[bronco_zed]

I'm attempting something very similar with a Bronco, but I'm removing the engine, transmission, and transfer case and replacing them with a Tesla large drive unit mounted at an angle to drive the front and rear axles. I'll gain some efficiency by not running the motor through a gearbox but then I'll lose some by it being full-time four wheel drive, so it may end up being a wash efficiency wise. Mostly I'm doing it this way so I can have more room for batteries.

So far this is what I've purchased:

Tesla LDU with drive shafts and wiring harness - $2400
Quaife 4.5 gearset - $2600 (ouch, I know)

I plan on using the EV Controls drive unit controller - $2700

AEM has also just released a Tesla drive unit controller for about the same price but the EV Controls unit lets you view and change settings in real time with an ipad, so I wont have to buy further instrumentation to gather data.

So right now the damage is $7700 and I still need batteries, BMS, charger, DC-DC converter, accelerator pedal, and a precharge circuit. Plus motor/battery cooling and custom driveshafts.

Overall I think my price and range goals line up with your project but I may end up with less range unless I can find a killer deal on batteries.

Keep us posted! I'd love to see what direction you decide to go.

 

[bronco_zed]

The angled shaft made necessary by the Broco's centred rear propeller shaft (and the off-to-the-left drive unit output) is a concern, but I recently realized that the Lada Niva has an offset like that in standard form (due to their choice of transfer case and their centred rear axle pinion) so it apparently can work. In this case, even if the offset is okay, the angle is still a concern: if the rear output of the drive unit is not parallel to the pinion shaft of either axle, then the propeller shafts need constant velocity joints (instead of the usual universal joints) to run smoothly... perhaps that's the plan.

The other way to handle this offset issue is to have a rear axle made up with the differential off-centre to match the front. This is the stock configuration of some vehicles (notably the original Land Rover), but is generally not used in vehicles that come in both RWD and 4WD versions. It would require custom-length axle tubes and axle shafts, with the tubes welded into the centre section and end housings welded on to them. Custom-width axle housings are commonly made for custom vehicles, and having different left and right lengths is not a problem. This would be expensive, and would require ensuring that there is room for the rear shaft in that position.

Yep, both prop shafts will have CV joints. This was the OEM configuration on the Bronco anyway, I'm assuming the reason is to allow large amounts of axle articulation without binding.

The UK company Electric Classic Cars puts Tesla drive units in original Land Rovers using this same setup, but like you mentioned, they don't run into the angle issue because the front an rear differential housings are offset to the same side.

 

[bronco_zed]

For 150 miles you probably want to do almost exactly what I'm doing: a Hyper9 with 10 Tesla modules 5s2p (5 in series, 2 in parallel). Or you could shoot for closer to 200, with a Hyper9 HV and 14 Tesla modules 7s2p. Netgain motors will be a little easier to use since there are pre-made adapter plates available from CanEVs and a few other sellers that can just be bolted on and put right into the car. You do need a BMS for each parallel string though, so keep that in mind as an added expense.

I would go for a leaf system if you don't need more than say 80 miles of range. Above that, something Hyper9 or Hyper9 HV based.

You'll definitely want to do it right the first time though. I personally would reccommend the Tesla and Hyper9 route since Tesla batteries are the best available and will last for at least 8-10 years, if not more. They've come down in price significantly lately too.

I agree with reider, the Netgain option has been used by a lot of companies like EV West and ElectricGT so there's already a lot of adapter options and application examples out there for reference.

Since the Scout and the Bronco are about the same size, I think it's relevant to mention the amount of real estate available for batteries. It's probably possible to fit 10 or even 14 Tesla modules in the Scout, but it will require a lot of fab work and Tetris-ing to pack them out of sight. But, if you are not worried about putting them in the bed then it gets a lot easier.

For reference, the Bronco kit sold by ElectricGT keeps the transmission and transfer case and has 65kWh distributed between the fuel tank area, the engine bay, and the space under the seats. I think that's about the max amount of batteries that can be packed out of sight in a Bronco or Scout-sized vehicle if you keep the transmission and transfer case. That should get you about 130 miles of range.