Some of those old cars can be really heavy. This means they can probably handle the battery weight, but bad because they take a ton of energy to get rolling. On the other hand if you go for regenerative braking. You’ll get more back. I say go for it. Old cars have great style and romance. You can sell the parts you strip out to car collectors, so they won’t go to waste.
Almost all very old cars have horrible aerodynamics, which will cut the range for an EV conversion about in half. Yes it’s that bad. It’s still better than burning fuel though… Usually you don’t drive these cars to cross the country, so 8 this they are great candidates for a conversion, actually.
People have swapped newer engines into old cars forever, this is essentially the same thing.
Have you weighed a modern car?
Ironically, most modern cars don’t weigh significantly less than their forbears - they’ve just swapped what the weight is used for.
So plastic bumpers weigh a lot less, but now there are 42 airbags and their controls, air-conditioning, power steering, power windows, power mirrors, remote gas/trunk/hood release, tire sensor systems, tilt steering wheel, and power brakes are nearly standard since the 90’s, adding a couple hundred pounds. Then there’s the massive strengthening of the A/B/C pillars for rollover safety (notice how modern cars have major blind spots in the front from those pillars compared to even a 1980’s car).
And today nearly all cars are AWD (perhaps 500lbs), and then things like power seats, heated seats/steering wheel, folding rear seats, even battery cooling (seriously, I’ve seen Honda add a cooling fan for the battery, apparently the compact space doesn’t permit enough airflow, so there’s a fan, a sensor, ducting, and controls).
Some weight examples:
2020 Ford Taurus curb weight: 4000 lbs.
1974 Ford Maverick (4 door) curb weight: 2800 lbs 1974 Ford LTD: 4277 lbs (a larger and more spacious car than a Taurus).
BTW, the Taurus weighs about as much as a mid-size pickup such as the Toyota Tacoma @ 4200lbs or the Honda Ridgeline @ 4436 lbs.
This isn’t a complaint, just an observation that franky surprised me when I randomly looked into it recently.
Unit-body construction saw extensive growth through the 60’s and 70’s, so pre-60 cars may weigh more, though I haven’t done much research into it yet. Those vehicles had fewer amenities (like heat!), so it’s hard to compare.
yeah, it will end up being like a F150 Lightning or a Hummer. HUGE amounts of battery packs and super inefficient - but still totally feasible. Just expensive.
Don’t count on regen braking to help you, because the distance you need to brake in (eg. coming to a red light) doesn’t change, but thr distance it takes to brake increases, so you’ll end up relying on your real brakes a lot more. If you had unlimited distance to stop in, then you’d be right.
In any case, it’s still a fantastic idea, especially as batteries keep getting denser and cheaper.
I feel that any of those downsides, plus any number of unknown ones are possible if you tried to convert an ICE car to EV. If that type of conversion were common, I don’t think that would be a problem to the customer though. These would be cars built decades ago with gas engines in mind, they aren’t intended to work at peak efficiency with the realities of an electric engine, and that’s not the point. I think the point is you can breathe new life into older cars. I would love to have an EV old school jeep wagoneer. That would be amazing
SuperfastMatt on youtube has gone over exactly all the subjects you’ve covering in a fairly 3/4 assed (and humorous) way while actually tesla swapping a 1950 Jaguar Mk5 (the ugly one…). It’s a pretty entertaining watch, as are his other builds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxxaHYlCuN8&list=PLoTU9_iCGa6i_C38pwQyg0pBGoov76NNv&index=1
I personally think it’s a great idea, but you’re gonna get a lot of pushback from petrol purists, especially if you do it on something rare. Maybe don’t do it on a Ferrari GT250 for example because you will get murdered. I like to emphasize that this isn’t a threat from me, it’s a warning to be careful. I’d actually love to see the reactions. From a safe distance of course.
I mean, why not? It’s a great way to keep something old and loved going in a more useful and environmentally friendly way. Go for it.
i would kill for an ev converted miata na or countache.
It wouldn’t be my first choice but it’s unique, it’s more interesting than the generic small block Chevy that ends up in a lot of these cars.
No problem with them, but one thing I’ve seen that can be an issue is accounting for how you distribute the weight of the batteries in the vehicle. Newer evs are generally in a skateboard (along the bottom of the car) configuration or lengthwise, where a transmission tunnel would otherwise be. In a lot of older vehicles conversions, they just hook an electric motor to whatever transmission is already there, meaning you are generally putting the batteries where the engine would be, or in the trunk. If you are putting a lot in (usually required because they are less aerodynamic), the weight can affect how the car handles negatively. There are only a few cars that don’t really seem to have that problem, and that’s because there were other spaces on the car. The best one in my mind for it is the Porsche (or VW depending on how you view it) 914, and there already have been a few conversations of them (the fuel tank is right in front of the drivers feet, so you can just drop batteries there and in the back where the engine used to be).
If my convertible astra (which I posted here) ever fucks its engine beyond reasonable repair I think I’ll consider an electric motor with the OG transmission. Especially since those engines might be hard to get then.
If you have a relatively common old timer, don’t need ot to be 100% factory original and the power train is FUBAR then converting it to electric will make it fun and unique. Imagine an old rolls or a caddy taking off like a rocket with just a hum.
definitely want to convert to direct drive though… I think you’d shred an OG transmission with the amount of torque an electric motor can produce
Yea, once I posted that comment I realized that.
I saw a VW Beetle which had been converted to EV. The owner seemed very happy with it.
