1987 Toyota mr2 ELECTRIC CONVERSION

Description for Toyota MR2 1987

This interesting hot rod was donated to our electric car program when I was teaching High School auto shop in 2005-06. Its a pretty standard '87 mr2 with the single exception that it doesn't have a conventional Internal combustion engine, rather It's propelled by something similar to an aircraft starter motor.

It's a 110V plug-in, in other words it uses regular house current rather than the $2000 DC installation the new plug-ins need. It was originally assembled by an electrical engineer usingElectro Automotivecomponents (we still have his schematics).

We installed some new parts and a battery pack and eventually I bought the vehicle from the school.Since then I've installed one more set, 14X8Volt deep cycle lead-acid batteries. Range with new batteries is 30-40 miles, depending on the hilliness of the terrain.

The motor is attached to the original five-speed transmission's bell housing so the car is still in its original drive configuration, except that It weighs a lot more, which is compensated by heavy-duty springs and shocks.It has a lot of momentum, like a freight car, which is something that's useful for getting around if you're inclined to use it. I was always reminded of the Mobile economy run, where drivers competed to see who could get across the country using the least amount of fuel. The car is really fun for driving around town, shopping etc.

The car is currently up on blocks and covered.I haven't tried to charge the old battery pack for a few years. It'd be interesting to see how it goes with the new lightweight Tesla-type batteries.

Note: The ebay sell form wouldn't accept NA for mileage so Inserted a number (the odometer is inoperable as a result of the engine swap. Total mileage can't be particularly excessive since the car doesnt get that far on a charge).