eV BugRod Build

As I explained earlier, I have been working on the details of this build for a while. Below you will see the CAD drawings that I have created for the build over time. The first image shows the original concept as a Hot Rod take on a Beetle with front V8 power and rear wheel drive using components that are commonly used in the Hot Rodding hobby (Cast Iron Chevy 4.8L LS engine, 4L60E transmisison, Mustang II IFS, Ford 9" Rear End, steel tube chassis. The body was to be chopped, channeled and stretched to make the whole car longer, with Mustang like proportions:



When I decided to change direction and go for the eV BugRod, a big priority became to reduce weight. The steel chassis became aluminum, replace heavy Mustang II IFS/Ford 9" Rear with 1985 Corvette Front/Rear suspension (all aluminum IFS/IRS). Reduce the wheelbase from 109" down to the Corvette standard 96.25", shrink the doors back to standard length and reduce overall length by 14":



There will be 24 S13P12 Li-ion battery packs of my own design, each is 48V and 31 AH, arranged in 6S for 288V, and 124 AH. The motor is a 30HP (@1750 RPM), 208V Baldor 3 phase ACIM that I got for cheap. I figure that if I can spin it up to 6000 RPM, that should conservatively yield approx 250 shaft horsepower. The transmission will be a direct coupled PowerGlide that will be in 1st most of the time around town, and perhaps 2nd on the highway. With the low CG of the batteries in the chassis, and the torque I would expect from this drive-line, this car should be a killer on the autocross.



This last image shows just the body. I am not completely happy with the roof-line yet, would like a little more rearward down slope from the driver's head, sort of like a Porsche 911:



I realize this is somewhat different that many EV conversions. I want to very much preserve the Hot Rod feel of the build, and plan to take it to conventional Hot Rod shows. I think there are a lot of people with more traditional Hot Rod background that would love to go electric if they saw some examples that fit the front engine, rear drive, full chassis paradigm.

As I explained earlier, I have been working on the details of this build for a while. Below you will see the CAD drawings that I have created for the build over time. The first image shows the original concept as a Hot Rod take on a Beetle with front V8 power and rear wheel drive using components that are commonly used in the Hot Rodding hobby (Cast Iron Chevy 4.8L LS engine, 4L60E transmisison, Mustang II IFS, Ford 9" Rear End, steel tube chassis. The body was to be chopped, channeled and stretched to make the whole car longer, with Mustang like proportions:



When I decided to change direction and go for the eV BugRod, a big priority became to reduce weight. The steel chassis became aluminum, replace heavy Mustang II IFS/Ford 9" Rear with 1985 Corvette Front/Rear suspension (all aluminum IFS/IRS). Reduce the wheelbase from 109" down to the Corvette standard 96.25", shrink the doors back to standard length and reduce overall length by 14":



There will be 24 S13P12 Li-ion battery packs of my own design, each is 48V and 31 AH, arranged in 6S for 288V, and 124 AH. The motor is a 30HP (@1750 RPM), 208V Baldor 3 phase ACIM that I got for cheap. I figure that if I can spin it up to 6000 RPM, that should conservatively yield approx 250 shaft horsepower. The transmission will be a direct coupled PowerGlide that will be in 1st most of the time around town, and perhaps 2nd on the highway. With the low CG of the batteries in the chassis, and the torque I would expect from this drive-line, this car should be a killer on the autocross.



This last image shows just the body. I am not completely happy with the roof-line yet, would like a little more rearward down slope from the driver's head, sort of like a Porsche 911:



I realize this is somewhat different that many EV conversions. I want to very much preserve the Hot Rod feel of the build, and plan to take it to conventional Hot Rod shows. I think there are a lot of people with more traditional Hot Rod background that would love to go electric if they saw some examples that fit the front engine, rear drive, full chassis paradigm.

As I explained earlier, I have been working on the details of this build for a while. Below you will see the CAD drawings that I have created for the build over time. The first image shows the original concept as a Hot Rod take on a Beetle with front V8 power and rear wheel drive using components that are commonly used in the Hot Rodding hobby (Cast Iron Chevy 4.8L LS engine, 4L60E transmisison, Mustang II IFS, Ford 9" Rear End, steel tube chassis. The body was to be chopped, channeled and stretched to make the whole car longer, with Mustang like proportions:



When I decided to change direction and go for the eV BugRod, a big priority became to reduce weight. The steel chassis became aluminum, replace heavy Mustang II IFS/Ford 9" Rear with 1985 Corvette Front/Rear suspension (all aluminum IFS/IRS). Reduce the wheelbase from 109" down to the Corvette standard 96.25", shrink the doors back to standard length and reduce overall length by 14":



There will be 24 S13P12 Li-ion battery packs of my own design, each is 48V and 31 AH, arranged in 6S for 288V, and 124 AH. The motor is a 30HP (@1750 RPM), 208V Baldor 3 phase ACIM that I got for cheap. I figure that if I can spin it up to 6000 RPM, that should conservatively yield approx 250 shaft horsepower. The transmission will be a direct coupled PowerGlide that will be in 1st most of the time around town, and perhaps 2nd on the highway. With the low CG of the batteries in the chassis, and the torque I would expect from this drive-line, this car should be a killer on the autocross.



This last image shows just the body. I am not completely happy with the roof-line yet, would like a little more rearward down slope from the driver's head, sort of like a Porsche 911:



I realize this is somewhat different that many EV conversions. I want to very much preserve the Hot Rod feel of the build, and plan to take it to conventional Hot Rod shows. I think there are a lot of people with more traditional Hot Rod background that would love to go electric if they saw some examples that fit the front engine, rear drive, full chassis paradigm.

Well Kevin, you've really got me thinking about Tesla technology. I know that I can't afford it in the coming year, most of the budget is going into the batteries and power electronics. I got the motor for $100 and already had a PowerGlide trans sitting around. But ...

I could design in the ability to swap out both the front and rear suspensions in the future. I was already treating the Corvette front and rear ends as modular pieces that I could replace as the car evolves. I was doing this partially for upgrade-ability, but mostly to have steel mounting hard points for the suspension, and bolt the "K" members to the aluminum chassis. With some pre-planning, and very little impact, I could make sure that there is enough room to bolt in Tesla or Leaf components in the future. I always thought of this project as a "test bed" that would evolve, and this approach really fits that goal.

Back to the drawing board, umm, CAD system.