, 2014, 05:51:15 pm »
Aluminum is generally bad for frames because it won't bend and flex like steel will... the aluminum just fatigues and cracks.  You can work around it through engineering and design, but it would be really expensive and possibly not much weight saved when all is said and done - plus quite expensive I would guess (even just for materials alone).

...

I'm happy with the aluminium chassis in my car weighting just 150 lbs (68 kg).



But they use "glue" and rivets to put it together same as aviation frames. Only thing bad about aluminium is that it corrodes with salt water easily, you can conform coat it or just move away from the coast.


Or you can just use 6000 series aluminium alloy, wich is the one they use to make yachts and boats. Its nicely weldable also. Dave isn't probably not going to rebuild his frame to aluminium, so its kind of offtopic. Anyways the fatique cracking of aluminium, its just matter of stress in the material, if you dont exeed the limits it won't happen. If you stress the material over the fatique limits it will crack after number of cycles, but it will have same results when you would overstress the steel (for example you can take steel wire and bend it number of times and it will form a crack and brake).
 

Offline Refrigerator

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1540
  • Country: lt
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #32 on: April 18, 2014, 06:01:09 pm »
Aluminum is generally bad for frames because it won't bend and flex like steel will... the aluminum just fatigues and cracks.  You can work around it through engineering and design, but it would be really expensive and possibly not much weight saved when all is said and done - plus quite expensive I would guess (even just for materials alone).

...

I'm happy with the aluminium chassis in my car weighting just 150 lbs (68 kg).



But they use "glue" and rivets to put it together same as aviation frames. Only thing bad about aluminium is that it corrodes with salt water easily, you can conform coat it or just move away from the coast.


Or you can just use 6000 series aluminium alloy, wich is the one they use to make yachts and boats. Its nicely weldable also. Dave isn't probably not going to rebuild his frame to aluminium, so its kind of offtopic. Anyways the fatique cracking of aluminium, its just matter of stress in the material, if you dont exeed the limits it won't happen. If you stress the material over the fatique limits it will crack after number of cycles, but it will have same results when you would overstress the steel (for example you can take steel wire and bend it number of times and it will form a crack and brake).
Also, there are different types and alloys of aluminum.
I have a blog at http://brimmingideas.blogspot.com/ . Now less empty than ever before !
An expert of making MOSFETs explode.
 

Offline ckm

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 27
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #33 on: April 18, 2014, 10:31:37 pm »
It's actually in great shape for a 30yr old vehicle that's been sitting outside.  I restore old cars and most of them are far worse than this...

Most of what you see is dirt, get some Simple Green and a bunch of rags - most of it will come off.  For the plastics, do some research on how people clean C5's - there's probably a standard set of chemicals & tools.

As for the chassis, as others said:
  • Sand blast
  • Re-weld broken areas, might need some extra metal, but a decent fabricator will figure that out...
  • Powder coat - don't bother with paint, makes a mess
BUT, you don't want to do any of this yourself.  Find a good local metal fabricator, take the chassis to them and ask for it to be repaired & powder coated.  They will have the equipment and/or contacts to get it all done.

As for the rusted bolts, after cleaning, spray them with bolt loosener (we use PB Blaster here in the US, make sure what you use is specifically for loosening rusted bolts) and let it sit for a few days.  A sharp hammer blow to the bolt or nut can help loosen things - don't hit is so hard that you do damage and use a punch if it's hard to swing.

Make sure you buy a decent set of tools to work on this, nothing like bad tools to make the job harder.
 

Offline ckm

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 27
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #34 on: April 18, 2014, 10:39:51 pm »
Aluminum is generally bad for frames because it won't bend and flex like steel will... the aluminum just fatigues and cracks.  You can work around it through engineering and design, but it would be really expensive and possibly not much weight saved when all is said and done - plus quite expensive I would guess (even just for materials alone).

...

I'm happy with the aluminium chassis in my car weighting just 150 lbs (68 kg).



But they use "glue" and rivets to put it together same as aviation frames. Only thing bad about aluminium is that it corrodes with salt water easily, you can conform coat it or just move away from the coast.

