From: none@none.com99   
      
   Back Story:  About 3-1/2 to 4 years ago my dad had a brain tumor   
   removed, and it came to my attention that he was not managing their   
   affairs very well.  He and my mom were receiving social security, and he   
   was doing various handyman type work.  He had some other assets, but he   
   was hoarding them instead of using them.  I stepped in and took over for   
   a little while, but out of respect I kept him in the loop.  When he   
   would tell me something, I'd put in my time and work to make it happen   
   and find out how it would work out and he would try to horse trade with   
   me I quit.   
      
   Example:  He said he would like to sell a fifth wheel trailer he owned.   
   I looked it, up checked the market, found how much others selling the   
   exact same trailer were asking, and how long theirs had been on the   
   market I knew for a fact what they wouldn't sell for, and what I would   
   have to settle for in order to sell it.  He tried to negotiate with me.   
   He literally burned my time without regard.  I'd have been ahead if I   
   had just made stuff in the shop and given him money.  That was the   
   proverbial straw.  I'm not faulting him.  He literally had a hole in his   
   head.  Not his fault.  He just wouldn't let me do what I needed to do   
   without throwing my time in the fire.   
      
   One thing I did do was line up a renter for a commercial property he   
   owned.  I was working out the deal at the same time as my peeve, and   
   then turned the renter over to him because I wasn't going to have my   
   time wasted again.   
      
   My dad passed away a year ago, and I wound up taking over everything   
   again.  I'm actually a bit overwhelmed, but that's beside the point.  At   
   least because of the time my dad was recovering from his brain surgery I   
   had all his account names, passwords, and I have his cell phone.  I was   
   able to just step in and make short term decisions quickly.   
      
   Among other things I took over working with the renter until they moved   
   out at the end of last year.  They were from out of the region, using   
   the property as their local base of operations for a solar generating   
   station they were working on.  While they were here (for three years)   
   they accumulated some stuff.  Trying to get out before the end of the   
   year they had a truck sitting in the yard with a blown engine they   
   wanted to just get rid of.  I told them if they couldn't rid of it they   
   could leave it behind, but they would have to provide the title or I   
   would charge them what it cost me to have it hauled away.  I figured   
   worst case scenario with the title I could load the truck on one of my   
   trailers and get a few hundred bucks from a salvage yard with the title.   
     Enough to make up for my time to do it.  A few weeks later the title   
   arrived in the mail.   
      
   I got to looking at the truck and its better, and worse than I thought.   
   The motor is not rebuildable.  They already had it out of the truck   
   laying on the ground half apart.  All of the front trim, radiator, grill   
   parts are all out laying in the bed of the truck.  Probably made it   
   easier to pull the motor.  They had told me "The motor is completely   
   blown up, but the transmission is good."  I got to looking at it and the   
   body is straight.  All the trim is there.  The interior is full of   
   desert dust as any vehicle that sets around here gets, but its intact   
   and in good shape. If it had a good motor (less than 3 grand for a reman   
   (4.7L) long block, and a couple grand in additional parts to do it   
   right), it could be made into a decent truck again.  The only real   
   cosmetic negative is for some reason beyond my understanding one end of   
   the front bumper is bent up and out.  Not impact or wreck damage.  Maybe   
   getting pulled out the sand or something by somebody who doesn't know ho   
   to do a pull.  The sheet metal behind it is all perfect for its age.   
   2013 Dodge Ram 1500 Extended Cab.  Its a Dodge.  I am sure there is   
   stuff that doesn't work, but cosmetically it could be a nice truck.   
      
   The thing is I don't need a truck for serious truck things right now.  I   
   bought the new F250 FX4 back around the end of August last year for   
   truck things.  With its 6.8L engine it develops more horsepower and   
   torque than the 6.6L turbo diesel in the 07 Silverado I sold last year.   
   There is one thing though.  The F250 only averages about 11.8 mpg.   
      
   Finally getting to the point:   
      
   I got it in my mind to do AN EV conversion on that Dodge.  Not for heavy   
   hauling or road trips, but for going to the hardware store.  A few   
   sheets of plywood.  A couple bags of ready mix.  That sort of thing.   
      
   I kinda had a plan.  I was going to use LiFePo batteries instead of   
   lithium Ion because they are safer.  Since its short range it wouldn't   
   matter.  100 miles range would be fantastic.  50 miles range would be   
   more than adequate.  This lets out the obviously killer deal in EV   
   motors.  Ford released the Mach-E crate motor dirt cheap.  I mean cheap.   
     I think the original OEM price was around $3-4K, but you can buy them   
   from a number of reputable sources including the big name racing stores   
   for $1.5K or less.  Power and torque are very good.  It also requires a   
   400V battery.  That lets out cheap battery options.  It doesn't come   
   with a controller, inverter, charger, etc.  I could make any gear train   
   parts, but the rest adds up, and the companies that have proven gear to   
   work with it aren't even selling any of it to the unannointed.   
   Basically if you buy that motor hoping to do an EV conversion you will   
   be bread boarding everything from scratch or you will have to turn your   
   vehicle and motor over to one of the CABAL and pay them to do   
   everything.  Pricing is very closed mouth, but those who have dared to   
   defy the priesthood have said the minimum cost is around 20 grand and it   
   goes up very quickly from there.  Basically it makes it all pointless.   
   Might as well drop a remanufactured 4.7L gasser in it be out 6 grand   
   including all new front/top of the engine stuff.   
      
   The thing is I don't necessarily need the 285 true horsepower of the   
   Ford Mach-E.  A Hyper-9 is only 144 volts nominal 90ish horsepower.  It   
   would work just fine for a local only surface street pickup truck with a   
   gear box instead of a transmission, and its only about 5 times the price   
   of the Ford Mach-E crate motor.  Still needs   
   controller/inverter/charger/batteries, etc.   
      
   I really want to do something with this truck.  Its to nice to throw   
   away, but in the end I may just haul it to a salvage yard.   
      
      
      
      
      
   --   
   Bob La Londe   
   CNC Molds N Stuff   
      
      
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