Aussie in lockdown, why not do an EV conversion!

[Staircase]

Hi all!

I've been lurking on this forum for a little while now, over in the EV conversion threads, but only just signing up. I wish I had stumbled upon this at the start of lockdown here in Melbourne, Australia when I had all the time in the world!
I currently rely on good ol pedal power but looking to try my hand at a cheap as possible EV conversion for a lil run around car.
Stoked to be here amongst what I've gathered to be some fantastic and very helpful people!

Looking forward to contributing to this great forum!

Alastair (Al)

[freebeard]

Welcome.

When you do, start a thread. All I've got right now is an electric axle/drivetrain (68hp 98lb). The controllers and chargers and batteries? Oh, my.

Do you have a donor vehicle?

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by freebeard

All I've got right now is an electric axle/drivetrain (68hp 98lb). The controllers and chargers and batteries? Oh, my.

What kind of motor you (not) running?

[freebeard]

ecomodder.com: Hot-rodding the Toyota MGR



That's it on the right.

[Stubby79]

Ah, forgot that thing! Guess I'll have to read to see what's happen(ed)(ing) with it.

If you had a DC motor, I coulda helped ya.

If you find an affordable BLDC controller solution, let me know! Even modest (for vehicle use) ones are stupid expensive.

/hijack

[freebeard]

Guess I'll have to read to see what's happen(ed)(ing) with it.

Mine just sits there.

ecomodder.com: Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

I went down the rabbit hole because I wanted to put an Open Revolt sticker on my car.

[Daox]

Welcome to the site Al. Looking forward to seeing more of this project come to life!

[Flakbadger]

Depending on what EV sales are like in Australia (not great to the best of my decidedly limited knowledge), a used Nissan Leaf might be the order of the day. I dunno, they were practically giving them away because they don't have the range of newer EVs. Mine was $13,600 after a $2,500 state rebate, for a car with ~100 miles of usable range and less than 30,000 miles on it... And it came with heated seats/steering wheel, power everything, tinted windows, heated mirrors, sat radio (which I don't bother with), A/C and hybrid heater.

However, if you do want to make your own conversion, more power to you (hah, pun). I've always thought that would be an absolute blast to do, if you had the shop space and the time.

Definitely looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Welcome to the site.

[Staircase]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Welcome.

When you do, start a thread. All I've got right now is an electric axle/drivetrain (68hp 98lb). The controllers and chargers and batteries? Oh, my.

Do you have a donor vehicle?

Thanks for the welcome!

Will do, probably wont be for a few months yet while I keep my eye out for parts.
At least you've made a start!
I don't have a donor vehicle yet, I've been keeping an eye on old car auctions to try grab a hatch of some sort for a few hundred bucks.

I'm going to attempt the ReVolt if I can find enough of the information to piece together, cut some costs on the controller.

[Staircase]

Originally Posted by Flakbadger

Depending on what EV sales are like in Australia (not great to the best of my decidedly limited knowledge), a used Nissan Leaf might be the order of the day. I dunno, they were practically giving them away because they don't have the range of newer EVs. Mine was $13,600 after a $2,500 state rebate, for a car with ~100 miles of usable range and less than 30,000 miles on it... And it came with heated seats/steering wheel, power everything, tinted windows, heated mirrors, sat radio (which I don't bother with), A/C and hybrid heater.

However, if you do want to make your own conversion, more power to you (hah, pun). I've always thought that would be an absolute blast to do, if you had the shop space and the time.

Definitely looking forward to seeing what you come up with! Welcome to the site.

Leafs are about that, starting at $15k mark. Way over what I want to spend!
Not too fussed about the fancy things or big range, I'm going to be getting a 4x4 and I just can't fathom using something that polluting as a run around, so just need something to make the small trips!

Thanks for the welcome!