I'm totally over this damn car, it was a mistake to get it in the first place. i've spent about 6,000$ on this project counting the Nissan Leaf cells, i'm just going to stop here and sell it. The nissan leaf cells should make a nice 24v solar battery for my workshop and house. anybody interested in a 1976 Citicar?
Gah, that escalating clusterfuckery of cascading failures, made worse with anger. I so feel you. Lucky for you if you can walk away from such a situation without feeling remorse. I can't, leaving stuff behind bugs me to no end. I'd probably had tucked the thing away to wait for me to melt the rage... which would take a few years, while constantly nagging in the back of my head. Of course the best option would be to be able to push through and enjoy the process and end result more than the frustration along the way.
LOL, I totally get why you would want to get away from this thing! A neighbor of mine had bought 3 of these at an auction and wanted to get at least one of them going to run in a local 4th of July parade. He wanted to keep the cost down, as he was trying to sell them as-is, so I was tasked with coming up with enough battery power to get it through the parade and back home (about 15 miles total). We ended up with a 4D truck battery, and 2 - 27 series deep cycle batteries out of an RV to get the needed 36 VDC to run it. The brakes except for the e-brake were mostly non-existent as the brake cylinder cups rotted away years ago. Long story short... we made it to and through the parade, but the trip back was partially uphill, and it didn't quite have the power to make the hill, so we ended up towing it the rest of the way back.😁 These cars were really nothing more than a modified EZ-Go electric golf cart with higher gearing and a manual contactor with big resistors for the speed control via the 'throttle' pedal (i.e. *really inefficient* ). Being all plastic with a steel subframe, they'd essentially be a death trap if you ever hit anything. Probably best to get rid of it so someone can shine it up and stick it in a museum somewhere!🤣
That car was actually in very good condition compared to most of them I've seen. There is a pretty active Yahoo group for that car. Some people have completely revamped the drive system or replaced the body with aluminum. But the restoration of any car requires an enormous amount of time, effort and patience. Lots of research is needed on ways to get around the inevitable issues. And if you are not in love with the vehicle, it's never going to happen. It's definitely a labor of love. I hope you have better luck with other projects.
It's a shame you're not seeing it through. My dad had one in the 90s and it sat in the yard till he passed away in 2005. You're quite talented, especially when it came to stitching up the cracks in the body, doing a far better job than I could do with plastic welding. If you're having difficulty with the electrical/electronic parts, maybe I can help. I translate wiring diagrams from Japanese and German on a daily basis.
@@RinoaL Interesting. I take it that you felt a bit overwhelmed by the electrical issues that (ahem) *sparked* up after the steering column switches got skewed? If it's any consolation, GM was still using splice-in fusible links and side terminal batteries from the 1960s in my uncle's 1991 C4 Corvette. Meanwhile, the rest of the world went with standardized replaceable fuses/fusible links by the mid 80s. Now I get to un-fuck the system... :D
@@RinoaL just had a brainstorm. Whatever battery/ies fed the non-motor circuits (all 12v stuff like lights/radio/etc) should have had a sufficiently heavy fuse/fusible link/circuit breaker within 12" of the positive terminal(s). The only way it could have had a failure like you saw is if there was no fuse/link/breaker protection there. It's an easy fix and quite common when silly ricer kids improperly move their battery to the trunk. As for the rest of the electrical bits, retrofitting a VW Mk4 Jetta/Golf or similar fuse box would be a clever, tidy solution.
I was really looking forward to seeing this video series but I can’t help but agree with you there is a hell of a lot work to do so I think you’re doing the right thing keep the videos coming mate
well I only have time to work on it on the weekends and the summer vacations. Doing a whole body off resto with welding and painting takes a lot of time.
