Electric Toyota Miata?

Over the weekend I was checking the throttle and noticed that it didn't go "full on" when the accelerator was fully depressed - it only made it 90% of the way. This meant I wasn't getting 100% of the power even with the pedal to the metal...

I reworked the cable connection to the throttle using a cable stop from Kragen and moved it to a lower hole on the actuator arm. This made the car much more responsive - less cable travel to get the same amount (or more!) speed.

Monday's commute was a little more fun than normal. First it was more responsive, so I was passing cars, making abrupt lane changes and generally enjoying the ride.

On the way home I floored it and felt the cable jerk - I released the pedal, but the car decided she was a Toyota and was at full speed  - the throttle was stuck. I pulled up on the accelerator with my toe, but that did nothing, so I switched off the ignition, then put the key back to the first position (accessory) so that the wheel wouldn't lock up on me, and coasted to a stop on the shoulder.

Under the hood I quickly saw that the cable stop was stuck against one of the housing screws on the potbox. I bent the arm a little toward the front of the car so that there was clearance again.  Checked it once or twice, then hopped back in and waited for a break in traffic. I accelerated a little slower so as not to tempt fate, and drove home. After a couple more tests in the garage I was convinced that all was okay.

So, I think this illustrates one of the advantages of building your own car - or at least working on it - you know what all the parts do and can quickly remedy a situation that would have stranded an average motorist.

I guess that's one way to look at it...

Keeping busy

My family was out of town tonight. Do you think I read a book, or watched some of the Olympics?
Nah, I worked on the car...
First I mounted the potbox - this is the electronic throttle that tells the controller how much juice to give the motor. I mounted it on the firewall behind the windshield washer reservoir. I thought about a number of ways to connect the accelerator cable to the lever and ended up using an electrical lug crimped to the cable. I then wrapped the extra cable around the mounting screw and attached it to the lug with a mini cable strap - this gives me a little reassurance that if the crimp comes loose that the cable loop will keep it working. Furthermore, since I didn't remove the end cap from the cable, if the crimp comes loose AND the mini strap breaks, the end cap won't get pulled through the lug, keeping the potbox working, though not as well.
Redundancy is good - double redundancy is even more gooder.
Sorry - I took the picture before I did the double redundancy stuff.

Next I drilled out the temperature sending unit so that it would fit under one of the Zilla's water fittings. The sending unit comes with a 1/4 lug, but I needed it to be 3/8". A little drilling, a little filing a and a little Dremeling and voila.

Lastly, I flipped the cover over on the Zilla so that the graphic was right side up. I know, but it was bothering me.

That's enough for one night.