[_Jef_]

And what do you guys think about the price? Is the amount of euros for the battery ok?? And for the bms?

Not terrible if they are new. If not haggle hard to get them lower depending upon the mileage on the batteries. BMS. no clue. Im assuming its a Zapi BMS. Check on their site to see what theirs costs new.

Batteries are new ones.

 

[onegreenev]

Batteries are new ones.

It is up to you to make the decision. I would still haggle with them to get the price as low as possible. Not likely too many will run in and scoop it up. Go in with some knowledge. Do you know if you can get this to mount up properly to your transaxle.

 

[_Jef_]

It is up to you to make the decision. I would still haggle with them to get the price as low as possible. Not likely too many will run in and scoop it up. Go in with some knowledge. Do you know if you can get this to mount up properly to your transaxle.

you're right, but these talks is something I like to do face to face. with this deal for the used components he's not charging to much in my opninion. The car this comes from is from a friend who had a bad BMS or no BMS and who killed his batteries within the first year. He then bought a house, had a baby and the car has been sitting, so not much mileage on the motor and controller. But like you say, I will negotiate with him on the prize. I can get the original car for this kit along with the components for free... which is also nice...

for the mounting I'm not to worried. I work as a desgin engineer and we have a workshop in our company that has waterjet cutting, milling machines, lathes, 3D printer, welders, ....
we even have a spline cutter.

 

[onegreenev]

you're right, but these talks is something I like to do face to face. with this deal for the used components he's not charging to much in my opninion. The car this comes from is from a friend who had a bad BMS or no BMS and who killed his batteries within the first year. He then bought a house, had a baby and the car has been sitting, so not much mileage on the motor and controller. But like you say, I will negotiate with him on the prize. I can get the original car for this kit along with the components for free... which is also nice...

for the mounting I'm not to worried. I work as a desgin engineer and we have a workshop in our company that has waterjet cutting, milling machines, lathes, 3D printer, welders, ....
we even have a spline cutter.

Sounds like you have it covered. Will await some results and images and maybe some video.

 

[_Jef_]

Today I was able to go and get the car. There is some bodywork that need to be done. But I will start with removing what I don't need.

 

[schelle63]

Hi Jef,
it seems to me that underneath those lots of plasic You will find many undesired "surprises". Be prepared to do some bodywork in addition to the conversion.
Concerning EMV, Heiko Fleck may be able to assist You with documents from the parts he offered. And maybe the beetle should temporarily become a german car and be certified there, and then registered in Belgium (after all this is the EU we are living).
I did all that (in Germany) last year with my Mini, and it happened to be far easier than expected.
Markus

 

[_Jef_]

Hi Jef,
it seems to me that underneath those lots of plasic You will find many undesired "surprises". Be prepared to do some bodywork in addition to the conversion.
Concerning EMV, Heiko Fleck may be able to assist You with documents from the parts he offered. And maybe the beetle should temporarily become a german car and be certified there, and then registered in Belgium (after all this is the EU we are living).
I did all that (in Germany) last year with my Mini, and it happened to be far easier than expected.
Markus

Yes. there are quite a few undesired surprises. I bought the car really cheap and now I can restore the body the way I want and I also enjoy doing these things (restoration). With the tear down I can rebuild the car the way I want: roll cage, electric windows, sounds system, roll up seat belts, seat belts in the back, LED lights...
this will slow down the conversion process quite a bit, but that doesn't bother me.

 

[_Jef_]

This weekend I went to Germany and collected a motor, Controller, dcdc converter, main contacter, vacuum pump for brake and a complete car which it all came from... The plan is to take all components from this car which I can use for the beetle (electric windows, horn, gas pedal, connectors, seat belts, radiator, pump,...) and sell other parts to finance the build a little bit. Heiko Fleck was the person who sold me this and he was really helpful and kind. The price was also a very good deal 1425 euro for everything. He makes very nice EV's.

 

[_Jef_]

Here are some pictures.

 

[schelle63]

This was a really good deal, I think. And here is good work ahead. All technical issues can be solved with assistance from here (forum), and people like Heiko Fleck.
The other factor will be You: there may come some period when - for any reason - you want to abandon the project. A break may help. (At least it did to me.) I wish you endurance and patience, stay brave!

Do you want to keep the whole plasic? If not, you should disassemble ist carefully, you may get a good price for it. Consider to fit a brake without servo and get rid of the vacuum pump.
I like your project. And that little dog, too!
Markus

 

[_Jef_]

Time for an update. I have disassembled the car quite a bit. Restauration of the châssis and body will take up most of the time...
But I have also looked at the connection from motor to gearbox.

 

[_Jef_]

I need to make a new plate like this that has the same bolt pattern for the motor and the bolt pattern matching the Vw beetles gearbox.
The flywheel can be reused I think. I need to check if I can find a clutch plate with the same spline as the Vw beetles gearbox. The outer diameter of the flywheel seems to fit inside the gearbox.
Does a flywheel wear out to a point where it needs to be replaced? If yes, how can you tell?

 

[brian_]

View attachment 119868
I need to make a new plate like this that has the same bolt pattern for the motor and the bolt pattern matching the Vw beetles gearbox.