One tip about a crack on anything at the end of the crack drill a hole through it and that will stop it from further cracking yes your plastic welding skills are fine। let me clarify drill a hole at the very end of the crack maybe you already knew
Shame you’re not loving the citycar, it looks pretty unique and electric cars seem all the rage these days. Sooo, why not build a super fast electric bicycle or use those Nissan Leaf batteries. Maybe bring back solar Sunday’s 😉
I'm running 6 marine batteries of different sizes and ages to power my camper, with solar panels. I know the AC to DC converter inside is wasting power when I am there, and want to remove it and run my 12 volt batteries directly to the lights/fans and my inverter to the 110v AC. I've had a bunch of surgeries, so not 'quite' ready to tackle that yet. I have a 30 amp Chineseium solar converter, set to 14.4 max, which works well. I have a 425 and 750 watt inverter, but since we use so little power, I stick with the 425. I only need the generator to run the 10, 12, and 15 amp chargers in the winter when the sun can't reach the panels, or run the AC in the summer. I was wondering, if, during your busy schedule, you could see how I have things set up now, and suggest improvements. I'd LOVE lithium battery packs, but not in my budget as my income is currently $0, between surgeries. Coud you look at one of my battery vids? You don't have to sub. I just hit 2k subs!!! I've been watching you from WAY back :).
Owned a Citicar back in the 90's. Bought for $500 restored and could only sell for $600. Put in new lead acid batteries too. Parts were easy to get from company in FL. Mine used a brushed electric motor originally designed for starting aircraft jet engines! It is only rated for intermittent duty on jet engine use which was no probable since they need it temporarily anyway while starting up. Had head slamming torque off the line mashing you back in the chair. Electrical wiring was very easy to troubleshoot and had no manual. Brake bleed screws and hose fittings were seized and corroded to the steel and was very hard to fix. There was no VFD or speed drive: it used a bank of relay contactors to switch motor speeds from 12V to 24V to 48V, so a 3 speed unit. Contactors only need contact cleaning and occasional contacts replacement. Can't get any simpler than this. It was a good electric car for my first introduction to electric cars at the time. If I recall the top speed was like 38MPH or so, so use accordingly even though it was street legal. As a kid I would have walked thru fire to have had one of these to drive around on the farm for fun.
My first dirtbike was a 1972 honda xl250 enduro, I don't really want a motorcycle anymore my ebike is dangerous enough already. I do need to buy a small truck to haul stuff around but honestly I will still ride my ebike most of the time because its so much cheaper to drive. my last truck only got 18mpg and insurance was $180 a month + license/registration fees and maintenance can be expensive.
I found your city car video quite inspiring. I liked your original concept. You gave it your all and had it running that all that matters. Now you know why this electric car never found it's place on the city streets then joined the hundreds of other electric car faliures.But this was not your falure, it was your success. The cars original manufacturer was the one who failed to produce an electric car reliable for the local commute. I am also glad you learned from this project then "Let it go" When your done your done. This is how mechanical & electrical engineering things work, they either work or they fail. But always remember thats none of your fault, And I am certain your dad is very proud of you.
OMG I saw a blue one of these on eBay. I thought it was one of the funniest looking cars I'd ever seen. I'm so glad to see one I knew nothing about them. So cool!!!!!!!
Working on anything that is 30+ years old and is rare is always a slow and careful project no matter what it is. I actually have a 1976 CitiCar that is close to the chopping block, needs a title and a drive system, so it will cost a good chunk of change. It will leave me more time to finish my electric woods tractor and start my commuter e-bike! I already own a LEAF. The CiitCars are pretty sought after, so it should be a quick sale.
You reacted better than I'd have done in the end. I feel for you. Never finished any of my projects, unlike you. Props for not completely losing your shit. Sucks about the whole thing, if I had the money I'd definitely pay for it too be shipped over here and throw some extra money on there.
Put it aside for a few months until you calm down and all the emotion dies ........ then when your relaxed, patiently complete 1 job at a time on it, post some more videos on the progress until it's all done. ....as one other commenter mentioned, look at some of Mustie 1 repairs etc for inspiration.
I keep trying to figure where the golf clubs go? I loved your reaction when you accidentally beeped the horn. I find it hard to tell your frustrated mood from your interested one. There is a car culture because you cannot ride in the winter. I enjoy hearing you think. I love rebellion and going against the status quo. Thanks..I am at work smiling watching this..
i've been wanting one of these since i was a kid and they were new. yes, it's a glorified golf cart. yes, it's weird as hell. yes, it's totally craptastic. and yes, after all that, i still want one.
What plastic filler rod did you use on the cracks? Cleaned up pretty nice exterior-wise, hope somebody buys it! If it weren't for my lack of funds and my two VW Bugs languishing over ten years now, I'd be interested. Old flimsy cars are a hassle, eh? Glad it didn't burn down the building!
Rinoa, you did a great job on trying to fix what was a basket case to begin with. These cars were not great when they were new. Made VERY cheap. Like a Porta John on wheels.
