Isetta EV Hot Rod Build

[oprn]

The E brake on the 944s is on the driver's left side next to the door. Just a suggestion...
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We had the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age and now we are in the age of mass deception and mind control for corporate profit. (The mass media age)

[electricolive]

Good idea to relocate the e-brake, oprn. It is likely going to want to occupy the same spot on the tunnel as the shifter - just in front of the seats. The shifter itself also has possibilities for a unique solution - planning a 2 speed gearbox by modifying the Type 1 transmission so just need a simple fwd and back shift pattern...
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Check out the video of Olive here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L54eqGnPGRI&ab_channel=MonolithMotors

[finster]

we've got to think outside the bubble - an external handbrake would introduce an extra note of individuality...it could stick up out of a slot in the side pod
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[electricolive]

External Handbrake would be fun... Did more work to see how I will fit in the car. Bought a Wilwood reverse swing pedal assembly for the clutch and brake with some compact cylinders - seems good to fit the cylinders rearward away from the suspension and the gauge cluster will mount right above them.

Cut a notch out of the body at the package tray and the removed most of the old seat mount on the floorpan so I could sit in the space and see how it feels.

The site lines are good with at seat back angle leaned back to 55 deg from horizontal and the top of my head is about 1" above the top of the windsheild which should be fine). But, it is not a very comfortable seating position...

Could use more legroom. 3 more inches would be ideal. Right now, the seat bottom is as far back as possible at the rear of the floorpan. I could cut the rear of the floorpan out and gain a few inches by moving the seat bottom back to the axle tube. That will be a bit of work. The easier thing would be to lengthen the wheelbase. Here is the side view at the 84.5" wheelbase that I prefer the look of.

And here is +2" - 86.5" wheelbase.

And here is +3" - 87.5" wheelbase.

Will contemplate the wheelbase while I work on other things. Will either stick with the short wheelbase or go with the +2" wheelbase and tweak the rear floorpan as necessary...
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Check out the video of Olive here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L54eqGnPGRI&ab_channel=MonolithMotors

[Busstom]

So you're essentially lying down in it. One thing that might make that slightly more comfortable is an added headrest/cushion that props your head up some (think F1 seating...in fact, those guys are literally lying down like astronauts with feet propped up nearly at eye-level).

On that subject, I'd strongly lean toward your notion of lengthening where necessary to add that legroom you're after while it's (relatively) easy at this point; you risk potential disappointment down the road when it turns into nuisance discomfort. I'd be very interested to see a seat mockup, it sounds real similar to what I'm doing with my Bus at the moment. I haven't measured my seat angle yet, but it's similar to a supercar ergo. I won't be turning my head much for checking blindspots, some other provisions will be in order.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏

[Busstom]

And now I see where "electric olive" comes from (or do I ), I just watched your doka video. Pretty slick ride there.

Seeing the Vanagon parking brake setup under your truck (specifically the equalizer underneath) gives me some more ideas as I'm also in a parking brake quandary with my highly modified Bus. I'll likely be gleaning more ideas from you as this build progresses.
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My name's Steve and it's pronounced "Bust 'em" (cuz people think I'm Tom) 😏

[electricolive]

Here is a pic of the seat mock up. It is leaned back to keep my head height low and shifted back as far as possible for the most (but not enough) legroom - you can see how the seat back is notched to clear the back edge of the floor pan.

After looking at things for a while, it dawned on me that the best solution is to move the upper a-arm mounting points forward. I can gain up to 5" that way so I can move the seat forward a few inches and gain a few inches of legroom. I also looked at different front anti roll bar designs and sizes and calculated the wheel rates for each option. The best option came from a circle track company called Hyper Racing. Went with a 26" long splined bar which is short enough to fit forward into the curved part of the front door. I want the links to mount to the lower a-arms at 28" (or more) apart to get a better motion ratio, so I bought some blank arms with just the splined hole, so I can bend them and cut them down to the right length and drill holes for the links. Hyper Racking were very helpful in helping me select the right torsion bar, I went with Schroeder .825" hollow bar with 7/8" splines which should be plenty stiff. Here are a few pics of where the bar will be located and how it fits inside the door...

I bought the parts to further modify the upper a-arms and will start on that soon. You can see from this pic from above how I can move one or both of the upper a-arm mounts forward, just have to keep clear of where the coil over will be mounted down to the lower control arm (they will mount be further outboard and be angled up quite a bit compared to the wood blocks holding the suspension at ride height.

Not a whole lot of progress recently. I am tied up with a work project and will be back working more on the Isetta in June. Busstom, good guess on the 'electric olive' origin story. It actually pre-dates both this electric car project and the Doka named Olive in an awesome case of foreshadowing. It comes from a Rockford files episode from season 4 in 1977 called 'Beamer's Last Case'. In that episode, when Rockford is out of town, his mechanic steals his identity, wrecks his car, and orders a bunch of random and unnecessary private eye gear on Jim's credit card. The electric olive is part of that gear - a listening device hidden inside an olive so you can bug someone's martini...
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Check out the video of Olive here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L54eqGnPGRI&ab_channel=MonolithMotors