Although it's off topic, you can actually design much stronger, stiffer and lighter car chassis using modern high-strength steels.    One of the main issues with aluminum is that it cracks when formed, which is why the chassis in your picture is made up of basically straight edges, flat planes and extruded pieces.   In general, this design limitation can cause real issues, particularly when trying to design deformation zones for crash protection.  Most of the Tesla Model S is steel for this very reason.

I would note that this was not true when that chassis (a Lotus Exige, I'm guessing) was designed more than 15 years ago.  You would not design a car like this today, the cost of production would be excessive except in very, very small numbers.

Besides, the Lotus Elan chassis is a better example of something similar to the C5, it's steel and it's even lighter than the Exige:

« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 10:45:22 pm by ckm »
 

Offline ToughBookMikey

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 5
  • Country: us
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #35 on: April 19, 2014, 01:54:12 am »
As for the rusted bolts, after cleaning, spray them with bolt loosener (we use PB Blaster here in the US, make sure what you use is specifically for loosening rusted bolts) and let it sit for a few days.  A sharp hammer blow to the bolt or nut can help loosen things - don't hit is so hard that you do damage and use a punch if it's hard to swing.

Make sure you buy a decent set of tools to work on this, nothing like bad tools to make the job harder.

I agree with most of that except for the PB Blaster, I'm also in the U.S.A. and I've tried many things (being disabled and incredibly poor I have to fix everything myself) and the best thing I've found is Howes Lubricator (web: http://www.howeslube.com/multipurpose.php) their claims are accurate and I've also found it to be the best lubricant for bushings, I've been able to get a lot more life out of bushings which were already basically shot (though I do wish manufacturers would just stop using bushings, a bushing is always going to be the first thing to fail and they are much less efficient). Howes is hard to find, I finally got my local Napa (auto parts store) to get it and it's less expensive than just about anything else. I've even tried what must be the most expensive stuff (which I got from a free trial) which is Kroil and it was useless, it didn't meet any of their claims. So if you can possibly get Howes lubricator I would highly recommend it (and no I don't get paid for saying that, but as often as I recommend it to people I wish I would get paid for it). Also they used to have the worlds best cap design, it had a straw holder on the side of the cap so the straw was oriented with the side of the can and you could hold the can and straw in one hand, pull the cap off and snap it on the bottom of the can then mount the straw and use. But for some stupid reason they got rid of that design and went with the stupid design of having a straw slot across the top of the lid where if you try to store it that way it takes up a lot more space and your almost guaranteed to lose the straw.
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

"The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants."

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
 

Offline Corporate666

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2008
  • Country: us
  • Remember, you are unique, just like everybody else
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #36 on: April 19, 2014, 02:31:51 am »
Aluminum is generally bad for frames because it won't bend and flex like steel will... the aluminum just fatigues and cracks.  You can work around it through engineering and design, but it would be really expensive and possibly not much weight saved when all is said and done - plus quite expensive I would guess (even just for materials alone).

...

I'm happy with the aluminium chassis in my car weighting just 150 lbs (68 kg).



But they use "glue" and rivets to put it together same as aviation frames. Only thing bad about aluminium is that it corrodes with salt water easily, you can conform coat it or just move away from the coast.

That would fall under "you can work around it through engineering and design".

Fatiguing and cracking are major problems with aluminum frames, especially in things like bicycles, custom motorcycles and custom cars where the people doing the 'design' and fabrication don't really understand much about engineering/design.  You can overbuild the hell out of it and likely be safe - but that kills the weight advantage.  And at the end of the day, I don't think the frame Dave shows on his C5 is very heavy, certainly not worth the cost of designing something in aluminum when that one can so easily be welded and fixed.
It's not always the most popular person who gets the job done.
 

Offline Corporate666

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 2008
  • Country: us
  • Remember, you are unique, just like everybody else
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #37 on: April 19, 2014, 02:42:36 am »
Or you can just use 6000 series aluminium alloy, wich is the one they use to make yachts and boats. Its nicely weldable also. Dave isn't probably not going to rebuild his frame to aluminium, so its kind of offtopic. Anyways the fatique cracking of aluminium, its just matter of stress in the material, if you dont exeed the limits it won't happen. If you stress the material over the fatique limits it will crack after number of cycles, but it will have same results when you would overstress the steel (for example you can take steel wire and bend it number of times and it will form a crack and brake).