I’m sorry you got frustrated. It looks like a great restore project. The plastic welding was clever. The video edits to speed up, cut and trim the clips makes good sense. It kind of reminded me of the shape of the Star Trek shuttle craft minus the tail. If the doors of the vehicle could be hinged to open downward to the bottom of the vessel and become a stepping platform ramp, it would be cool. I think it’s restoration has potential. Hopefully you can find a buyer that sees its value as nostalgia or other transformed art. 👌💪🏽😃✅
Glad to see a video on the Citicar. Sorry that you're not interested in it. It's kind of an odd ball car so finding parts and schematics will be difficult for it. This is a fitting end for it though! Car culture can be dumb sometimes I've always liked trucks though.
yeah i might just set my account to auto-delete every comment that mentions the citicar after this. i get reminded of the fucking thing twice a week for years, then i waste a week making a video and it probably wont get hardly any views. lol
lol i find your account name more funny than anything. but what i mean is there are other series i do that rake in much more views. my tool restorations tend to, especially that chainsaw restoration im still working on. that sucks your friend had a hard time at the auto shop, sometimes its a good idea to move away in cases like that.
When the steering column wires broke off at 24:20, you should have insulated them from each other with vinyl electrical tape. Some are carrying battery power, some are grounds. They were probably touching together and shorted. There should be fuses to keep the magic smoke inside, but it may have been hacked by someone else before you, and bypassed.
Look into the electric controller from an electric forklift that was made in the last 15 or so years There are lots of them that get junked when the batteries go bad. Usually 48 volts. Motors from them are usually a bit bigger too if you want to do some adapting
want be a lot of car to sell after this. hope you recuperate some fo the money tho. i was actually thinking on getting a modern Norwegian/danish version of this car to do a video series on myself do to you doing this car. the Kewit/Buddy car.
Well, the one Simone Giertz has actually looks fun to drive. I guess the trick is not to rip out half the controls while trying to steer. Maybe you just have too much upper body strength. :P Is that thing actually worth anything as a collectible or for spare parts?
I'm not sure if these Citicars have any real value, but I've seen them popping up a lot in other restore projects lately...probably due to the "uniqueness" of it. They are pretty interesting imo, but I personally wouldn't pay a whole lot for one. 1970's electronics + 1970's Plastic = a whole lot of headaches. If you enjoy restoring for the fun of it I'd say go for it...just don't go expecting _too_ much for your time/money investment.
thing about the Citicar is that it was basically a project by some college kids who were given a huge ass investment of 5,000,000 and somehow sold 4,000 units (how) the car was built as cheaply as possible.
That is an odd set-up with the licence rules in Illinois. In the UK you can get a car or motorbike licence separately, not one being dependant on the other. Those CitiCars are curious things.
I think it's super-cool! Not a massive car fanboy either, but this one is kinda cute, it's got personality! And it's cool that it's an electric. Like a throwback from the past that is for the future. See if you can find someone to sell it to at the car show, better it goes to someone who loves it rather than hates it. ;) Edit: Lol, should've waited for the ending!
Pity it didn't work out, but atleast you knew when to stop. I was kind of expectingr that hammer to end up through something a tad more fragile than the steering wheel.
I have no car but, a Honda PCX 125 and tbh aside from long interstate trips it seems fine for almost every other possible transit task at a lower cost than a car would. I like cars but, I don’t like waste and for most uses a car is just more than is needed so I find myself carless.
Rollie from the Las Vegas car cutom shop called Counts Customs has a citi car all customized its a really neat looking example the best maybe in the us
The older I get the more I think cars area a PITA and I like my motorcycle and bicycle more. I hope you get someone to buy the Citicar from you. It seems the time to cut your loss.
