Getting Serious on Electric Cars?

[Jim Matthews]

There's a great deal of prognostication from people who can't see over their own past.

We are in the midst of a rapid change to electrification, and it's lead by commercial users.

Fleet conversions to EV drivetrains, with battery or Fuel Cell stacks are happening today, and on a surprisingly large scale.

https://insideevs.com/news/392555/vi...livery-trucks/

https://www.carsforsale.com/ford-tra...r-sale-C137302

https://lightningemotors.com/

[Steve Demuth]

Really weird because that was a thought i had after passing a four door parked on the street in town the other day. We had Corvairs when I was a young kid...multiple trips to Florida for a family of four, even. They would make for a very interesting project vehicle for this kind of thing.

How about a 70s era Opel: https://www.motherearthnews.com/gree...n-zmaz79jazraw

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Any body remember the Sparrow. I used to see a few around DC 20 years ago. A buddy tells me there is still one being used to commute into DC every day. Electric lightweight 3 wheel motorcycle with a body and driver compartment.

[Jim Becker]

Lots of older cars get a new fuel injected v8, computer controlled automatic transmission, power brakes, power steering and air conditioning and a chrome plated jaguar independent rear axle. Seems like an electric motor with attached transaxle might be an easier swap.
.

Honestly, the drive train is likely the easiest part of the conversion, within reason. The larger challenge is to locate the batteries unobtrusively as much as possible as well as to insure that the weight of the same is accounted for appropriately. Of course, for "show" vehicles, range is less of a concern, so battery space can be conserved more than with a vehicle intended for daily, regular use where range is more important.

[Jim Becker]

How about a 70s era Opel: https://www.motherearthnews.com/gree...n-zmaz79jazraw

Yet another good example of a worthy project.

Interestingly, one of the series authors I read has a character who drives around the country in an electrified 1000hp older Mustang....actually "driving" isn't the best word sometimes. "Flying" is more like it, at least in the story lines. The fact that it's totally silent and matte black plays a role in the storylines, too, sneaking up on or hiding from the "bad guys".

[Jim Matthews]

How about a 70s era Opel: https://www.motherearthnews.com/gree...n-zmaz79jazraw

1979?

That's hilarious.

[Art Mann]

You can do all sorts of things if money is no object. I once was involved in the adaptation of an electronic instrument cluster from a 1980's Chrysler Lebaron into a 1930's hot rod. It took several engineers a few man-days to get the job done. The guy could never have afforded to do that on his own. This was a group of friends in an engineering office doing the work for free. The vehicle itself only bore a visual resemblance to the original vehicle. The drivetrain was modern. All of my comments are trying to answer the question of whether an electric crate motor can be used to adapt an older vehicle to modern utilitarian service in a cost effective manner. My opinion is still no.

Lots of older cars get a new fuel injected v8, computer controlled automatic transmission, power brakes, power steering and air conditioning and a chrome plated jaguar independent rear axle. Seems like an electric motor with attached transaxle might be an easier swap.
Bill D.
Link included just to show wood working in the automotive world.

[Jim Becker]

Art, I suspect that a big part of the intent of those electrification kits is just that...for when money isn't a factor.

[Steve Demuth]

1979?

That's hilarious.

I remember reading that when it was published and discussing with a mechanic friend doing the same conversion on an early 50s Chevy 3/4ton pickup. The engine compartment on those things was huge, and the tranny mostly under the cab, so we figured we could easily fit enough batteries in. Didn't do it though. I had more ideas than money, or time, in those days.

Of course that's a hybrid-electric conversion, not a true electric conversion. Battery tech wasn't close to dense enough to get decent range out of a full electric back then. That kind of torque in that little Opel must have been awesome though.

[Kev Williams]

I love the sound of loud V8's. And V-twins. I put side pipes on most of the cars I owned in my younger day, those that didn't get sidepipes got drivelines welded to cut-in-half Cherry Bombs and hung next to the pumpkin. My old Sportster has straight pipes. Both the wife's Mustang GT Convertibles, soon as I was able they got louder mufflers. Our Chaparral 262ssi bowrider had sidepipes. I've been working on a true dual sidepipe setup for my F-250..

So what's someone like me supposed to do about a 1000 hp car that will assault my ears with nothing but road noise and body rattles?

[Jim Becker]

Kev...I suspect that digital audio is your friend. And the sample will always sound exactly how you want it to when you stomp on the skinny pedal and send those extra electrons coursing through the multiple motors which in turn will put you deep into your seat from the G-force of raw acceleration that's available from those motors. There's a reason that a healthy percentage of "supercars" are going all electric. And it isn't noise related.

[Doug Garson]

I love the sound of loud V8's. And V-twins. I put side pipes on most of the cars I owned in my younger day, those that didn't get sidepipes got drivelines welded to cut-in-half Cherry Bombs and hung next to the pumpkin. My old Sportster has straight pipes. Both the wife's Mustang GT Convertibles, soon as I was able they got louder mufflers. Our Chaparral 262ssi bowrider had sidepipes. I've been working on a true dual sidepipe setup for my F-250..

So what's someone like me supposed to do about a 1000 hp car that will assault my ears with nothing but road noise and body rattles?

Save a fortune on hearing aids in your later years?

[Doug Garson]

Can anyone explain the physics behind the 75 mpg Opel hybrid? You are still using a gasoline engine as the only source of power. Is there that much efficiency gain from running the gas engine at fixed (assume most efficient ) rpm plus regenerative braking? Or do they not include gas burned to charge the batteries when the car isn't moving?

[Mike Henderson]

Can anyone explain the physics behind the 75 mph Opel hybrid? You are still using a gasoline engine as the only source of power. Is there that much efficiency gain from running the gas engine at fixed (assume most efficient ) rpm plus regenerative braking? Or do they not include gas burned to charge the batteries when the car isn't moving?

Is that mph or mpg? Seems like 75mph wouldn't be hard.

[I went and looked at the original post. It's mpg. I doubt if they honestly get 75mpg out of that. They have a 100 amp 12 volt generator. That's 1200VA (or Watts). A perfect HP is about 750 watts so that system can produce about 1.6 HP if there were no losses. A more honest HP is about 1,000 watts so that system would produce just a bit more than 1HP. Once you depleted the batteries you aren't going to be traveling very fast.]

It's probably even worse because there are losses in the electric motor. The mechanical power out will be lucky to get 1HP.

It looks like the batteries are connected in series so maybe the generator is 48 volts. That would give them 4800VA, which would give them 6.4 perfect HP or more likely about 5HP. But the gasoline motor is only 5HP so with losses, the output from the generator is probably more like 4HP. After going through the cables and the losses in the motor, you'd be lucky to get 3HP to the wheels.

When they publish something like that article on the Opel, you wonder if anyone (writer or editor) can do just a bit of mathematics when evaluating the claims before publishing it.

Mike

[Doug Garson]

Is that mph or mpg? Seems like 75mph wouldn't be hard.

[I went and looked at the original post. It's mpg. I doubt if they honestly get 75mpg out of that.]

Mike

oops typo mpg I'll edit thanks Mike