[Pop-boy racer103]

Not been here for a while and still needing to learn some.
I have a 1957 ford popular that I have been restoring and driving for the last two years, I am now preparing the bodywork for painting and next month it will look very nice. Interior will be done in the winter.
I'm still keen to go electric and in my mind I'm not expecting too much.
Top speed of the car is 60mph but mostly drive up to 50mph.
I want to keep the 3 speed gearbox more as a safety feature, the ability to dip the clutch and knock it out of gear in a crisis seems sensible.
I don't need drag strip acceleration.
Range 60-100 miles.
So is this doable at a sensible cost.
I spoke to London electric cars and they were talking £10,000
I can understand that if a person travels in the city and can avoid congestion and low emmissions charges and at some point that will be the only option.
Mine is just a preference for a quiet clean drive.

 

[x.l.r.8]

Omg, a 100e owner. Love it, I think you should rethink that transmission, not only is it very low geared which is not ideal, but pretty weak. Good theft prevention because most people will throw it in reverse. It wouldn’t be hard to throw a 5 speed in there because you won’t need to move the tunnel back like you would in a x-flow conversion. I don’t know what you would do for wipers, maybe the hillman/roots electric conversion. Love to see build progress.

 

[Duncan]

Hi
A small light car
Batteries are going to be your biggest problem and expense - a battery pack from a Leaf or similar will be needed
Stowing them will not be easy

Personally I would bin the gearbox and fit a 9 inch forklift motor where the gearbox usually lives - which would free up the engine bay for batteries

Cost - battery is the big one - 2000 pounds??
Controler - 300 pounds (Paul & Sabrina)
Motor - I paid $200 (100 pounds) for mine

 

[x.l.r.8]

As much as I hate to admit it, that’s probably the best way to go. You can use a 105E rear axle and just relocate the spring saddle. It’s slightly narrower allowing for a better wheel/tire combination. Mk1 Classic cortina front struts will help with the extra weight. The draglink Is a little harder to dispose of.

 

[Pop-boy racer103]

It's a 103e sit up and beg ford. I found my old thread where I asked the same questions, senior citizen memory kicking in I guess.
The original engine is approx 35hp, so I'm not looking for tesla power. I don't see why I need to beef up the axle or gearbox, as I said I'm not looking for more speed or torque. changing the axle, gearbox and engine gets me into mot territory and possibly iva. The whole point is to keep the cars original running gear except the engine. Is there a way to limit the torque, surely a lower voltage
will reduce torque.

 

[Duncan]

Not a lower voltage - a lower current

You can either re-program your controller or you can simply not go to full throttle

The P&S controller uses a zero to 5,000 ohms variable resister as a throttle

Zero is zero and 5,000 ohms is 500 amps

If you put a 5,000 ohm resister in parallel then it will go zero to 2500 ohms and the controller will go zero to 250 amps

I would still recommend losing the gearbox as it does not buy you anything and means that the motor takes up space that you will need for batteries

 

[x.l.r.8]

I left before IVA, I understand your desire to skip that nasty piece of red tape. You could simply leave the transmission in 3rd and just skip a clutch. But you do give up some room. Battery placement will become an issue but thankfully there are plenty of ways to increase your suspension to accommodate. Still the best way to go is a warp 9 and a simple plate. As long as you are not positive earth a simple dc/dc converter will work depending on final pack voltage. Something that will work on the lower voltage and allow you to use modules from a salvaged EV pack. For pure power density I would be looking at a bolt or partial bolt pack or something similar. Room is not exactly a premium for you and with the trans remaining you can’t sink the pack into the floor otherwise a partial bolt with the rest of the room taken up with the charger/dc converter could have worked. There are many open source inverters to control a motor depending on the skill level. Trouble is it’s not just a simple motor swap, it’s going to be a lot and to be compliant you need to keep as much as stock as possible. You are going to be adding a fair amount of weight So you will need to address the brakes and suspension. The new testing is not going to be your friend.

 

[Pop-boy racer103]

Not a lower voltage - a lower current

You can either re-program your controller or you can simply not go to full throttle

The P&S controller uses a zero to 5,000 ohms variable resister as a throttle

Zero is zero and 5,000 ohms is 500 amps

If you put a 5,000 ohm resister in parallel then it will go zero to 2500 ohms and the controller will go zero to 250 amps

I would still recommend losing the gearbox as it does not buy you anything and means that the motor takes up space that you will need for batteries

Will give it some thought. I suppose a master cut out switch would stop the car should anything go wrong.

 

[x.l.r.8]

That’s a mandatory no mater what you do. It’s easier to make the maintenance isolation an emergency cutoff. Either one is needed which there are plenty of options.

 

[Pop-boy racer103]

Decided on replacing the gearbox with a four speed single rail box, it will be stronger than the 3 speed with no synchromesh on 1st, remove the bell housing and bolt the motor to the gearbox with some bracket arrangement, that way I won't need to alter the tunnel. I'm considering air ride suspension as the transverse leaf springs front and rear are dreadful.