... dont wait on it but i think i might be able to scrounge up that much and the gas to get to illinois to get it. That car is rediculous and i love it! Completely under stand where you are comming from on the bike thing. After riding a moped for so long cars aee just annoying... unless its this... then i want it because it is electiric and that is how i chose to live my life. I wish you well. :)
In the future screw the steering wheel shaft nut off until it is flush with the end of the shaft. Tap the nut with a hammer and the steering wheel will pop up off the spline. 😉
Ya know, I was thinking how you could get this car done and have fun doing it. Assemble a group of UA-cam followers with mechanical skills of various types. Plan one day from 6am to 6am. 24 hours. In that time task everything out like they did in some of the old discovery shows like monster garage. Ten people x 24 hours that's 240 man hours in a single day. You don't have that much work, so you can still find time for a pizza and a cold beer at the end of the day. You could do a series or just a super long video. Either way, im pretty sure you can pull this off. I would be willing to help and bring some stuff you might find useful to the build. There would be a little planning involved but why not? Projects like this give everyone involved a new skill set at the end of it all and you get a fun little car out of it as well as some new experiences. Think it over. I bet we could even raise some cash for it. We have the midwest energy show in Amherst Wisconsin and i know a few of the guys that run it. I bet they would sponsor something like this, especially if you made an appearance with it. Hmm. Not sure how you feel about this but hey, just a thought. Cheers
Another selling point is that there is an interest on UA-cam to restore and upgrade that car. If a UA-camr buys it, plug their channel. I'd subscribe to them.
think it was the charger, but then i shorted out the battery accidentally by dropping the seatbelt under the seat and thats what killed the electrical.
I'm totally over this damn car, it was a mistake to get it in the first place. i've spent about 6,000$ on this project counting the Nissan Leaf cells, i'm just going to stop here and sell it. The nissan leaf cells should make a nice 24v solar battery for my workshop and house.
anybody interested in a 1976 Citicar?
Rinoa Super-Genius B is for Build, Tavarish or Hoovie?
?
Rinoa Super-Genius I mean it would be fun to see one of them taking over the build
If you have the money, buy a Smart Car and convert it to electric. Just an idea. As always, love your vids.
but i have no use for a car...
if i was going to buy any car, itd be a nissan leaf anyway.
Give it to Mustie1! I'm sure he would offer a fair price.
ACombineSoldier problem he's in NH and Rin's in Illinois
It would be a nice collab though
ACombineSoldier it would be though :)
Pick up that can.
Agreed! Watching @Mustie1 work on this would be cool.
I love your honesty... in the magic world of UA-cam where not every project is a success.
Cheers from France.
To bad,, the video started so well,, Hope you get some of the money back.
Gah, that escalating clusterfuckery of cascading failures, made worse with anger. I so feel you. Lucky for you if you can walk away from such a situation without feeling remorse. I can't, leaving stuff behind bugs me to no end. I'd probably had tucked the thing away to wait for me to melt the rage... which would take a few years, while constantly nagging in the back of my head.
Of course the best option would be to be able to push through and enjoy the process and end result more than the frustration along the way.
Waited forever to see the next video for this thing lmao
Skylord Slippain me too
LOL, I totally get why you would want to get away from this thing! A neighbor of mine had bought 3 of these at an auction and wanted to get at least one of them going to run in a local 4th of July parade. He wanted to keep the cost down, as he was trying to sell them as-is, so I was tasked with coming up with enough battery power to get it through the parade and back home (about 15 miles total). We ended up with a 4D truck battery, and 2 - 27 series deep cycle batteries out of an RV to get the needed 36 VDC to run it. The brakes except for the e-brake were mostly non-existent as the brake cylinder cups rotted away years ago. Long story short... we made it to and through the parade, but the trip back was partially uphill, and it didn't quite have the power to make the hill, so we ended up towing it the rest of the way back.😁 These cars were really nothing more than a modified EZ-Go electric golf cart with higher gearing and a manual contactor with big resistors for the speed control via the 'throttle' pedal (i.e. *really inefficient* ). Being all plastic with a steel subframe, they'd essentially be a death trap if you ever hit anything. Probably best to get rid of it so someone can shine it up and stick it in a museum somewhere!🤣
iv decided to keep it and build a rocket to launch it on like elon musk‘s tesla roadster. hahaha
@@RinoaL OMG! Too funny!🤣
Time lapse video of the POS being plugged back into the charger and burning it down to the ground?
That car was actually in very good condition compared to most of them I've seen. There is a pretty active Yahoo group for that car. Some people have completely revamped the drive system or replaced the body with aluminum. But the restoration of any car requires an enormous amount of time, effort and patience. Lots of research is needed on ways to get around the inevitable issues. And if you are not in love with the vehicle, it's never going to happen. It's definitely a labor of love. I hope you have better luck with other projects.
