[pickmeup]

Swindon Powertrain have released there conversion kit for the classic mini, its a very well engineered piece of kit.
They have changed the battery size and location from the original demo vehicle which incorporated a T shape battery box which necessitated cutting into the shell and fabricating a new exhaust tunnel.

Swindon Powertrain Mini EV

Its not cheap though, but nothing designed for the job by a professional outfit usually is. I'm hoping to go and see it in the flesh soon as i don't live far away.

What do people think??

 

[Tremelune]

It would have saved me a lot of time and effort! It's also like $20k for 12kWh, though, sooo...

I'd much rather see a classic Mini front subframe that you could easily mount a Leaf in (which McGee's Custom Minis is thinking about developing). The Leaf motor remains stronger and faster than this offering...and it's $5-6k tops (including custom subframe and custom axles, which could be equal length for reduced torque-steer).

You could (very) easily have more torque and range for less money by buying a Leaf for and having a fabricator get the motor and batteries bolted in.

I really don't know why the market focuses on "B-face" and custom motors when the Leaf is cheap, better, and has a workable output shaft and mating face after you bolt off the gearbox. I would be building nothing but adapters for Leaf motors and battery modules (the form factor of which is the approximately the same from 2011 to 2017). I guess a lot has changed in the last year or two, though.

You can get good-battery Leafs for under $10k easily, and 60kWh Chevy bolts are selling for around $12-15k these days. Salvaging seems like the way of the future for EV conversions for the foreseeable future. I've seen full early Leaf packs going for $1,000. Even if it's only at 50% capacity, that's still under $100 per (heavy, voluminous) kWh.

 

[Tremelune]

Caveat: The market for used/crashed EVs is way larger in California than Scandinavia, sooo...my perspective is skewed.

 

[pickmeup]

Yeah I agree there needs to be better industry focus to help people convert using recycled ev's.
Prices are really varies here in the UK and I'm still struggling trying to find local scrapyards that deal with ev's so I can go and grab some parts of them.

 

[brian_]

This is getting some play in the more mainstream (at least not EV-specific) automotive media:
Classic Motorsports: This Kit Is All You Need to Turn a Classic Mini Into an Electric Car

I think it's interesting that they fit a 12 kWh battery pack under the bonnet - that's not much range, but entirely up front is a real shoe horning achievement. On the other hand, they don't seem to offer even a suggestion of how to package a more useful total capacity.

 

[Tremelune]

It's a very tidy package. If you've got the scratch and the use case with no fab skills, I can see it being compelling.

Probably only in the center of London, but...

 

[McGeesCustomMinis]

That's a lot of scratch... $42k usd all in without shipping, for a 12KW battery setup... huh. I mean it is beautifully packaged for sure. I'm looking at more like $18k all in with subframe, trans, motor, hybrid axles, 25KW battery setup, controller, charger, etc etc.