Everyday car conversion to BEV

daivid

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

I have concerns about the engineering of some of these electric conversions.  One lot were advertising a Morris Minor convertible which had had its engine ripped out and replaced with an electric motor generating ten times the torque.  No regard appeared to have been paid to the chassis, suspension, structural integrity or brakes.  The weight distribution would also have been radically altered, in ways which the Morris engineers would not have accounted for.  The thing was a death trap, in my opinion.  

Possibly doubly alarming as there was a trend for cutting the roofs off the standard saloons which even with the original 45bhp engines produced a whole lot of unnatural body movement. I would sincerely hope brakes and suspension were upgraded in the conversion, we upgraded our Morris Minor with a Ford brake kit which makes it a much better car to drive (thats without any extra power or torque). 

As the only information I've found so far is from conversion companies, articles based on quotes from conversion co.s and shows (I believe the same mentioned earlier on quest) about… ..conversion co.s there is the risk of positively spin.

Anyhow the reason I'm interested is that currently only 1 electric car meets my requirements and it is the best part of £100k. Second hand versions will take a long time to come into budget (and may be a risky purchase by that point). I'll keep running my ICE car until doing so is uneconomic, which could be months or could be years. I'd like my next car to be BEV. Looking online a few months ago I saw a ICE car with supposedly good body and interior (I didn't inspect in person) but major engine problems for £700. If as described it would have been a promising donor to be converted (professionally) and for significantly less than £100k would have given me a BEV that could meet my requirements. Now I don't for one second believe it would be as good as a £100k BEV, but if it did what I need it may have been just as good for me. This is not really an MSE decision for me, as the most economical car for me currently is my petrol ICE, and unless things have changed greatly when I need to replace it buying a newer (still second hand) similar car will still be the cheapest option.

Herzlos

daivid said:

Looking online a few months ago I saw a ICE car with supposedly good body and interior (I didn't inspect in person) but major engine problems for £700. If as described it would have been a promising donor to be converted (professionally) and for significantly less than £100k would have given me a BEV that could meet my requirements. Now I don't for one second believe it would be as good as a £100k BEV, but if it did what I need it may have been just as good for me. This is not really an MSE decision for me, as the most economical car for me currently is my petrol ICE, and unless things have changed greatly when I need to replace it buying a newer (still second hand) similar car will still be the cheapest option.

That sounds like it may be one of the cases where it's worth doing. What was the car?

If it was a fairly high end car that was scrapped because of engine problems, or something not really available in electric form, then it could be worth exploring. It'd probably cost double what you're expecting though.

Ibrahim5

If you want a car to consume your life and be a complete nightmare with stress and headaches and challenges and failures and possibly triumph and massive spending go for it. If you want an easy life just fill up your tank for £50.

Herzlos

Ibrahim5 said:

If you want a car to consume your life and be a complete nightmare with stress and headaches and challenges and failures and possibly triumph and massive spending go for it. If you want an easy life just fill up your tank for £50.

Fred, we know you dislike EV's for whatever reason, but the thing is no-one really cares. This thread isn't about whether or not he want's an EV or the merits of it, just if it's possible to convert it.

Stop spamming up every thread that mentions EV's with your nonsense.

troffasky

Ibrahim5 said:

If you want a car to consume your life and be a complete nightmare with stress and headaches and challenges and failures and possibly triumph and massive spending go for it. If you want an easy life just fill up your tank for £50.

I think you have misunderstood the point of this thread. The OP wouldn't have started this conversation if they were interested in "an easy life", although I am sure some snazzy youtube videos might mislead the viewer about how easy it is. Car modding and restoration is about passion for the hobby, not moneysaving, so perhaps it's the OP who is off-topic, not Ibrahim5

Herzlos

You can still do car modding and restoration in a money saving way, though. But yeah, it's not a hobby for the faint hearted!

NBLondon

Herzlos said:

That sounds like it may be one of the cases where it's worth doing. What was the car?

If it was a fairly high end car that was scrapped because of engine problems, or something not really available in electric form, then it could be worth exploring. It'd probably cost double what you're expecting though.

Complete non-expert here....    Other EV threads are suggesting that second-hand Leafs are on the market.  If that doesn't meet the need for e.g. size or seating reasons then I wonder how feasible it is to buy that and transplant the running gear into something else?   It would be a one-off and Herzlos is right - it will very probably end up costing more than the estimates.

ontheroad1970

troffasky said:

Ibrahim5 said:

If you want a car to consume your life and be a complete nightmare with stress and headaches and challenges and failures and possibly triumph and massive spending go for it. If you want an easy life just fill up your tank for £50.

I think you have misunderstood the point of this thread. The OP wouldn't have started this conversation if they were interested in "an easy life", although I am sure some snazzy youtube videos might mislead the viewer about how easy it is. Car modding and restoration is about passion for the hobby, not moneysaving, so perhaps it's the OP who is off-topic, not Ibrahim5

No, he hasn't misunderstood - this is Fred being Fred.  Coming in to a thread and pushing it off course.