Introducing Sylvester

As a result of my EVangelism and attempts to mentor EV newbies in the local area, I received the donation of a very special vehicle; a pristine 1983 Grumman Kurbwatt postal truck, one of only fifty built.
Here's the story if its creation, courtesy of www.kurbwatt.com.

The Electric KurbWatt and Gasoline/Diesel KubVan were the United States Postal Service's answer to the 1970's Oil Crisis. The Electric KurbWatt and Gasoline/Diesel KubVan were designed to save the United States Postal Service 500,000 gallons of fuel per year. The Electric KurbWatt and Gasoline/Diesel KubVan were ready for mass production, and was being tested by the USPS by 1983. The KurbWatt, and the KubVan were to replace the converted army jeeps that were used to deliver the mail door to door. The KurbWatt and the KubVan have the same mail delivery capabilities as an army jeep, but would save the USPS 500,000 gallons of fuel per year. The Electric KurbWatt, and the Diesel/Gasoline KubVan are the only vehicle to pass all of the USPS endurance tests. The KurbWatt and the KubVan were not mass produced because they were determined to be too small. The USPS needed a vehicle in a hurry, so Grumman designed the Long Life Vehicle (LLV). The LLV was larger, but got the same fuel economy as an army jeep. No fuel was saved.

Somehow, one of these wound up in the Washington State Dept of Transportation Fleet, where it was well-cared for and received an upgraded GE motor, larger than the original 7" Prestolite, as well as an upgrade to 156 Volts and a compatible Curtis controller!  A nice handwritten note from the WSDOT mechanic accompanied this trucklet into private hands at the surplus sale.  After two private owners, the Grumman was sitting in the weeds with a dead house battery and unknown other concerns when offered to me.  Thankfully, it turns out there were few other concerns, as the traction battery pack still had some life in it, being a bunch of Deka Dominators that were salvaged from a crashed Solectria Force.

It took one day to resurrect the Grumman and give some test drives, winning school district consent for the idea of training high school auto shop students in EV basics.  Sylvester, as we'll call him, has a five speed 1983 VW Rabbit front end, and a VW Dasher (Passat, Audi Fox, Audi 80) rear axle.

First order of business is making sure the binders are good, so off came all the wheels, and as usual, removal of the rear brake drum cylinders  resulted in a rounded-off brake line nut and we had to replace the hard line.  This was an excellent educational activity that will certainly result in safer stopping!