Active yahoo group?? lmmfaatwo
Waited for so long to see the next vid lol. But if I could, i would totally buy it. Its such an interesting little car
....It's a 'Very Small Car Show'...Pause there....Perfect place to go....since you have a 'Very Small Car' and all....lol🤣🤣
Loving your vids Rinoa👍🇦🇺
It's a shame you're not seeing it through. My dad had one in the 90s and it sat in the yard till he passed away in 2005. You're quite talented, especially when it came to stitching up the cracks in the body, doing a far better job than I could do with plastic welding.
If you're having difficulty with the electrical/electronic parts, maybe I can help. I translate wiring diagrams from Japanese and German on a daily basis.
my background is in electrical, and yes i can read some japanese and german as well
@@RinoaL Interesting. I take it that you felt a bit overwhelmed by the electrical issues that (ahem) *sparked* up after the steering column switches got skewed? If it's any consolation, GM was still using splice-in fusible links and side terminal batteries from the 1960s in my uncle's 1991 C4 Corvette. Meanwhile, the rest of the world went with standardized replaceable fuses/fusible links by the mid 80s. Now I get to un-fuck the system... :D
@@RinoaL just had a brainstorm. Whatever battery/ies fed the non-motor circuits (all 12v stuff like lights/radio/etc) should have had a sufficiently heavy fuse/fusible link/circuit breaker within 12" of the positive terminal(s). The only way it could have had a failure like you saw is if there was no fuse/link/breaker protection there. It's an easy fix and quite common when silly ricer kids improperly move their battery to the trunk. As for the rest of the electrical bits, retrofitting a VW Mk4 Jetta/Golf or similar fuse box would be a clever, tidy solution.
I was really looking forward to seeing this video series but I can’t help but agree with you there is a hell of a lot work to do so I think you’re doing the right thing keep the videos coming mate
Lol forgot about this Citicar video lol. Much fun when cars release the magic smoke.
totally jealous about that McDonnell Douglas bag...
got it at a yardsale few years back, accidentally put a little tear in the side but i'll sew it back up i guess. only like 1cm long.
I know how It feels. I've been working on a vw bug since i was 14 i've never driven it once. Im 23 now and still plan on finihing it.
cab I've never refurbished a car before but a decade seems like quite a long time.
well I only have time to work on it on the weekends and the summer vacations. Doing a whole body off resto with welding and painting takes a lot of time.
One tip about a crack on anything at the end of the crack drill a hole through it and that will stop it from further cracking yes your plastic welding skills are fine। let me clarify drill a hole at the very end of the crack maybe you already knew
Welcome to Johnnycab.
What an awesome lil machine. Sorry to hear you had to give this up...been through several of things like that myself
Thumbs up for the video name alone. Looking forward to checking out your other videos!
Well I mean... you did an amazing job at sanding that paint job with that moist rag across the entire car...
Fair enough..a balanced and open explination 😊👍
Shame you’re not loving the citycar, it looks pretty unique and electric cars seem all the rage these days. Sooo, why not build a super fast electric bicycle or use those Nissan Leaf batteries. Maybe bring back solar Sunday’s 😉
What kind of a price would you hope to get for it?
I'm running 6 marine batteries of different sizes and ages to power my camper, with solar panels. I know the AC to DC converter inside is wasting power when I am there, and want to remove it and run my 12 volt batteries directly to the lights/fans and my inverter to the 110v AC. I've had a bunch of surgeries, so not 'quite' ready to tackle that yet. I have a 30 amp Chineseium solar converter, set to 14.4 max, which works well. I have a 425 and 750 watt inverter, but since we use so little power, I stick with the 425. I only need the generator to run the 10, 12, and 15 amp chargers in the winter when the sun can't reach the panels, or run the AC in the summer. I was wondering, if, during your busy schedule, you could see how I have things set up now, and suggest improvements. I'd LOVE lithium battery packs, but not in my budget as my income is currently $0, between surgeries. Coud you look at one of my battery vids? You don't have to sub. I just hit 2k subs!!! I've been watching you from WAY back :).
I love motorcycles much like you, but how do transport all the goodies back from where ever you find them, Rinoa?
backpack, trailer, or in that case get the help of someone with a truck if its big. i dont think every person needs a truck though.
Well good luck on selling the car ;) keep them videos coming greeting from Madrid Spain.