Not true.  Fatigue cracking of aluminum happens due to loading/unloading of stress.  There is no limit that you can stay below such that it won't happen.  There is a threshold for steel/iron and titanium... they have a fatigue limit which, if you stay below it, you can apply those forces and have unlimited loading/unloading without failure.  Not so with aluminum - it will eventually always fail even with small loads applied.  It simply doesn't have the "springiness" that steel and titanium have.

You can engineer a stressed aluminum part such that the stresses involved are so far below what the part can take that the time to failure is far beyond the lifetime of your part, but with steel, if you are below the limit, the lifetime is essentially "forever".

I agree - this is going way off topic, but I think for Dave's C5.. the only way to work in aluminum is either to do some serious engineering, or overbuild the shit out of it so the lifetime of the frame would be way beyond the lifetime of Dave... but that eliminates the weight savings partly or wholly, and costs metric craploads of $$.
It's not always the most popular person who gets the job done.
 

Offline ToughBookMikey

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 5
  • Country: us
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #38 on: April 19, 2014, 04:24:24 am »
Well if he were to change the frame (which I think he said he didn't want to do), I would recommend Titanium. The price has been coming down (I've heard it's even cheaper than Aluminum) and it's far superior in pretty much every way to steel or aluminum. It's lighter, stronger and less corrosive.
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

"The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants."

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
 

Offline opablo

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 108
  • Country: ar
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #39 on: April 19, 2014, 09:22:35 am »
Quote
Not true.  Fatigue cracking of aluminum happens due to loading/unloading of stress.  There is no limit that you can stay below such that it won't happen.  There is a threshold for steel/iron and titanium... they have a fatigue limit which, if you stay below it, you can apply those forces and have unlimited loading/unloading without failure.  Not so with aluminum - it will eventually always fail even with small loads applied.  It simply doesn't have the "springiness" that steel and titanium have.

Wow... so... what about airplane wings ? they flex a lot and I though they were made of aluminum... Are you telling me that airplane wings have a stress-life-span ? ... or maybe the inside of the wings are a steel structure covered by aluminium panels ?... or in aerospace industry they use a kind of aluminum that has a stress-safe threshold ? Don't scare me man...
 

Offline SeanB

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 16272
  • Country: za
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #40 on: April 19, 2014, 10:42:14 am »
Aircraft wings have a definite fatigue life, and will need replacing of the main spars at a defined number of flight cycles so as not to exceed the fatigue limit. As well they are inspected regularly on minor services to ensure there are no cracks that will grow into a break. Typically they have the panels covering the root as a removeable part so that inspection is simple, but at a major service the whole wing will be ultrasonically or dye tested to check for fatigue.  As well many aircraft have a G meter to measure stress loads during flight, and if the highest limits have been exceeded x number of times it will go in for fatigue crack detection irrespective of flight cycles or hours.

It takes a while to prep the metal for inspection, starting with cleaning it with detergent, stripping down to bare metal with paint remover ( and no sanding of the surface allowed or sand blasting as this may cover cracks) and then using either penetrant dye or an ultrasonic tester to check all through the surface and the inside. Sometimes the parts are X rayed as well to see internal flaws.

The fatigue inspection is also applied to the engines, as they also suffer from fatigue.

That is why you see many aircraft scrapped and why Jay Leno has so many jet powered cars, as the airframes cost more to check than the plane is worth, and the engines are in need of crack checking which can cost more than a new one, even if it may run for hundreds of hours more before it breaks. You do not want an engine to fail at max power, as you typically are in a takeoff and will crash as you have V1 and not V2 or are too low to abort around. in either case you make a big hole and burn in it.
 

Offline Wytnucls

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3045
  • Country: be
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #41 on: April 19, 2014, 11:23:12 am »
Most aircraft with spar corrosion get scrapped, as they're too expensive to fix.

