T3: Plans for Fastback

[Schmitt@aerovironment.com (Schmitt, Frank)]

I suppose its time to come clean with what Plan A is for the '71 Fastback I
recently purchased, despite the potentials for flames and "how could you"s.

Over the past several years I have been very much into electric vehicles. A
couple of years ago as a summer project bankrolled by my parents, I bought a
VERY beat up 1978 Honda Accord (interestingly, it, too, cost $250). I fitted
it with a 8" (diameter) DC motor, 18 8 volt golf-cart batteries, and a 72 kW
(about 96 HP) controller. Performance was good, but I felt kind of bad
putting these shiny, new (expensive) components into the POS that this car
was.

I just finished transferring all of the components (with some much nicer 12V
Optimas) into a '79 924. Because of the lighter batteries, this car is
probably a bit faster than the original Audi setup, albeit with a usable
range of about 20 miles. This is perfect, as my parents are planning to use
it for the 5 mile round-trip to work.

Which brings me to the Fastback. I am trying to get the gasoline-powered
setup running mostly to be able to park it on the street (we have one of
those silly street-sweeping ordinances, which seem to be intended mostly to
keep people from parking non-running cars on the street) and get my
significantly more expensive 914 under cover. Thus my effort throw
relatively little money into the endeavor.

Eventually I would like to outfit it with 16 Optimas (192V system), a 115 kW
(150+ HP) controller, a nice stereo, and an updated interior. It should be a
LOT faster than stock, a bit heavier, and do about 40 miles per charge
(useful -- you could probably milk it for 60 miles).

Since I'd like to make some really extensive changes to what is basically a
bone-stock car, I'm wondering if I might be better off starting with a
different Fastback. Especially since I really want an early-style
European-spec in white, instead of the "Marinablau" '71. The problem is,
most of the ones that have already been "messed with" are in really poor
condition, or really expensive.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

-Frank