Don't buy a fancy tool box like that.

You only end up paying for the graphics that are on it. lol

 

lol like I could afford it anyways. one can dream lol. Thats just more for an idea of the size. Then all the tools to fill it. Might need to put some helper springs on my station wagon lol.

 

fancy boxes like that set you up for a smash and grab

 

Witch box? The tool box or the Station Wagon?


lol

 

My saturn has flip down rear seats too. I used it the other day to test fit a short peice of stair railing. Flipped down rear seat and it just fit in nicely. Seems to have as much room than my mom's Rav4. I just have to get used to diving in and out of it LOL. Pretty low with all the batteries in it but it flies around corners pretty good LOL.

 

lol, you do know those cars have weight limits too right dave? I think the legal hauling capacity is something like 800 lbs lol.

 

did you have to beef the rear suspension for the batteries on that saturn?

 

HAHA! yes I know.....the car only gained about 500~600lbs so I'm still well under the GVWR which is 3200. Kept the front rear weight distribution the same too.

Mine was supposedly 2250 lbs stock. Its around 2850 now. Some guys go well over the GVW rating but make mods to handle the extra weight.

The car was quite low even before I got it though. It is after all, a car......first one I ever drove or owned

 

Nope. I only added about 275lbs to the trunk below the floor in a drop box so thats not enough to cause the car to drag. Lack of a spare tire, exaust and fuel tank help compensate slightly for the weight.

Weight on the front end is a little more but it still doesn't look out of place. Lots of lowered cars hang much lower. Handling is quite good due to the low center of gravity and the front end huge anti-roll bat they came with from factory. Its about as thick as the one on my truck.

I did see a Utube video of a saturn that used lead acid batteries instead and that guy put over 1000lbs in the trunk alone! Car seemed to drive ok, but I do wonder if the GVWR was a problem for his insurance.

 

only if he ran into someone

 

Man, talk about off topic lol. Hope nobody is too offended.

Funny thing is I haven't heard of a collision involving a back yard converted EV so far. I would think some did hit something but I haven't seen any on the web. Prius's, a couple teslas, and a POS zenn low speed EV too. I guess when people put so much work into a car, they tend to be a little more careful with it.

Anyway, I figure a compact car is worth looking at if all you are hauling is a couple hundred pounds of tools and yourself. Cheap to by, easy to flog later.
At least I didn't suggest an old minivan

 

well after lookin at the major reconstruction thread for about 10 minutes i went out and peeled back my carpet and found this:


needless to say, when im done the carpet is going out and ill put some of the bedliner stuff in the floor of the cab. Dang carpet was wet underneath, but hey what can ya expect when theirs a hole in the floor lol. Oh well, nothin some sheetmetal and creative welding cant fix.

 

Ouch that sucks but your carpet wasn't to blame. The rust started from the outside and worked its way up through the floor starting around the spot welds that hold the front main cab mount. Ford to this day still refuses to undercoat their trucks at the factory and that is the result. Most compact cars including mine get a good rubberized coating right on the assembly line. I think there is a legal requirement for rustproofing of cars but not for trucks, not positive though.

 

yup thats right where all the road salt and spray gets thrown from the front wheel. Of course the wet carpet aint helping anything.

 

Have no fear, that's just about exactly what mine looked like when I started!!

1/8" thick by 3" wide steel "bar" works good for patching up and reinforcing the rocker panel side of the front cab mount. My guess is that if you don't already have to slightly lift the door to close it you're on the verge of it. If that's the case use a floor jack to jack up the rocker panel at the front corner of the cab ahead of the door to lift it up where it needs to be and to support it. When the door closes good (assuming your door hinge pins aren't also shot) it's a pretty safe bet that the cab is where it'll need to be. Weld up the cab mount, inner wall of the cab (you'll see what I mean you look at it, goes from the rocker panel to the inside wall of the cab and it's likely rusted out just above the rocker panel). But do not weld the wall patch to the rocker panel if you're replacing the rockers. After you have that wall part welded in, weld up the cab mount box, weld it to the new wall patch, then weld in your front floor pan. Then you'll have a nice solid cab floor pan/mount to support that corner of the cab to cut out the rocker panel.

Just holler if you come across anything you have a question on