Cars with live rear axles make for frustrating conversions, mainly because you have to keep a manual transmission up front. Adapter is a grand or two, and the 2:1 TorqueBox is $4k (plus custom driveshaft). If you ditch the axle, you have to reengineer the suspension, which involves much more than cutting and welding.
Enter the rear subframe swap. Many conversions will take a Tesla subframe and stuff it in the rear. The difficulty here is that Teslas are
wide, and many of the cars I'd like to convert are
narrow. It also makes using different wheels tricky.
Has anyone successfully gotten an electric motor and gearbox into something like a Miata rear subframe? E30? What are some other rear subframes that are narrow with pickup points that a Leaf/Tesla motor could bolt into without moving the suspension pickup points?
What are the implications of changing the rear suspension geometry and travel while keeping the front stock? For a sportscar it would make me nervous, but for a daily driver or cruiser...not so much—just get over these bumps!
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