The “Electro-Willys” built by Mike Picard
This project started in 2008 when gas prices soared. Mike Picard has worked with Jeeps for over 35 years and wanted to do something different. So he decided to turn his jeep “green” and put an electric motor in his 1952 M38 Willys Jeep. The Jeep was in very rough condition and the “brick” like aerodynamics of the M38 made the conversion a challenge. In order to achieve highway speeds the battery pack and size of the motor had to be big enough to have enough torque and power. The motor used in this conversion is the WarP 11 DC motor. The motor puts out less torque than the 4-134L engine but enough to go through all the gears. The “Electro-Willys” has received lots of attention and media coverage on Electric Vehicle TV. Mike is also entered into an international EV contest, he is one of the top ten finalists out of 955 contestants. Here are some of the contest photos:
The WarP 11 can be connected to the original Willys transmission and transfer case. Other original jeep features kept and used are: the flywheel, clutch assembly, support member, and bellhousing. A thermal switch and two fans are needed to keep the high-amperage heat within normal range.
The 18 batteries are housed in two oak boxes. This is in case a tool or anything metal drops nearby to keep the batteries from arching.
If Mike Picard wins this contest he will have the opportunity to upgrade his vehicle to the next level and it will be televised. Some of the upgrades would extend the driving range, power, and battery weight. So if you like what Mike Picard has built please vote for him.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story -
The information for this article was provided by the following sites:
http://www.evsource.com/tls_warp11.php
http://4wdmechanix.com/Jeep-M38-Goes-Green-The-Electro-Willys.html
http://www.projectooc.com/evtv/finalist_review.php?finalist=finalist6
http://www.rockymountains.net/~m38mike/electrowillys.html
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[...] Source and Photos: EVTV Motor Verks, via Kaiser Willys. [...]
[...] * Military Jeeps were already green, but Jeep and EV enthusiast Mike Picard took that theme one step further by converting a 1952 Willys M38 to electric power. [...]
[...] * Military Jeeps were already green, but Jeep and EV enthusiast Mike Picard took that theme one step further by converting a 1952 Willys M38 to electric power. [...]
Very Good Work Extremely Hard to do — Right that is ! Brilliant
Hallo Mike,
I have been thinking for a while to replace my engine with an alternative motor in my pick-up.
Thank you for Your for-running work.
All the Best
Peter
Maybe Mike can add a photovotaic sun chatcher to keep the batteries charged and possibly have longer running time?
WHAT A TALANTED HUMAN BEING…TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THIS ALL COME TOGETHER. MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU MIKE. I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THE CLUTCH ON MY 55 WILLYS FIRE TRUCK.