Wings do fail on old aircraft, so proper inspections are essential.
Engines are less critical, as on twins or quads at least, a safe take-off or an abort are possible after engine failure.

 

Offline twotires

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 1
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #42 on: April 19, 2014, 08:36:48 pm »
Hi Dave,
My first post, so, thank you for the EEVBLOG! I enjoy the heck out of every episode.

The rust on your C5 frame is not so bad. Wire brush / sandpaper it, repair the split, then brush on a liberal coat of POR15 and it should hold up nicely for at least 30 more years. I would suggest boxing in the entire frame, but that would probably add too much weight.

The split just needs a triangular gusset fitted and lap welded over the existing steel.

Get a used wire-feed MIG welder off ebay (maybe a teardown / repair video on it first, then use it) - you'll be surprised at how useful they are and quite easy to learn. You can use the flux-core wire and don't even need a gas bottle attached.

There's an open source DC motor controller project called 'Open Revolt'. You can build the digital part and connect it to a customized power section for any voltage / amperage you need. I built one to handle 100V and 400A DC for about $400 USD. One day, it will push a 1965 VW Beetle.

Looking forward to more C5 updates!

Michael
 

Offline SkyMaster

  • Frequent Contributor
  • **
  • Posts: 383
  • Country: ca
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #43 on: April 20, 2014, 02:44:39 am »
I would suggest to remove the C5 frame rust by using the electrolysis rust removal process; this would be appropriate for the EEVblog  ;)
« Last Edit: April 20, 2014, 02:48:13 am by SkyMaster »
 

Offline Tothwolf

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 95
  • Country: 00
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #44 on: April 20, 2014, 06:57:58 am »
I would suggest to remove the C5 frame rust by using the electrolysis rust removal process; this would be appropriate for the EEVblog  ;)

How would you solve the issue of hydrogen embrittlement though?

The overall size of the frame would require a rather large tank and power supply to clean it using electrolysis, and then would be too large to bake in a conventional oven to drive out any hydrogen. Because the frame itself is made of thin sheet stamped and formed into a frame, I'd be hesitant to electrolytically clean it anyway, since hydrogen embrittlement tends to be more of an issue with thin materials than it would be with say a frame made from tubular steel stock.

The fumes from electrolysis cleaning are also hazardous, and this isn't a process you can do indoors without special ventilation (and certainly not in Dave's lab). To electrolytically clean the frame, Dave would likely have to outsource the work to a third party, which could be cost prohibitive for a small project such as this.

If the steel alloy used for the frame contains lead (as suggested by others), that too would preclude the use of electrolytic cleaning, since the same process used to remove the rust would tend to leach the lead out of the steel alloy, weakening it.
 

Offline alecw35

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 3
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #45 on: April 23, 2014, 10:27:24 am »
hello folks.  My first post on here.  Ive been watching most of the videos.  Ive been interested in electronics, bikes and machines for years. Used to get the electronics magazines in the late 80s, they had loads of adverts.  Some of the electronics surplus shops had Sinclair C5 parts for sale.  Wheels, tyres and electric motors.  I got some wheels and tyres and used them on weird chopper bikes I was building. 
The tyres had a ribbed tread pattern, for lower rolling resistance, smoother ride so more efficient use of power, and more comfortable.   Think the tyres were Sinclair branded V rubber brand.  Small wheels and sitting in the "recumbent" position can be a bit of a pain after a while, in parts of the body, you dont want to be painfull. 
Wheel/tyre sizes were 12" and 16".  think they were 2" wide.  Those sizes are common on kids bikes, folding bikes, kids scooters, and those 3 wheel baby cart things.  think the front wheel on Daves C5 is from a kids bike or cheap baby cart.  Better getting an alloy rimmed wheel on there.  Probably from a baby cart.  As rusty steel rims will just eat through brake pads, with little stopping power.  Also cheap steel rims from little bikes are often badly made, not terribly round, and not a constant width.  Wheel rims are made by rolling up an extruded U section, then theres a join.  On steel wheels this is welded.  On cheap rims its badly ground down.  So making it narrower for a little bit.  So that is felt thru the brakes, hurts your hand, might cause noise or wheel lock up. 
Heres a video of,  Chris Barrie Britain's Greatest Machines - S01E04: 1980s - The Future Has landed