A suitable adapter plate is needed, but it makes no sense for most people to make one, since they are not equipped and skilled to do it. The air-cooled VW transaxle is probably the most common motor-to-transmission adapter in existence, so it makes more sense to me to buy one.

 

[brian_]

The flywheel can be reused I think. I need to check if I can find a clutch plate with the same spline as the Vw beetles gearbox. The outer diameter of the flywheel seems to fit inside the gearbox.

The normal practice would be to just buy a VW Beetle clutch, which will of course work with the Beetle flywheel which you would be using.

It appears in this case that you are wanting to use the flywheel from the converted car that you bought, perhaps to avoid buying a new flywheel-to-motor shaft adapter. That probably means using the same clutch cover and pressure plate, which also needs to fit in the transaxle's bell housing. If a clutch disk which fits the Beetle transaxle shaft also fits the clutch cover (in diameter and thickness), you can mix and match parts. Have you tried the fit complete with the clutch cover?

Does a flywheel wear out to a point where it needs to be replaced? If yes, how can you tell?

If the surface has been trashed, it can be resurfaced. As long as it is smooth and flat, it's fine. Flywheels normally last the life of the vehicle; I've changed clutches, but never needed to machine a flywheel (although I have had one machined to lighten it).

 

[_Jef_]

The normal practice would be to just buy a VW Beetle clutch, which will of course work with the Beetle flywheel which you would be using.

It appears in this case that you are wanting to use the flywheel from the converted car that you bought, perhaps to avoid buying a new flywheel-to-motor shaft adapter. That probably means using the same clutch cover and pressure plate, which also needs to fit in the transaxle's bell housing. If a clutch disk which fits the Beetle transaxle shaft also fits the clutch cover (in diameter and thickness), you can mix and match parts. Have you tried the fit complete with the clutch cover?


If the surface has been trashed, it can be resurfaced. As long as it is smooth and flat, it's fine. Flywheels normally last the life of the vehicle; I've changed clutches, but never needed to machine a flywheel (although I have had one machined to lighten it).

The only reason I'm thinking about reusing the flywheel of the previous converted car is because I don't have a beetle flywheel. I bought the beetle without motor...
But it seems like I need to modify the flywheel mounting anyway, because the gearbox axle of the beetle needs a bearing on the end as well. Inside the crankshaft of the beetle engine is nut with a needle bearing that supports the end of the shaft...

Anyone got some pictures on how they made this?
I want to machine these parts myself, because I work at a machine shop...

 

[brian_]

The only reason I'm thinking about reusing the flywheel of the previous converted car is because I don't have a beetle flywheel. I bought the beetle without motor...
But it seems like I need to modify the flywheel mounting anyway, because the gearbox axle of the beetle needs a bearing on the end as well. Inside the crankshaft of the beetle engine is nut with a needle bearing that supports the end of the shaft...

That's a pilot bearing, mounted in the flywheel to support the end of the transmission's input shaft. That's normal, but some transverse transaxles don't have one; apparently your donor car didn't.

Fortunately, a Beetle flywheel should be easy to find, and you don't even need one with a good ring gear for the starter (because, of course, you will not have a starter); some people even remove the ring gear, because it is pointless and adds unwanted inertia. This makes it practical to just use a Beetle flywheel and a coupler intended for a Beetle flywheel and transaxle.

Anyone got some pictures on how they made this?
I want to machine these parts myself, because I work at a machine shop...

There are various designs of coupler to mount on the motor shaft, with a flange for the flywheel. Perhaps someone recognizes the one you have, or can provide suggestions. Most people just buy them, for plain motor shafts and transaxles/transmissions for which couplers are commercially available.

 

[piotrsko]

Just offhand you could probably go as thin as 3/8" american and still have a useable clutch. Everything you want is as common as dirt, online sources @ places named VW (something). Looking at your pictures, that is an odd transaxle, but I admit I'm not qualified on VW past 1977, unless it was the "clutchless" 2 speed they only made for 2 years that I have never seen. You appear to have everything you need installed.

 

[joekitch]

if at some point you're bit by the power bug, and think "how do i turn this into a missile?"....
EV west is perfecting a drop in rear cradle which accepts a tesla small drive unit, good to like 250hp, which in a very light weight beetle will be extremely fun stuff

 

[_Jef_]

Bought a press to disassemble the flywheel adapter and to press new bearings for this entire project.
Worked very good.

I got out the rotor as well

Is the rotor also pressed on the axle? Does anyone know if it's possible to remove the rotor? I would turn a new axle in the lathe so that the end of the shaft matches the Vw beetle crankshaft...
In this way I can reduce the length that is added to the motor and gearbox combination.

 

[_Jef_]

Finally some update on the electric conversion part.

made a 3D for the adapterplate and the flywheel adapter. I'm using the stock 200mm clucth. It should handle the max torque of 120 Nm.
The motor has an output shaft on the backside as well. not sure if it will still fit, but for now I'l keep it on.I will also draw a blanking plate for the starter and some other stuff I will share.
If there'a anyone who needs step files or anything else. Let me know.