Steve Edling from Facebook Vintage Electric Cars group
1917 Detroit Electric
This blog documents the progress on the Western Antique Automobile and Aeroplane Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River Oregon's restoration of a 1917 Detroit Electric Model 63. Add your email to the "Follow by Email" box below and you'll be notified when we update the blog. If you have any questions, please drop us an email in the contact form at the end of this page.
Factory Drawings
Detroit Electric Factory Drawings.zip
There are several different Power Circuit Wiring Diagrams and while very close there was at least one in-car cable that didn't match any of them. This is a link to a spreadsheet which compares the different diagrams.
Star Wheel Carrier Shaft Bushing Outer
1" .758 ID bushing but not sure where it goes.
StarWheel Shaft.
During the jack stand power up we found an issue that prevented us from going into reverse. We had to fiddle quite a bit with the speed control tiller and mast but eventually found the magic combination. With reverse fully enabled we were ready for a road test.
The 1917 Detroit Electric's first road trip in years!! You'll see a bit of accumulated dust blown off the top as we speed away.
The car ran beautifully. Its quiet except for the clunking of the controller when you shift gears. Steering is fairly easy...if you're moving...not so much if you're standing still. In subsequent testing we found that we get to about 14 mph in 3rd. Usually, we run about 35-50 amps with an occasional spike to 100 amps when shifting. Current goes up when going uphill or braking as expected.
YouTube Video of First Test run
Our classic Weston combination voltmeter/ammeter gauge set was broken. The previous owner had tacked on another volt meter rather that fix the original.
Dale Nichol our resident electrical expert came to our rescue. He took the meter apart and determined that the two original precision resistor packs (two mica boards wrapped with 1200 wraps of AWG-44 (OD=0.0022 ...that's tiny!) had open windings. Much too small to repair. So he determined the required values and replaced them with modern resistors. He attached them to the original mica boards so that it would all fit back in the meter movement case.
There was also the issue of the original leads into the case being frayed, brittle and broken. Dale attached the original leads to a sturdy Jones terminal block which will ensure that leads stay intact and are easy to attach to.
Steve Edling from Facebook Vintage Electric Cars group 1917 Detroit Electric