1959 VW Beetle Conversion/Build Thread

[Daox]

Don't mind? This is what EM is all about. Thanks for sharing EV59rag.

[MetroMPG]

Wow - that's an interesting coupler approach! It's cheap and creative. Did you spin the motor with only it in place? Is it vibration free (well centered)?

[Clev]

I'm confused. The sprocket was a part of the original ICE setup, or did you buy it just to have the keyed hole in the center?

[ev59rag]

Hi Clev, when I bought the car, it did not come with the engine and no clutch assembly. Thats why I bought the used clutch disc from swap meet.

MetroMPG, I cannot take the credit for it. I just saw it from Electric-Lemon. It was a very clever approach. He did a very nice job. Unfortunately, I dont have a lathe machine (so cannot remove the teeth) and no drill press either So I cannot put the bolts through and through). So I decided to weld it instead with DIY stick weld (from 2 batteries in series). And with regards to being it centered. I dont think its center right now, but its ok since you can always re-center it by loosening the bolt/nut and re-tighten it... That's all in theory... Havent attached it all together, motor-coupler-transmission.

[ev59rag]

More progress report...

Chemical paint stripper, instead of sand blasting. Specially when working at night, I cant use the SB because of noise issues. The neighbors might complain. Working on the dashboard here.


Removing the rusted through metal on the driver side door.


And after removing...


On the rear part of the car, the part where you attach the rear bumper is rusted through also. I fabricated something similar to it. I think I got it close enough. Its not perfect though.


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[ev59rag]

On the EV side of the work, I had time to play around and worked on my battery mock-ups. I have decided that Im going to use those Costco/Kirkland deep cycle batteries for my first batch. I have good experienced with them before from my solar/wind energy setup so Im going to use them here again for my EV. I know, i know that they have totally different AH use and this will be not the perfect battery for EV. But right now, everything is still on the testing side, or what if side... Besides, Im planning to do a 72 volts x 2 set to bump up my AH to 230 to double the range in theory. I dont need the speed but I need the range. So 50mph for me is more than enough but I need at least 50 miles of range.

Here I am figuring out how to assemble/cut the boxes I got from our office storage.


I can fit 5 at the back so thats only 60 volts... So how fast is 60 volts? anybody? Why only 5 at the back? I was hoping I can retain the back seat for a stock look. We will see and besides I can also fit 5 on the front where the gas tank used to be.




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[Geebee]

Can you shoe horn a couple in the rear with the motor? I have seen that done before on Bug conversions.

[elhigh]

Have you looked at sealed batts to go under the rear seat, where the stock location is/was? Or maybe fitting a couple under the front seats? There's all kinds of places where you can stuff in a battery or two, and after that it's just a matter of running GREAT BIG CABLES.

Man this looks like a fun build.

Reading Hot VWs magazine, they talked about finding a solid 2mpg improvement by adding a small wing just below the rear window. It evidently helps keep airflow attached farther down the back of the car, and then give a clean separation. If you're not worried about keeping it looking stock and factory, you might want to do that too - mileage gains in gas are watt-hour/mile reductions in EV.

[ev59rag]

Geebee, you are correct, thats another option. Im just worried about the weight of the battery and I might not be able to support/fabricate it well.... I dont want it falling from the back and creating accident. But I think I will rethink this approach. Maybe my only option?

Elhigh, the battery Im using (already have) is a bit large and wont fit on the original location of the vw battery. It might also start fire because of the springs at the bottom of the seat accidentaly touching the battery (common mistake). Even if we prefab the location in such a way that we can even lower the battery to fit under there, battery is still its too high. I was thinking of maybe using a different battery brand size and AH for one set, and another one different for the second set. But Im worried about the different AH will screw up the overall total AH. This way if this is possible, then I can buy a smaller AH sealed battery for the inside cabin and ordinary deep cycle battery for the outside... We will see how that idea goes. I need to research more about different AH battery on a pack.


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