What to do with my dead iMiEV?

[bennelson]

Hi Folks,

As some of you may recall, I have a raspberry iMiEV which I had purchased through an auto auction with "Water Damage".

It turned out that the car only had 50 miles on it, but it was at the Staten Island Mitsubishi dealership when SuperStorm Sandy came through.

I did a little work on the car, such as removing the battery pack - and the Atlantic Ocean fell out....
Unfortunately, all the electronics in the car are shot. I took a look at some other auto auctions for damaged iMiEVs that could use a new body, but the ones that I found were always oddly high priced.

The body on this car is nearly perfect.
I've sold a few parts off of it, namely the wheels/tires, and a few interior plastic panels.

I also tested the motor using an external 240V variable frequency drive and was able to get the motor to spin, although it drew more current than we thought it should. I'm not sure that the VFD was exactly the right type for the car or not. For example, I don't know how well (or not) one designed for an induction motor would drive a PM motor...

As it is, the car is sitting in my driveway (along with too many other project vehicles....) Also, I'm trying to rebuild my garage. Which means I need as much stuff OUT of my garage and driveway.
This past Thanksgiving, I bought myself a nice used white iMiEV, and have been loving that. Theoretically, if I ever get in a fender-bender, I have a spare set of fenders (and any other parts I would need!)
My brother in Las Vegas just bought an iMiEV too.

So, I'm trying to figure out what to do with this "parts" iMiEV.

1) Keep it. Lots of nice parts, and it's not really worth selling anyways.
2) Sell it to one of you. Anyone want to buy an entire iMiEV?
3) Strip it of doors, hatch, fenders, etc and store those. Drag the shell to a junk yard.
4) Donate it. There are tax deductible "donate your car" programs that will accept cars in any condition, working or not. The car might be worth more as a tax deduction than an anything else.
5) Build the world's nerdiest camping trailer from it, and tow it with my running iMiEV.
6) Other? What else could I do with it?

The other issue is that the key is corroded into the ignition. I can't unlock the steering. Makes it hard to push around in my driveway. I'm pretty sure that I could at least unlock the steering when I first had it. It's easy to get at the transmission under the car and manually put it into neutral.

Your input needed! Please give me some suggestions here.

 

[bennelson]

I almost forgot. Two great parts that were in perfect condition were the J1772 and CHAdeMO charging ports.

I pulled the J1772 off and built a power adapter from it for my motorcycle.http://300mpg.org/2015/03/31/the-diy-j1772-charging-adapter/

The CHAdeMO port is still on the car, and likely the most valuable part. I know that there are a few folks out there right now adding CHAdeMO to DIY project electric cars.

Here's what the car looks like taking up space in my driveway. It's up on a set of old temporary spares.

 

[PV1]

Can you post some more pictures of it, interior as well?

Is the hood not latched all the way? It doesn't look like it is sitting correctly (not criticizing, just curious).

 

[Phximiev]

Put a forklift motor in it and a custom 18650 battery pack!

 

[Don]

I'm guessing the glass in it might be worth a BUNCH - If you junk it and sell the fenders and doors, keep the windshield and back glass. Someone here will eventually need it and be very happy to pay you 50% of the Mitsu price for them

Don

 

[PV1]

It would be a shame to see it junked, even with most every part removed. I'll take it if nobody else does. I already own one piece of this i-MiEV.

How did the CHAdeMO port not get flooded? There are drain holes in the bottom, and the lid doesn't seem to seal that tightly, unless the water didn't get that high.

 

[bennelson]

The charging ports are gasketed. Both were in perfect condition. No corrosion at all.

I'm not sure how high flood-water got. It got high enough to get sediment in the headlights and for water to get into the battery, which I think it does through the front air vents.

 

[rmay635703]

If I was more motivated with my fathers ZX40 is smashed, no idea how much work would be required to re-shell the ZX40 controls and drivetrain into an MIEV but I have a whole EV my father doesn't like to drive because its no longer "pretty"

As toward parting, unless you are a damn good salesmen, expect it to be a royal pain, glass may be worth big $$ but its worth nothing if you can't locate a buyer for it.

Other option would be to put the kei car MIEV stuff inside and have the only gas car here or Kubota the thing.
I am guessing the brakes, and anything else that moves are basically garbage? I wonder if the column can be unfrozen.

Ah well, none of the options make much financial sense.

WHat are the dimensions of the electric motor (diameter and length), not sure if the bearings could be replaced or not, would be interesting in my fathers zx40, with Pauls controller. I have lots of parts but not sure if that chassis would be worth the effort of throwing parts if the brakes and dash need to be replaced.

Cheers
Ryan

 

[fjpod]

I think I may have test drove that car. My house is nearby and also got filled with the Atlantic Ocean.

I decided to go to another dealer in NJ and got a raspberry, which I still love driving.

 

[jray3]

Sure could look neat as a caravan/teardrop trailer if hitched up tail-first. If course, the tongue weight would be hideous if you removed the rear (now front) axle entirely, and EVen if a close-coupled hitch that's hinged only for vertical motion (to handle the bumps but not allow turns) with the rear (formerly front) axle still steering was manageable from a tailswing and 1/2 traction/double axle scrub standpoint, it'd probly be hell to get through a homebuilt trailer inspection. Might work with a high-speed caster wheel under the tongue, see http://cruiserlift.com/swivelwheeleco.html
State rules on backwards-facing car bodies also vary, IIRC.

I've done a lot of highway miles with farm wagons that have front axles which steer along with the tongue angle, as most tow dollies do. The driving dynamics were great, all except needing to reverse or make an emergency stop. :shock:

-just burnt a lot of search time and didn't find any facts on the legality of a "push me pull you" customized car, though many have been made.

Perhaps Steve Woodruff is ready to make an i-limo? http://www.autobeyours.com/09 Prius bluemo 9014.htm