Chris has a try in a C5.  Shows the bare frame and some other parts.  He also has a go in a Delorean, a Lotus, tanks and helicopters.  Lots of things that any bloke would love to play with.  Chris Barrie was in the Red Dwarf sci fi show.  He was also Angelina Jolies butler on the Tomb Raider movies.  As Ive said, lots of things that any bloke would love to play with.....meaning the big robot and cars and gadgets.  :o
« Last Edit: April 23, 2014, 11:57:55 am by alecw35 »
 

Offline electrolux

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 243
  • Country: gb
    • Photography
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #46 on: April 24, 2014, 01:17:31 pm »
Hi Dave,
My first post, so, thank you for the EEVBLOG! I enjoy the heck out of every episode.

The rust on your C5 frame is not so bad. Wire brush / sandpaper it, repair the split, then brush on a liberal coat of POR15 and it should hold up nicely for at least 30 more years. I would suggest boxing in the entire frame, but that would probably add too much weight.

The split just needs a triangular gusset fitted and lap welded over the existing steel.

Get a used wire-feed MIG welder off ebay (maybe a teardown / repair video on it first, then use it) - you'll be surprised at how useful they are and quite easy to learn. You can use the flux-core wire and don't even need a gas bottle attached.

There's an open source DC motor controller project called 'Open Revolt'. You can build the digital part and connect it to a customized power section for any voltage / amperage you need. I built one to handle 100V and 400A DC for about $400 USD. One day, it will push a 1965 VW Beetle.

Looking forward to more C5 updates!

Michael
That's exactly what I wanted to say ::) :-+, but if you cant get the welder you could get a piece of 2mm thick sheet of metal bend it and pop rivet it to hold the split together, rather crude but a last resort, but I still highly recommend a welder, and welding is easy see
The funniest thing about this signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything its too late to stop reading it.
 

Offline Smatek

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 6
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #47 on: April 26, 2014, 08:08:08 pm »
This is a very interesting project.

The chassis ask the boat people. They know all about fiber glass materials and repair. Some tips were already have been given.

With the rust, that is no problem. You can use the oxalic acid  C2H2O4 or Phosporic acid H3PO4 to remove. You can write to me for further questions.

To protect and  paint Company Owatrol is the first choice!
Have a look:
http://www.owatrol.com/index.php?langue=en&page=produits-rustol-owatrol
It is used by german army.

The engine ->  a big hub motor with at least 800W in the front wheel.
The electronics - think about energy recovery.

One of the 48V 10AH LiFePO4 Battery Packs, about 10kg

For braking the best german product, Magura HS-33 hydraulic rim brake. Install and forget - this system ist wokring for time decades!  And a rim brake works at the point where the force occurs. and you can use radial Spokes.
http://www.magura.com/en/bicyclecomp/products/rim-brakes/hs-33.html


 

Offline ToughBookMikey

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 5
  • Country: us
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #48 on: May 03, 2014, 03:07:39 am »

Heres a video of,  Chris Barrie Britain's Greatest Machines - S01E04: 1980s - The Future Has landed

Chris has a try in a C5.  Shows the bare frame and some other parts.  He also has a go in a Delorean, a Lotus, tanks and helicopters.  Lots of things that any bloke would love to play with.  Chris Barrie was in the Red Dwarf sci fi show.  He was also Angelina Jolies butler on the Tomb Raider movies.  As Ive said, lots of things that any bloke would love to play with.....meaning the big robot and cars and gadgets.  :o

Thanks alecw35 for that link. Interesting show.
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

"The only people made safer by gun control are criminals and tyrants."

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation."
 

Offline electrolux

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 243
  • Country: gb
    • Photography
Re: EEVblog #604 - Sinclair C5 Restoration - Part 1
« Reply #49 on: May 04, 2014, 02:31:18 pm »
I'm looking forward to part 2 ;D
The funniest thing about this signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything its too late to stop reading it.
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf