[stone4779]

I have a 2013 Chevy Volt, car got hit in the rear quarter panel. It didnt really do much damage at all. All the projects I daydream about doing involve cars/trucks that are RWD though....

What do I do with this thing? I have been looking at the way the powertrain is laid out, and it has two CV shafts, one for each of the front wheels...

Is there any way I can use this in RWD form without putting the powertrain in the trunk/bed of something? lol

Every idea I get it ends up in the front of the vehicle and being used as FWD, as-is.

Just wondering if maybe someone else has any good ideas?

The only thing cool that I can think of that wouldnt be retarded to have as FWD is maybe an old 1930s-1940s Chevy coupe. I could probably deal with that.

Or should I just sell the parts and piece together something simpler?

Only reason I am even considering it is because it is fully loaded, leather, low miles, I have owned it since it was new...There is a LOT you can reuse when you have the whole donor vehicle, such as the seats and driver's display, radio/nav display, buttons, steering, etc. Possibly even could find something that the whole interior can be modified for reuse..

This stuff would like sweet in a classic...I am just not sure how I would pull off the FWD on this...?

I am not worried about pulling and re-using the entire wiring harness, it is just very time-consuming, but I can get it out and into another vehicle. I am pretty good with wiring.

Or would I be better off not even trying to re-purpose all the Volt gear? (and just selling the Volt parts), and then just buying off the shelf stuff with the cash?

I really like the fact that the Volt can take you anywhere..as in when the batteries run out, the range-extender kicks on, and carries you the rest of the way. Very cool for actually going on road trips, rather than stuck putting around town only. If it wasnt for that, I would probably say forget it, but the volt stuff is unique in that aspect, when compared to say a Warp 9 motor with a Tesla pack etc...

I think that makes the idea worth looking into, but I am just curious as to what people are doing with the Volt gear, if anything?

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

I am just curious as to what people are doing with the Volt gear, if anything?

Lots of Volt based battery projects in this forum. I don't recall anyone using the motor/ICE in another vehicle.

If it was me I'd repair the Volt and drive that... they are great cars

IMO transplanting the system into another car will be a huge project and I suspect building a BEV from scratch will be a lot easier and cheaper.

 

[rmay635703]

Do this

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/1946-chevy-prius-truck-34935.html

Or this

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...rtible-project-prius-platform-swap-33459.html

Or this

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/1969-mustang-prius-conversion-36343.html

Two of the projects were done in under 6 months

 

[brian_]

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...rtible-project-prius-platform-swap-33459.html

That thread is 51 pages long. In short, what did this guy do? If it's anything like the first link, I can't imagine wanting it.

A comment in the last linked thread

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...rtible-project-prius-platform-swap-33459.html

... suggests that these are all random bodies stuck on FWD hybrid car platforms. Why not just fix the Volt and have a much better car?

 

[brian_]

Lots of Volt based battery projects in this forum. I don't recall anyone using the motor/ICE in another vehicle.

If it was me I'd repair the Volt and drive that... they are great cars

IMO transplanting the system into another car will be a huge project and I suspect building a BEV from scratch will be a lot easier and cheaper.

I completely agree.

 

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Why not just fix the Volt and have a much better car?

Because some people want to whittle a spoon out of a dining table?

 

[brian_]

... All the projects I daydream about doing involve cars/trucks that are RWD though...

Just because the style of cars which you like are all RWD, or because you want RWD?

What do I do with this thing? I have been looking at the way the powertrain is laid out, and it has two CV shafts, one for each of the front wheels...

Yes, this is the most common layout of FWD vehicle, and has been for four decades.

Is there any way I can use this in RWD form without putting the powertrain in the trunk/bed of something? lol

Yes, you use the body of a mid-engine vehicle, preferably one intended for a transverse powertrain. For instance, the Pontiac Fiero which was designed to used the powertrain of a front-wheel-drive GM compact. Or a Toyota MR2, Fiat X1/9, etc.

In the trunk is awkward to build, but in the bed of a compact pickup could work (complete with the Volt front suspension).

There is another approach, but I don't think it is very desirable:
Mount the powertrain in the front (where whatever body you are using normally has the engine), but turn the whole powertrain 90 degrees, so the left axle shaft points rearward, lock the differential and omit the right axle shaft (which is now facing forward), and connect the rearward shaft to the rear axle. The problem is that the gearing will be all wrong, with way too much gear reduction, because it would have both the final drive gearing of the Volt plus whatever your rear axle has. Also, you need to find a way to package the Volt battery, without running it down the middle like the Volt does because the shaft from transmission to rear axle is in the way.

The only thing cool that I can think of that wouldnt be retarded to have as FWD is maybe an old 1930s-1940s Chevy coupe. I could probably deal with that.

That wouldn't likely work well, as those cars had the engine behind the front axle line. The Volt powertrain sits just ahead of the front axle, and might not fit very well.

 

[rmay635703]

That thread is 51 pages long. In short, what did this guy do? If it's anything like the first link, I can't imagine wanting it.

A comment in the last linked thread

... suggests that these are all random bodies stuck on FWD hybrid car platforms. Why not just fix the Volt and have a much better car?

The long one is a perfectionist and the two bodies are precision fit into a firebird
air bags, crumple zone and all, he is still in the “integration phase.

The one you don’t like took under 4 months part time and is a 40 mpg antique pickup. It looks pretty good and is still much safer than a real 1940’s truck (which I doubt you would have wanted new, what with its 55hp stock motor and granny gears)

Guy was going for a daily driver rat rod look with minimal work,
he made it so he liked it, which I respect, what with me driving an 81 c-car
(which I doubt many here would like either)

 

[Jimbo69ny]

I’ll buy the 350 amp fuse inside the battery safety disconnect if you want to sell it.