Owned a Citicar back in the 90's. Bought for $500 restored and could only sell for $600. Put in new lead acid batteries too. Parts were easy to get from company in FL. Mine used a brushed electric motor originally designed for starting aircraft jet engines! It is only rated for intermittent duty on jet engine use which was no probable since they need it temporarily anyway while starting up. Had head slamming torque off the line mashing you back in the chair. Electrical wiring was very easy to troubleshoot and had no manual. Brake bleed screws and hose fittings were seized and corroded to the steel and was very hard to fix. There was no VFD or speed drive: it used a bank of relay contactors to switch motor speeds from 12V to 24V to 48V, so a 3 speed unit. Contactors only need contact cleaning and occasional contacts replacement. Can't get any simpler than this. It was a good electric car for my first introduction to electric cars at the time. If I recall the top speed was like 38MPH or so, so use accordingly even though it was street legal. As a kid I would have walked thru fire to have had one of these to drive around on the farm for fun.
My first dirtbike was a 1972 honda xl250 enduro, I don't really want a motorcycle anymore my ebike is dangerous enough already. I do need to buy a small truck to haul stuff around but honestly I will still ride my ebike most of the time because its so much cheaper to drive. my last truck only got 18mpg and insurance was $180 a month + license/registration fees and maintenance can be expensive.
Sad to see a good project car gone, but you are the creator, and we are the viewers..
I found your city car video quite inspiring. I liked your original concept. You gave it your all and had it running that all that matters. Now you know why this electric car never found it's place on the city streets then joined the hundreds of other electric car faliures.But this was not your falure, it was your success. The cars original manufacturer was the one who failed to produce an electric car reliable for the local commute. I am also glad you learned from this project then "Let it go" When your done your done. This is how mechanical & electrical engineering things work, they either work or they fail. But always remember thats none of your fault, And I am certain your dad is very proud of you.
Definitely worth watching until the end. Very satisfying.
OMG I saw a blue one of these on eBay. I thought it was one of the funniest looking cars I'd ever seen. I'm so glad to see one I knew nothing about them. So cool!!!!!!!
hey rinoa havnt watched u in agz i used 2 have one of these until i got an amc pacer still love u xxx
Working on anything that is 30+ years old and is rare is always a slow and careful project no matter what it is. I actually have a 1976 CitiCar that is close to the chopping block, needs a title and a drive system, so it will cost a good chunk of change. It will leave me more time to finish my electric woods tractor and start my commuter e-bike! I already own a LEAF. The CiitCars are pretty sought after, so it should be a quick sale.
Do you know if this car had been registered in Utah? My dad had one exactly like that and took it out to Kansas City.
This was from Ohio
I really want to see more from the rocket project! Let's go Rinoa!
Are you going to do an electric conversion on that $104 fold up bike that you did a video on a while ago?
if i find a motor that lends itself to it, yeah maybe.
Wow, your plastic welding process has really improved.
You reacted better than I'd have done in the end. I feel for you. Never finished any of my projects, unlike you. Props for not completely losing your shit. Sucks about the whole thing, if I had the money I'd definitely pay for it too be shipped over here and throw some extra money on there.
Man you really do get passed...don't ever become a plumber 😂😂
or a computer repair man
that part at then end where you just kick it is just too funny ot me for somereason xD
Put it aside for a few months until you calm down and all the emotion dies ........ then when your relaxed, patiently complete 1 job at a time on it, post some more videos on the progress until it's all done. ....as one other commenter mentioned, look at some of Mustie 1 repairs etc for inspiration.
i set it aside for 2 years just to do this. im not throwing away my time on this anymore
You did the right thing. It looks like an unsafe car to drive on a city street anyways. Good for car collectors or a museum.
I keep trying to figure where the golf clubs go? I loved your reaction when you accidentally beeped the horn. I find it hard to tell your frustrated mood from your interested one. There is a car culture because you cannot ride in the winter. I enjoy hearing you think. I love rebellion and going against the status quo. Thanks..I am at work smiling watching this..
i've been wanting one of these since i was a kid and they were new. yes, it's a glorified golf cart. yes, it's weird as hell. yes, it's totally craptastic. and yes, after all that, i still want one.
I'm sorry it didn't work out so well. But I do enjoy watching your projects.
So sorry things went so wrong. Wow! But it happens to us all. Have a nice day!
