Hi All,
I have not finalised the detail of my EV project build yet or got the car. I was originally thinking something JAP, an MX5, MR2 or RX8. However my ideal would be a TVR, it won't be my Griff unless I win the lottery, as I would want to do a car like that justice giving it high power with at least as much Torque as standard with the V8.
Converting my Trev (TVR) is way above my budget currently, so after talking with a handful of very helpful conversations with conversion companies and realising I can't afford it, I will be going the DIY route.
Now my skills of electrical engineering are frankly to be frowned upon, so I've got a hell of a lot of learning and favours to call upon.
First things first I need to find a car, I'm thinking a TVR 280i Wedge (Ford V6), they were about 160 BHP and 160 Torque lbft. So a basic electric motor would give a similar and better performance. The good news is I found a company that does the adapter plate for these, although I will price up locally first. I just need to work out if the space for batteries is good enough. I don't need boot space, however I don't want batteries round my ears.
I will do a video diary on Youtube as well to update you all. Links will follow.
If you think you can help please let me know.
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What's happening with the TVR Wedge-E ??? I hear you cry!
Well it is happening and it is in progress, however rather than put out a load of random videos willy nilly, I'm going to get most of the conversion done, then put the videos out in a timely matter.
The plan is to start releasing the videos before Christmas if the progress is good with the build, however with delays on plenty of things at the moment don't hold your breath.
In the meantime I will be getting out there reporting on exciting events that have EV conversions or modified EV's and finding trusted companies that can help you build or modify your car.
A sneak peak of what is coming.....
......... SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL SO YOU DONT MISS IT !!!
Right I'm going for number 2, hopefully I can keep my clothes on though, keep tuned on the videos on Youtube which I will also add to the Chargehead Videos section
Sooooo. It feels like an age since I last posted an update on this, if anyone reading this has already seen my youtube video feed they will know the current situation.
Basically I bought a TVR 350i Wedge and it needs a bit of work, however the price was doable. The chassis and underneath are in good shape and the body was good bar a few bits to sort, it was just the engine management that needed attention and the inside.
I was thinking if it wasn't right space wise for the batteries and motor I would fix the engine management and tart up the inside and sell anyway so could get out of it worst case without too much financial loss.
I had a conversion company come to look at the car while it was up in the air at Northampton Motorsport to check space for batteries and the motor. Although tesla batteries weren't an option due to the size I was informed 20 Calb battery modules would fit comfortably where the fuel tank was which would give circa 140 mile range, this was great news. I wanted a decent power build for the TVR something like a small Tesla drive unit which he said may well be doable using the original prop shaft and rear diff. However since then I have spoken to them and for reasons to I need to confirm only a large drive unit will be suitable.
Now a very kind person on Youtube highlighted a video of a 280i Wedge essentially same car as mine bar the engine snapping a driveshaft on a drag strip
He highlighted that only the later V8 wedges had a strengthened chassis and that even a Netgain Hyper 9 electric motor might be too powerful without upgrading components. So that was a bit of a spanner in the works.
I'm now having a bit of a quandary now....do I:
1. Go ahead and go Hyper 9 with the original gearbox with a potential need for strengthening.
2. Full steam ahead for the full fat option small or large Tesla drive unit and start selling my body to pay for all the strengthening work needed.
3. Cut my losses and get the car back on the road keep ICE MOT and sell on. Then find a different car.
Let's see....
Yes, no problem to putting them on. My Elise can be found on www.evalbum.com/1454 but is rather out of date now. My Vortex was in the Kit Car mag in 2013 and both have done the "RAC's Future Car Challenge" event of 2010 to 2012 until it was cancelled.
I agree with the forward vision on the Cerbera, I sat in one and found it like looking through a letterbox. My Griffith is certainly a handful but i like that it keeps me on my toes. Car prices have certainly gone up, the skyline i had i sold for circa £3k is worth £10k now 😫. I'm going to vlog my EV journey and aspects of EV conversions including already working ones. When lockdown is finished, subject to social distancing and keeping safe, would you be interested in showing your EV's on the channel?
Hi, I am in the Leicestershire area.
Before the Vortex build, I purchased a Cerbera and drove it in ICE form for a while.
I hated driving it. It handled awful and the forward vision was lousy. Luckily I sold it for a profit.
The Elise though is a superb drive and better in EV form. The gearbox was like stirring a pudding and is now locked in 3rd I think. I'm using an ex Ford Ranger Siemens motor (of which I have a couple spare) and Siemens 6SV traction inverters specifically designed for cars which date from 1995. Very advanced for their time with built in DC-DC power supplies but unobtainable now.
The Elise cost me £7,000 in 2007 but you can't buy a written off one for that price now. Wish I had bought a stash of them then.
Regarding batteries on the Elise which is a small car. I have most in the luggage area at the rear, 30 cells in the petrol tank which is accessed underneath and there is space in the front area which I used with my first set of cells (they are smaller now) for another ten or so. You can hide around 100 50 or 60Ah cells which gives a range of at least 60 miles.
Thanks Russ this is really helpful and I would love to hear more about your EV's when you have time. Its interesting the way you put the space, rectangular space. I know that it might be a struggle with the TVR the way the structure of the car is made up. I just need to get one on a ramp and go from there i think. I also need to have a word with Electrogenic as they are currently doing a cerbera which is similar in design, however much bigger, so i would guess easier to find space to fit the batteries. Lots to think about. Its funny you mention the vans a friend whatsapped me yesterday to say he had one of those Ford Vans in for brakes. Where are you based?
Hi,
I have built a Lotus Elise EV (2008) and Vortex GTEV (2012) from a kit along with a Ducati based EV bike so have a bit of an idea about building an EV.
The main thing you must ensure is that the car to be converted must have as much rectangular space as possible for the batteries.
There are many different dimentions of cells so once you have the space (or spaces as you can split the cells in to more than one bank), you can choose the supplier and format of the cells.
Running an EV is very inexpensive but building one isn't.
They are expensive to build and you can save money on the drive motor and electronics but buy the best batteries you can afford. The drive unit is easy to change but batteries on an EV will make or break the driveability of it. The BMS (battery monitoring system) is another essential part. I can recomment Orion as both my cars have them.
Do not even consider keeping the clutch and the gearbox will not need 5 gears, just one which is probably 3rd or 4th. Electric motors have no problem pulling away in those ratios.
These days I would recommend using a drive unit such as Leaf or possibly a Tesla. I have used a drive unit Ford were using on their Connect EV vans from Azure Dynamics which still may be available from the odd supplier on Ebay.
Just a few words to start you off. I will add my profile later to the site.
Cheers
Russ