Saving a pair of 875's

[mgas]

I have been playing with a flight simulator called Orbiter for the last 15 years or so. About 10 years ago I found a computer model of a little utility cart from somewhere and fell in love with it. I incorporated it into the Sim and put a boilerplate Mercury capsule on it. ( I know, Nerd...)

I recently started helping a friend at his small manufacturing business. I helped get a new CNC Plasma cutter, and am working on building a drawing system. He makes Street Sweeper trucks. One day while walking thru his yard, I bumped my knee on this yellow beauty. I couldn't believe it! I had walked right past it for three weeks and didn't see it under a pile of junk. I didn't know anything about Carts but I recognized it from the Sim and knew I had to have it. They were both next to each other on flat tires. Friend intercepted them heading to junkyard a few years ago while cleaning a property.

So after a week of playing with batteries, fixing tires, basic cleaning, lots of internet surfing, etc, I got to drive them both yesterday :) They both drove a few years ago but sitting in the Arizona heat and sun has taken its toll. Batteries in Yellow are shot. They won't go ever about 50% but it drove. Well, until the controller started acting up. I was told it used to do that so that's why it got parked. Apparently its intermittent. Let it sit a while and it will go another minute. When it quits, it just clicks. It gives 5-5 which apparently is bad Solenoid but reading online forums, it may go deeper. Its a Titan 48V B0708 so is apparently a 2008 model? It looks like someone drove it into a pole maliciously. My friend (business owner) is a master fabricator and he says he can fix the front damage or weld in some new diamond plate.

White needs some TLC but seems to run well and the batteries seem descent. They all still had water and were not completely dead. It charged right up. Its an XI-875A H2196 from data plate. I was told batteries came from a start-up solar operation and were only in service for a few months before going to the Cart and then it didn't get used. So they don't have many cycles but we'll see what time and the Arizona heat have done to them. I found two new tires and 2 descent used ones in another junk pile and put them on.

So what do I do? I was told I could have them both for the help I'm giving the business since I'm not getting paid ;) I want to restore the yellow one. I REALLY like the industrial look. White looks like the converted Golf Car it is and just doesn't really do for me like the Yellow one. I'm thinking clean the White one really well and sell it to fund the Yellow work. Yellow will need new batteries, probably a controller, seats, steering wheel, switches, tires, etc. Is it too much? Its a cool cart and I want it to look new. Since I need new batteries and probably controller, I've thought about converting it to 36V for weight savings and battery replacement costs. It will live an easy life of towing small airplanes and working charity events. I thought I would start with a new solenoid, resistor and diode and re-evaluate. Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions?

Scott