What plastic filler rod did you use on the cracks? Cleaned up pretty nice exterior-wise, hope somebody buys it! If it weren't for my lack of funds and my two VW Bugs languishing over ten years now, I'd be interested. Old flimsy cars are a hassle, eh? Glad it didn't burn down the building!
ABS 3d printing filament
When everything goes to hell, there's nothing more satisfying for the bruised soul than to simply say, "Fuck this shit!"
Never give up.. i pray 4 u..
I remember when they came out, as my grandmother wanted to buy one.
You should probably use methyl hydrate to wipe down bare steel. It's very likely that water will get trapped under the paint.
Rinoa, you did a great job on trying to fix what was a basket case to begin with. These cars were not great when they were new. Made VERY cheap. Like a Porta John on wheels.
Basket case? Obviously you've never seen one of those. Didn't you see her driving it around the property?
I like the little title reference
I’m sorry you got frustrated. It looks like a great restore project. The plastic welding was clever. The video edits to speed up, cut and trim the clips makes good sense.
It kind of reminded me of the shape of the Star Trek shuttle craft minus the tail. If the doors of the vehicle could be hinged to open downward to the bottom of the vessel and become a stepping platform ramp, it would be cool.
I think it’s restoration has potential. Hopefully you can find a buyer that sees its value as nostalgia or other transformed art.
👌💪🏽😃✅
Glad to see a video on the Citicar. Sorry that you're not interested in it. It's kind of an odd ball car so finding parts and schematics will be difficult for it. This is a fitting end for it though! Car culture can be dumb sometimes I've always liked trucks though.
She had the schematics. Didn't you hear her say that?
had to rewatch :)
I feel a bit bad, I kind of pushed for this video.
Good luck selling it
yeah i might just set my account to auto-delete every comment that mentions the citicar after this. i get reminded of the fucking thing twice a week for years, then i waste a week making a video and it probably wont get hardly any views. lol
and who are you to tell me what gets good views? this citicar doesnt bring in the views. my rocket project does though.
lol i find your account name more funny than anything. but what i mean is there are other series i do that rake in much more views. my tool restorations tend to, especially that chainsaw restoration im still working on.
that sucks your friend had a hard time at the auto shop, sometimes its a good idea to move away in cases like that.
You can always use Old Laptop batteries. You can get them from some Junkyard for pretty cheap.
When the steering column wires broke off at 24:20, you should have insulated them from each other with vinyl electrical tape. Some are carrying battery power, some are grounds. They were probably touching together and shorted. There should be fuses to keep the magic smoke inside, but it may have been hacked by someone else before you, and bypassed.
Feel free to ship it up to Washington!
Look into the electric controller from an electric forklift that was made in the last 15 or so years There are lots of them that get junked when the batteries go bad. Usually 48 volts. Motors from them are usually a bit bigger too if you want to do some adapting
Oh and some like Raymond use a shunt field motor. You could probably get creative and make it regen
want be a lot of car to sell after this. hope you recuperate some fo the money tho. i was actually thinking on getting a modern Norwegian/danish version of this car to do a video series on myself do to you doing this car. the Kewit/Buddy car.
Well, the one Simone Giertz has actually looks fun to drive. I guess the trick is not to rip out half the controls while trying to steer. Maybe you just have too much upper body strength. :P
Is that thing actually worth anything as a collectible or for spare parts?
Simone has a Commuta Car, it was built far better in many ways. i originally wanted a Commuta Car and should have gone for what i wanted.
I'm not sure if these Citicars have any real value, but I've seen them popping up a lot in other restore projects lately...probably due to the "uniqueness" of it. They are pretty interesting imo, but I personally wouldn't pay a whole lot for one. 1970's electronics + 1970's Plastic = a whole lot of headaches. If you enjoy restoring for the fun of it I'd say go for it...just don't go expecting _too_ much for your time/money investment.
I wasn't aware there was more than one maker of that general type of electric car.
thing about the Citicar is that it was basically a project by some college kids who were given a huge ass investment of 5,000,000 and somehow sold 4,000 units (how) the car was built as cheaply as possible.
How much are you selling it for?
That is such a cool car haha
That is an odd set-up with the licence rules in Illinois. In the UK you can get a car or motorbike licence separately, not one being dependant on the other. Those CitiCars are curious things.
I think it's super-cool! Not a massive car fanboy either, but this one is kinda cute, it's got personality! And it's cool that it's an electric. Like a throwback from the past that is for the future. See if you can find someone to sell it to at the car show, better it goes to someone who loves it rather than hates it. ;) Edit: Lol, should've waited for the ending!
