Freelander 1 Freelander EV

I made a video of the welder upgrade

Seen these:

Thought of you...

These would be ideal for transferring bolt holes, as you could put the pilot drill through the bolt and be guided to be perfectly true whereas drilling by mark from a transfer punch, you could still wonder off and drill a squint hole.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383199944251

Jayridium said:

Seen these:

Thought of you...

These would be ideal for transferring bolt holes, as you could put the pilot drill through the bolt and be guided to be perfectly true whereas drilling by mark from a transfer punch, you could still wonder off and drill a squint hole.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383199944251

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Thanks mate, I'll take a look at them.

I got a bit more time at the box today and I think I've finally finished with the main part of it.
I got fed up with how long it's taking and decided to weld the ends and back on instead of screwing them on. Hopefully I won't regret that but I managed to fit all the batteries in and should be able to bolt them in with few small mods to the box so it should be OK.


Now I need to make a lid for it then figure out how I'm going to mount it.

Before you paint it, go over your welds with a layer of chemical metal then tickle them with blue 40 grit zirconium flap disk. This will help make the welds look a smidgeon better for the MOT type gadgey that's going to be examining the vehicle, and help ensure they are sealed to prevent any ingress of water. This last part about preventing water ingress is really important, as the angry pixies will get really violent if their luxurious lithium lodgings get flooded.

Jayridium said:

Before you paint it, go over your welds with a layer of chemical metal then tickle them with blue 40 grit zirconium flap disk. This will help make the welds look a smidgeon better for the MOT type gadgey that's going to be examining the vehicle, and help ensure they are sealed to prevent any ingress of water. This last part about preventing water ingress is really important, as the angry pixies will get really violent if their luxurious lithium lodgings get flooded.

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So the chemical metal first, then the flap disk? I was planning to tidy it up a bit before painting but hadn't thought of chemical metal.

Aye, this is cheating BTW, but chemical metal fills out any lows / porous bits in the weld, the flap disk focusses on removing more material from the higher bits, esepcially spatter, somewhere they meet in the middle and look lush.

Jayridium said:

Aye, this is cheating BTW, but chemical metal fills out any lows / porous bits in the weld, the flap disk focusses on removing more material from the higher bits, esepcially spatter, somewhere they meet in the middle and look lush.

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OK thanks. Any product you can recommend?

Alibro said:

OK thanks. Any product you can recommend?

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You need Bonda Primer, which will also fill in any tiny voids in the weld.
I've been using it for decades, yes it's expensive, but it's absolutely remarkable stuff.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bonda-Ru...=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Just don't paint it on anything you don't want red.

Nodge68 said:

You need Bonda Primer, which will also fill in any tiny voids in the weld.
I've been using it for decades, yes it's expensive, but it's absolutely remarkable stuff.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bonda-Ru...=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Just don't paint it on anything you don't want red.

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Thanks mate, I'll order that now and will top coat with Rust-Oleum Combi Colour.
Will I need a seam sealer to?

Alibro said:

Thanks mate, I'll order that now and will top coat with Rust-Oleum Combi Colour

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You'll need to let the Bonda cure fully, before top coating.

Alibro said:

Will I need a seam sealer to?

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I guess that depends on how porous your seams are?
I'd paint the Bonda on the outside (gives the best protection), and see how much is visible on the inside. If there's nothing visible, then there's no need for seam sealer. If you see red staining on the inside, then apply seam sealer on the inside of the box, then pain in normal car paint to stop the metal going rusty.

Nodge68 said:

You'll need to let the Bonda cure fully, before top coating.

I guess that depends on how porous your seams are?
I'd paint the Bonda on the outside (gives the best protection), and see how much is visible on the inside. If there's nothing visible, then there's no need for seam sealer. If you see red staining on the inside, then apply seam sealer on the inside of the box, then pain in normal car paint to stop the metal going rusty.

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Sounds like a plan, thanks mate.
BTW I bought 500mls from Amazon as it was a couple of quid cheaper with delivery included.

Alibro said:

Sounds like a plan, thanks mate.
BTW I bought 500mls from Amazon as it was a couple of quid cheaper with delivery included.

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In my experience, it goes quite far. However you will need to mix it thoroughly, as the ingredients have a habit of settling. I use a tent peg in my battery drill as a mixer.

I've been pottering away at the battery box doing an hour here and there and have finally almost finished the fabrication as I have the lid finished bar a couple of welds. I say almost finished fabrication because I still need to cut out a couple of plates to use as lids for the small module extensions. I had already cut two out but I need to make them a bit bigger.
Here is the lid being bent to shape. I've used thumbnails because there are so many pics today.



I also made the decision to change the way I'm making some of the internal battery connections due to the frame getting in the way of the solid copper bars. In the photos I posted previously the top rail of the frame was not complete so didn't realise just how tight it would be and the solid bars will not fit. I've bought some 35mm2 welding cable which fits nicely and is flexible enough to allow me to make the connections before fitting the modules.

Nice work there Ali

Jayridium said:

Nice work there Ali

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Thanks mate, I'm really pleased at how tight the fit is.

You'll all be very glad to hear the fuel tank battery box is nearing completion. Over the last few evenings I welded up the big part of the lid shown in the last update and cut out new plates for the small module extensions as mentioned. I had originally planned to make the small lids as a flat plate that would be screwed down but at the last minute I decided to make them big enough to overlap and bend over the box so that it would minimise the chances of water ingress.
This went so well I decided I could weld the small lids to the large lid to make one big lid.

This is them in situ before welding.

I then cut out a piece of steel to close the gap in the middle.


After a bit of fettling and welding followed by a lot of grinding, hammering and a fair bit of cursing due to the whole thing warping with the heat of welding we now have a lid to cover the whole box.



It ain't pretty but it's a strong box with a lid.


Now I need to sort out glands and copex to bring the cables into it for 50mm2 Pos and Neg plus the BMS and temp sensor cables. I plan to use a couple of 8 pair and a 4 pair multicore microphone cable which are all of similar diameter to the 50mm2 cable. With each pair twisted together they'll be more than heavy enough for a BMS.
I haven't worked out yet exactly how I'm going to support the box under the car but there are plenty of options so I'm not worried about it. The only concern is I want to keep modifications to the chassis and subframe to a minimum for two reasons.
1. The fewer modifications I make the easier it will be to pass inspection.
2. The fewer modifications I make the easier it will be to move everything to another car.

In case anyone is wondering why this build is moving so slowly, one of the big problems I have is my lack of experience. This has meant I haven't been able to order all the parts I'll need in advance as I'm not certain what I'll need or what will fit. The result of that is I tend to do some work, asses what I need, order the parts and then wait for them to arrive.
It frustrates me too but I can't afford to throw money at parts that are wrong or won't fit.

We all feel your pain, whilst also being thankful we aren't the ones doing it all first!!!

Good on you for pushing the boundaries of DIY vehicle modification and if there was an award for being innovative, you'd get it!!
Maybe there should be??!!

I think you're doing just fine Ali.
There's no point in rushing ahead, only to make mistakes, so doing things again correctly.
Slow and steady wins the race.

To be fair, although I joked about the welding, this really is a fantastic project and your execution of it is very impressive. There is no rush, just keep going as you are. I'm pretty sure you're going to end up with a very successful and professional end result. And I've found the technical discussions (that are often beyond me) really interesting.







Now chop chop and get on with the sexy stuff.