A stock '04 Prius, with many of the covers and panels removed to show all the wires and workings that most people never see, coupled with two days of discussion and making lots of info available. Each image shown here is a link to the fullsize version.
[It was while poking around under here that I discovered
the problem
with the starter-motor blockoff plate cutting into one of the critical
electrical harnesses. Most '04+ Priuses apparently have this issue.]
Most of this stuff simply snaps away, with relatively few bolts and
screws involved.
But it is still prudent to remember which fasteners go with which parts!
The panels and parts that came out of the car eventually made a fairly
impressive pile in the basement, where they remained for the weekend.
Meanwhile, a clear cover substituted for the normal aluminum inverter
cover so people could see what's in there but not touch the Holy Bus Bars...
and the front cowling piece was reassembled [sans plastic garnish] so it
could be quickly unbolted as a single unit on-site. And just as quickly
bolted back in if it rained, since it's also the gutter for water off
the windshield. Fortunately, the promised rainy Saturday from Ophelia
did not materialize -- dark and threatening and idiotically humid most of
the day, but the actual rain held off which was absolutely fabulous.
At the show, the wiper assembly doubled as a convenient way to display
the sign. Prominently using words such as "naked" and "free" and "sex"
and "beer" are a sure way to catch eyeballs, right?.
But in this crowd, so is having many scary parts hanging out, and the whole
front of the car festooned with paper containing geeky information and
cutaway pictures. And I was sandwiched in right next to the Toyota tent...
In the back, I had lots of techie handouts available as well as the
battery box exposed with another clear cover over the relay area. [And
a small essay about finding a productive job in
energy-related industry, but that apparently was too subtle]
And of course most of the dash ripped apart, showing not only the gauge
cluster and prototyping area but one could also peek underneath to see some
of the connection taps into the ECUs. I also had plenty of in-depth
resources on hand such as the Techinfo service manual on the laptop, and fun
theoretical references such as "Art of Electronics" and "Electric Machinery".
And it was *hoppin'* for two days straight. I spent the entire time
ranting Prius innards to people, answering questions, giving workshops
on hints for better mileage, handing out paper, trying to not stumble all
over myself while on camera, and telling countless people "no, this one
doesn't have extra battery packs" to answer what had to be the number one
question of the weekend.
The simple widget to explain torque balance in the driveline, as stupid
as it looks, was actually quite handy.
At the end of the show came the BIG surprise. I knew something was up when
the announcement called my vehicle up to the top of the hill and I had to
scramble around and get it off the ramps and moved up near a few others
at the awards table. They called me at the very end, because evidently
the Naked Prius had taken the "peoples' choice" Best In Show, by a fairly
large margin!
The day after I returned from the show, the car was completely back
together, even down to that silly plastic radiator cover. Nothing missing,
left over, or broken. The whole experience was a bit of work, but
well worth it.