James HobsonWhen we started this project, we didn't actually know how we were going to finance it, or where we were even going to get some components -- but we set the wheel in motion and struck luck!
We had sent out a few sponsor emails to local companies that might be willing to donate parts to our cause. A company called Advantage Forklift Ltd. responded and said we could have an entire forklift!
Ain't she a beaut? A Clark forklift running off 36V, with an 8 ton capacity. We were starting to get excited.
We spent the rest of the day stripping the forklift of everything useful. Pump motor, huge drive motor, speed controllers, heavy duty contactors, wire, and even the yellow forklift strobe light.
It was a challenge getting everything home in a compact car.
Let alone driving it.
The drive motor we salvaged from the forklift is big. So big, it won't even fit into the hood. Bummer. It was also seized, but after taking it apart we managed to get it spinning again.
We'll save this for a bigger project. Maybe a super over-powered dragster go-kart?
Luckily, the forklift's hydraulic pump was just the right size -- and it wasn't seized! It was a bit tricky to remove the squirrel cage fan though. The motor is a bit under powered at about 10HP, but that's at 36V. We'll be running it at 72V, and since DC motors have a constant torque curve, it'll have pretty good acceleration.
Now to attach it to the transmission...
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