Have you seen Johnny Smiths Flux Capacitor? You can really have this car converted into something Awesome.!
Pity it didn't work out, but atleast you knew when to stop.
I was kind of expectingr that hammer to end up through something a tad more fragile than the steering wheel.
I feel your fustration
I have no car but, a Honda PCX 125 and tbh aside from long interstate trips it seems fine for almost every other possible transit task at a lower cost than a car would. I like cars but, I don’t like waste and for most uses a car is just more than is needed so I find myself carless.
You don't have to share or analyse everything that's going on in your life. You are good
I dont think it's worth it to sell it how it is. It should be a fun project keep on working on it and keep the videos coming! Thanks!
not an option.
Rollie from the Las Vegas car cutom shop called Counts Customs has a citi car all customized its a really neat looking example the best maybe in the us
I noticed the Franklin County Ohio tag. That'd put it in Columbus, Ohio originally, so the I love OSU sticker is an old Ohio State University sticker.
If it looks like a wedge of rotten cheese, it's probably not going to be a good thing... :P
Simone Giertz calls her car "Cheese Louise".
It is scary when you only just miss someone who dicided it would be a great idea to cross while you are driving along mear meters away.
Can of worms, great plastic repair with the soldering iron. Good rant, keep making video's.
Awesome
nerdy woman has a unique electric car, tries to restore it, gets pissed off, hits things and cusses
How much do you want for it?
3500$ would be nice
this car is too funny, i was cried
Heat guns are perhaps applied to the bases of spoons.
The older I get the more I think cars area a PITA and I like my motorcycle and bicycle more.
I hope you get someone to buy the Citicar from you. It seems the time to cut your loss.
My buddy, Rob Beaumont's dad's, or grandfather's company built those I think.
It's 45 years old. Have you considered a museum? ;-)
my dad has that same bag from the mcdonnel douglas days
... how much did you pay for it? I might be able to buy it off you with my collage wages.
id like to get 3000$ for it at the least
... dont wait on it but i think i might be able to scrounge up that much and the gas to get to illinois to get it. That car is rediculous and i love it! Completely under stand where you are comming from on the bike thing. After riding a moped for so long cars aee just annoying... unless its this... then i want it because it is electiric and that is how i chose to live my life.
I wish you well. :)
In the future screw the steering wheel shaft nut off until it is flush with the end of the shaft. Tap the nut with a hammer and the steering wheel will pop up off the spline. 😉
Ya know, I was thinking how you could get this car done and have fun doing it. Assemble a group of UA-cam followers with mechanical skills of various types. Plan one day from 6am to 6am. 24 hours. In that time task everything out like they did in some of the old discovery shows like monster garage. Ten people x 24 hours that's 240 man hours in a single day. You don't have that much work, so you can still find time for a pizza and a cold beer at the end of the day. You could do a series or just a super long video. Either way, im pretty sure you can pull this off. I would be willing to help and bring some stuff you might find useful to the build. There would be a little planning involved but why not? Projects like this give everyone involved a new skill set at the end of it all and you get a fun little car out of it as well as some new experiences.
Think it over. I bet we could even raise some cash for it. We have the midwest energy show in Amherst Wisconsin and i know a few of the guys that run it. I bet they would sponsor something like this, especially if you made an appearance with it. Hmm. Not sure how you feel about this but hey, just a thought.
Cheers
I gather by your title that you've enjoyed the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Another selling point is that there is an interest on UA-cam to restore and upgrade that car. If a UA-camr buys it, plug their channel. I'd subscribe to them.
24:45 lol the car is like 40 years old!
But that's the shitty American engineering!!!
First thing I would have done was yanke out all the wiring and batteries and youth parts from a high powered electric bike kit to re motorized it.
sell it to ageing wheels if you still have it :D he loves funky electric cars ;D
and yeah restoring old cars takes a lot of stamina ;)
I spoke to you a few months back about buying it you never gave me a price. Have you thought about a number yet? I'm still interested
3500$
Rinoa Super-Genius did you figure out what exactly let the smoke out? Just now seen the end of the video
think it was the charger, but then i shorted out the battery accidentally by dropping the seatbelt under the seat and thats what killed the electrical.
"I ❤️ OSU"