Westfalia T3 with Chevy Bolt drivetrain

72249 Views 174 Replies 26 Participants Last post by remy_martian, Jan 7, 2022

Yabert

Discussion Starter · Oct 12, 2018 (Edited)

2

VW Vanagon T3 with Chevy Bolt drivetrain

Hi

I'm asking myself if DiyEcar is still the best place to put a build thread and to obtain help.
It was the case many years ago when the overvolted forklift motor was the rule, but now?

Well, my plan is to put a 200 hp 60 kWh Bolt drivetrain in a Westfalia... Exciting right?
Yes, but all the electronic and control in the Bolt fear me a bit.
Anyway, I will have the crached Bolt in few days and the West in few weeks.

Let me know if you have advice or help.
Thanks

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61 - 80 of 175 Posts

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #61 · Jan 25, 2019

3

Things are going forward. I've start the design of the integration of the Bolt booster brake and master cylinder in the Vanagon.
The Bolt cluster will sit just over the master cylinder.

The most challenging part will be to find another brake fluid reservoir or modified the original Bolt reservoir.
It need to fit under the cluster and don't touch it (in blue on the picture).
Do someone have advice to weld / fix a Chevy Bolt plastic reservoir to ''any other'' plastic reservoir?

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brian_

· #62 · Jan 25, 2019

Yabert said:
The most challenging part will be to find another brake fluid reservoir or modified the original Bolt reservoir.
It need to fit under the cluster and don't touch it (in blue on the picture).
Do someone have advice to weld / fix a Chevy Bolt plastic reservoir to ''any other'' plastic reservoir?

Rather than modifying the Bolt reservoir, can you find or assemble tube fittings which will insert and seal into the master cylinder ports, for hoses leading to a remote reservoir or as adapters to a custom reservoir? Remote reservoirs are often used in race cars, but their master cylinders typically have different styles of reservoir port so their hardware probably won't work directly.

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #63 · Jan 30, 2019

2

brian_ said:
Rather than modifying the Bolt reservoir, can you find or assemble tube fittings which will insert and seal into the master cylinder ports, for hoses leading to a remote reservoir or as adapters to a custom reservoir?

Yes, remote tank. I'm open to suggestions for tank and hoses.

Big question here:
Is someone know the load rating of the chevy Bolt front hub?
There seem to be double row angular contact ball bearing.
I would like to replace the rear bearing housing (part 7) and put a disc brake on the Vanagon. The Vanagon rear bearings are one 35x75 ball bearing and one 35x62 roller bearing. My bet is the roller bearing can take a lot of weight and replace it by the double row angular contact ball bearing from the Bolt hub couldn't be enough for a Vanagon Westfalia...

Any tought?

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CanadaLT28

· #64 · Jan 30, 2019

Yabert said:
Yes, remote tank. I'm open to suggestions for tank and hoses.

Big question here:
Is someone know the load rating of the chevy Bolt front hub?
There seem to be double row angular contact ball bearing.
I would like to replace the rear bearing housing (part 7) and put a disc brake on the Vanagon. The Vanagon rear bearings are one 35x75 ball bearing and one 35x62 roller bearing. My bet is the roller bearing can take a lot of weight and replace it by the double row angular contact ball bearing from the Bolt hub couldn't be enough for a Vanagon Westfalia...

Any tought?

I have changed front bearings on my T3s (Vanagons) many times but never had to change the rears. I am told to use VW A4 calipers and passat rotors. Plenty strong enough

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #65 · Jan 30, 2019 (Edited)

CanadaLT28 said:
I have changed front bearings on my T3s (Vanagons) many times but never had to change the rears. I am told to use VW A4 calipers and passat rotors. Plenty strong enough

Yes, I planned something similar, Audi/Vw disc with the chevy Bolt caliper on the rear. Everything mount on the original T3 rear hub.
But it would be easier for me to simply integrate the Bolt front hub, the rear Bolt disc and the rear Bolt caliper on the rear of the Vanagon.

But is the bearings are strong enough? That the question.

