[johntrhodes81]

I am thinking about making a classic car into an EV. I know it is really heavy and it will probably be slow and have a short range. I just want to be able to cruise around town without getting 8 mpg.

That said would a AC50/Curtis setup connected to a transmission have enough power to cruise around? Any idea on the speeds I could reasonably accelerate to? I understand the rule of thumb for Wh/mi is divide the weight of the car by 10.

I am not having much luck figuring out how powerful of a motor I would need.

Thanks
John

[mora]

What do you know about original engine? How much torque does it produce and at what rpm?

[johntrhodes81]

187 HP at 4,000 RPM
270 Lb.-Ft. at 2,000 RPM
With a really power eating basically single speed auto trans that I will replace. (2 speed trans with lockup torque converter, but it starts in second unless manually shifted to 1st)

If I could get to 40 MPH that would be nice.

John

[dragonsgate]

How about an eleven inch DC motor or bigger with a Minimum of 144volts and a Soliton 1. I have been known to miss critical info before but what kind of car?

[johntrhodes81]

Early 50's Packard, 127" Wheelbase. Its a boat.

John

[jeremyjs]

Originally Posted by dragonsgate

How about an eleven inch DC motor or bigger with a Minimum of 144volts and a Soliton 1. I have been known to miss critical info before but what kind of car?

I second that. And say 144+ volts of calb 180 gray cells or more voltage and 100ah cells. What does your budget and range expectations look like? Big heavy vehicles require a lot of battery to have any range.

I think HPEVS recommends something like 3500lbs max on the ac-50 or you'll have really poor performance.

[mora]

I'd love to do that kind of conversion too, heheh. It might not be the most economical electric vehicle but then what? It will be cool.

I'd say your car will perform similar to original with 11" dc motor and 1000A controller. Maybe even better as you get all the torque at really low rpm. You'll also need a large battery pack. AC50 might work too but will lack performance.

Take advantage of controllers high voltage capability if you end up going dc motor route. Go higher than 144V to keep battery amp draw lower and push all that torque to higher rpm.

[johntrhodes81]

Originally Posted by mora

I'd love to do that kind of conversion too, heheh. It might not be the most economical electric vehicle but then what? It will be cool.

I'd say your car will perform similar to original with 11" dc motor and 1000A controller. Maybe even better as you get all the torque at really low rpm. You'll also need a large battery pack. AC50 might work too but will lack performance.

Would the AC-50 be enough for cruising around like on 35 mph roads? No interstate or 2 lanes, right?

Thanks,
John

[dragonsgate]

Do you already have the ac 50? I have been looking at HPEV’s AC motors and from what I have read they sound good. I have also corresponded with three guys that are running the AC50 and they give good reports on the performance but none of them are over 3,000 pounds. At 5,000 pounds you will need a real low gear to get that barge moving with out tearing up the motor. The Packard sounds like a cool car to cruise in. Is it going to look stock or are you going to slam it? Cruising is about being cool and showing your ride so even if you don’t smoke the tires you still don’t want it to be a total dog on take off.

[adeyo]

Check out this combo....I've been thinking a heavy conversion myself and this seems to be a proven path.

http://www.topekaelectricmotor.com/e...les/ac-project

Almost 6000 lbs total, up to 70mph and if I recall correctly per my conversation, about 50 mile range