Electric Classic Cars

[rturbo 930]

I don't really like the idea, but I saw this electric 240z on another forum a few years back. Probably some good info in there for ya. http://ampeater.wordpress.com/

[Wschnitz]

If you do this give me your E30. It is teh sex.

[Threehz]

Upon finishing the Mk1 conversion, I would probably track the E30 till the M42 burns out then convert it to electric as well.

Orrrrr, I would sell you the E30 and convert a 2002 to EV ;)

[JasonC]

Came into this thread to expect talk about classic cars. But only to see talk about a 80s VW. That's not a classic by any means lol. Also about tje powerglide, if you want to run slower yet. Put it in, cause it will make a car with 350hp turn into a slug.

[lcoleman]

If your budget for the electric bits is $10K, you will have a bunch of shitty lead-acid batteries the need pretty frequent replacement, poor range, and add at least 1,000 lbs to the curb weight. Li-Ion is the only way to go, but it would cost at LEAST double your budget to do it properly.

[Wschnitz]

Upon finishing the Mk1 conversion, I would probably track the E30 till the M42 burns out then convert it to electric as well.

Orrrrr, I would sell you the E30 and convert a 2002 to EV ;)

Keep me in the loop. I want dat m42 ness.

[Threehz]

Yeah I'm definitely thinking about going with LiFePO4 batteries, but I won't have a real good idea of how many batteries I'll need until I figure out the efficiency that the Mk1 will allow.

I'll get a better estimate once I dig deeper into this project.

[der affe]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/6341395...7616022640205/

http://www.elitepowersolutions.com/buildev-part6.html

Google Gene Cosmano, he was local and had over 200,000 k electric miles on his VW rabbit truck. He also wrote a lot of articles and help tons of people do electric conversions.

Unfortunately, he passed away in Feb of this year, but there is still a ton of his info out there on the web.

[lcoleman]

I used to work for a company that distributed the Elite Power Solutions packs...it's definitley the way to go, but lithium is a bit more of a headache than lead-acid. Still say if you want decent performance and range you'll be dropping 10K+ on just the batteries.

[shoup]

I converted my E30 to electric and love it for commuting to work. I have autocrossed it and was a few seconds off the gas guys. I started with lead acid batteries so my range is ~25 miles. Only spent 8K on it though including the car. I will do lithium as soon as this pack dies. Check it out:

EE30 Build

Lithium is going to cost you quite a bit for a 60mile range. It will probably be in the 15K+ range when you factor in the battery management/monitoring system that you should have for lithium.

[u3b3rg33k]

Big Willy, I'm still debating that.. I like the idea of having the regular transmission, but a popular route to go is throwing in an old Chevy powerglide transmission. I haven't done enough research on what different transmissions options are available to say yet.

If it were up to me I would go with in-hub/wheel motors, but there is only one company who is realistically offering that, and they're not offering it to those looking to do one-off conversions, not to mention their pricing is outrageous. Once in-wheel motors become more mainstreamed and perfected that will be the route to go in my opinion because it saves an incredible amount of weight by eliminating the drivetrain.

You're converting to electric and even considering a slushbox? are you for real? Also don't forget that putting a motor in a wheel means you're adding a substantial amount of unsprung weight. FWD drivetrains sans engine aren't all that heavy - the trans from our old rabbit could be picked up by a single man.

I used to work for a company that distributed the Elite Power Solutions packs...it's definitley the way to go, but lithium is a bit more of a headache than lead-acid. Still say if you want decent performance and range you'll be dropping 10K+ on just the batteries.

At this point I would not consider an electric vehicle with lead acid batteries. 450lbs of deep cycle batteries in a GEM will get you around 30 miles of range. figuring your car will weigh twice as much, lets call it 20 miles. you're talking about 1350lbs of batteries to get you 60 miles. that's ridiculous. 2700lbs to get you 120 miles at speeds where wind resistance isn't a big influence. that's like flat towing a race e30 around behind you all the time, plus the weight of your car.

Also, the further you draw down a lead acid battery, the shorter it's life - deep cycle or not. if you wanted to go with a low power density durable battery, look at Nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) batteries. terrible power density, and internal leakage worthy of note, but at least they have virtually no penalty for repeated deep discharging.

LiFePO4 should be where you look first - unless you want to build a tank. as for the motor I'd suggest a liquid cooled (keeps road crap out of the motor) brushless 3 phase motor mated to your trans via an adapter plate.


Take a look at this:

http://ev.gearboxmagazine.com/2010/08/06/bob-simpson%E2%80%99s-bmw-325i/

and this:

http://www.evdrive.com/

[Bimmerguy91]

My friend just completed his fully electric 944 build

[mrsleeve]

Enjoy adding yet another layer of record keeping and tax paying if this passes your states houses. It may not end up saving you as much as you think it will. Pay up too a 1.43 cents a mile so you may have to keep track and proof of paid road use taxes to the state in your car to the tune of 172 bucks a year for the average 12k miles traveled. Its going to cost you about 3 times more in taxes than if you drive gas, as the state rate on gas is 18 cents a gallon or a .5 cents a mile on gas powered rabbit getting 32mpg. You will save money yes, but it may not be all honeysuckle and dew drops either, especially if you dont have proof of taxes paid and log of miles driven, ask the WVO/Home brew Bio diesel guys that have gotten poked .

http://legiscan.com/gaits/view/358635

[Threehz]

Although this thread is completely off the original purpose, thank you guys so much!

LiFePO4 is the battery type I'm most considering using. I've reduced my original range desire to 40 miles to reduce initial costs, and I can always add more batteries if the need arises.

I should only need about 10Kwh worth of batteries to get me 40 miles of travel, no? That costs about $7,000 for LiFePO4 batteries with that much capacity. The weight of those all together is only 324 lbs as well.

Thanks for the motor advice ub3rg33k, that is one area I have barely begun to research.

These EVDrive motors and controllers look beautiful with a price to match haha. Definitely will be looking for something cheaper.

[kalib0y]

I hate prius.
I would drive a tesla
I would also drive this.

I'll leave this here.

this is awesome! thanks for sharing