Thanks for the info about the front bearing

CanadaLT28

· #66 · Jan 30, 2019

Yabert said:
Yes, I planned something similar, Audi/Vw disc with the chevy Bolt caliper on the rear. Everything mount on the original T3 rear hub.
But it would be easier for me to simply integrate the Bolt front hub, the rear Bolt disc and the rear Bolt caliper on the rear of the Vanagon.

But is the bearings are strong enough? That the question.

Thanks for the info about the front bearing

Ohh, I think the bearings are quite good.

brian_

· #67 · Jan 30, 2019

Yabert said:
Is someone know the load rating of the chevy Bolt front hub?

The Bolt uses the latest version of GM's Gamma platform, with earlier versions used by the Chevrolet Spark, Sonic, Trax, and others. Unfortunately, the Bolt is among the heaviest of the vehicles on the platform, so the components may not have much more capacity than required by the Bolt.

The most conservative estimate would simply be to assume that the hub capacity corresponds to the gross axle weight rating for the front axle of the vehicle. That's shown on the placard on the driver's door edge or frame, and is likely between 1022 kg / 2253 lb and 1013 kg / 2234 depending on year and possibly trim level. They are very unlikely to have changed the hubs, so the higher values probably apply to all Bolt hubs and hub carriers... the springs might vary.

The Trax apparently has front GAWR which can be a bit higher: in a quick search (of for-sale ads which include an image of the loading placard) I'm seeing 1065 kg / 2348 lb. It seems very unlikely that the Trax has a different hub or bearings, so the Trax numbers could be assumed.

Yabert said:
I would like to replace the rear bearing housing (part 7) and put a disc brake on the Vanagon. The Vanagon rear bearings are one 35x75 ball bearing and one 35x62 roller bearing. My bet is the roller bearing can take a lot of weight and replace it by the double row angular contact ball bearing from the Bolt hub couldn't be enough for a Vanagon Westfalia...

I agree that the VWs rear GAWR will be higher than that of the Bolt. One source (Roadhaus) reports for 1984-1991:

2WD Vanagon or Camper: GAWR Rear 2866 lbs
4WD Syncro Vanagon or Camper GAWR Rear 3042 lbs

The same source has a table of Vehicle Actual Loaded Weight for various years and variants, and all rear GAWR are substantially higher than the Bolt front GAWR.

With any luck, the Bolt components have lots of capacity margin. If you find the same bearings used in another model with a higher GAWR, that would be a good indication.

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CanadaLT28

· #68 · Jan 30, 2019

I have seen the T3 loaded up to way over the recommended rates and used for off road and with over sized wheels too. Seldom has the rear bearings come up as a source of frustration. More likely it would be the front bearing. CV joints are a different thing, but they always are.

brian_

· #69 · Jan 30, 2019

CanadaLT28 said:
I have seen the T3 loaded up to way over the recommended rates and used for off road and with over sized wheels too. Seldom has the rear bearings come up as a source of frustration.

Which is why using the front Bolt bearings instead of those proven T3 rear bearings could be a concern...

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #70 · Jan 30, 2019

Thanks Brian for the GAWR trick. When I'm looking on web with the hub part number, it seem to be use on the Bolt (GAWR 1023 kg) and the Volt (GAWR 1094 kg).
Seem like the Vanagon have a GAWR for the rear of 1300 kg. At least 200 kg short. Maybe 100 kg per wheel isn't that much...

I plan to take another route to verified the load capacity of the Bolt front bearings compare to the Vanagon rear bearings.
I will sacrifice a hub to measure the ball bearing to evaluate the load rating by comparing with a regular ball bearing with similar dimensions.
My problem at the moment is I don't find the load rating of the 35x62 cylindrical roller bearing of the Vanagon.

The results soon.

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #71 · Jan 31, 2019

Ok, as the load capacity of a car isn't directly liked to the bearings in the wheels, let compare the Vanagon rear bearings and and the Bolt front bearings.

