(ET) Dragging the wrecked E15 out of the weeds again

[Chris Zach <cz alembic crystel com>]

So a couple of years ago my spare tractor (an E15 that was junked by 
someone else for *very* good reasons) overcharged the BB600's and blew 
up. I parked it for about 3 years, then this spring dragged it up, 
replaced the bearings on the E15 motor, and have been looking at fixing 
it again as a spare slow tractor.

What a mess. This one spent about 20 years in a leaf pile and the frame 
was literally rotted in the back so badly I had to weld on angle irons 
to support the rear wheel. I just checked it, and while the frame is 
still intact the wires from the battery box that run next to the belts 
literally had the insulation falling off.

Total mess. Also for whatever reason the motor was hung with 3/8 inch 
bolts that do not go through the motor bracket. Did it use 5/16 bolts 
instead? I bought a pair of 6 inch 3/8 bolts so I could lift the motor 
up into the tractor without a jack, but that doesn't seem to work 
because the bolts are too big.

Once I get the motor up again I'll try hooking up some battery cells and 
see if the controller still works. I rebuilt it about 10 years ago when 
I got it, but sitting in the yard made it a nice home for mice. ...

C