Vanagon: one regular 35x72 ball bearing 6207 (dynamic load rating 2755 kg) and one cylindrical roller bearing 30x62 NU206ECP (dynamic loard rating 4489 kg) for a total load rating of 7244 kg.
Bolt: Seem to be a double row angular contact ball bearing similare to 3308 bearing (40x90) for a total load rating of 6530 kg

Well, based on the bearings alone I will lost around 10% of load capacity. This is similar to the 16% lost in capacity when GAWR are compared.

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electro wrks

· #72 · Jan 31, 2019

Yabert said:
Things are going forward. I've start the design of the integration of the Bolt booster brake and master cylinder in the Vanagon.
The Bolt cluster will sit just over the master cylinder.

The most challenging part will be to find another brake fluid reservoir or modified the original Bolt reservoir.
It need to fit under the cluster and don't touch it (in blue on the picture).
Do someone have advice to weld / fix a Chevy Bolt plastic reservoir to ''any other'' plastic reservoir?

Something like these Wilwood pieces might work: https://pitstopusa.com/i-23931013-wilwood-compact-remote-master-cylinder-inlet-adapter.html

If not, you may have to machine some hose adapters to mimic the fitting on the base of the stock reservoir(s) to connect to a remote reservoir like this https://www.amazon.com/17-2878-BRAKE-RESERVOIR-PLASTIC-67-up/dp/B004C3DV5C

A neat trick is to mount the reservoir somewhere in the line of sight, as your driving, behind a viewing slot in an access cover to keep an eye on the fluid level . Maybe include a small light to view it at night. Another option is to find an OEM remote reservoir that has a float switch that lights a warning light, when the fluid is too low.

Or, use something like this aftermarket unit: https://www.europaspares.com/2-chamber-brake-reservoir-with-fluid-level-switch.html

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #73 · Jan 31, 2019

Thanks for the links Electro wrks.
By looking at your links, I found this reservoir used on old BMW 2002.
Seem exactly what I need. I will probably ''machine some hose adapters to mimic the fitting'' as you said.

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Yabert

Discussion Starter · #74 · Feb 10, 2019

3

I initially planned to put the charge port on the rear side of the van by cutting a hole in the rear fender. This position in an advantage when you drive a car 1/3 of the years on dirty, snowy road in winter. A charge port in the front (Kia, Leaf) or in the rear is clearly not the best choise weather wise.
But, as you can see in picture, when I consider th easy integration of the charge port on the rear of the van, I change my mind. Worst case, it will be a temporairy position for it.

Also, I started to design how I will integrate the Bolt rear caliper on the Vanagon. Those caliper have electric park brake.
I have to remove the original brake drum, add some Volkswagen Golf/ Audi A3 disc (272mm), design a caliper support and fix this one to the van rear suspension arm.
By adding disc and caliper the original 14'' wheels will no longer fit. I have to shop for 15'' or 16'' wheels.

More to come!

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Yabert

Discussion Starter · #75 · Feb 17, 2019

An important step in the Westy life, I removed the 40 years old air cooled engine and the transmission.
Now, everything is fully accessible to take measures and integrate all the Bolt bits.
First thing confirmed: there is a lot of space in the rear to integrate motor/inverter, charger, dc-dc and 12V battery/fuses.

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CanadaLT28

· #76 · Feb 17, 2019

Yabert said:
An important step in the Westy life, I removed the 40 years old air cooled engine and the transmission.
Now, everything is fully accessible to take measures and integrate all the Bolt bits.
First thing confirmed: there is a lot of space in the rear to integrate motor/inverter, charger, dc-dc and 12V battery/fuses.

What shape is the VW engine in? You can easily sell it if it is good.

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #77 · Feb 18, 2019

CanadaLT28 said:
You can easily sell it if it is good.

Yes, I was really pleased to see the transmission and the old, crappy, dirty fuel burner disappear 24h after I remove them.
Of course I had put them to sell few weeks ago.

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #78 · Mar 5, 2019

3

I started to play with the Bolt electric caliper and the E-Golf rear disc.
I has to rework the Vanagon hubs to fit the disc and as the caliper it's not bolt-on I planned a small bracket to link the van part to the Bolt part.
Also, as you can see the original 14'' wheels will be clearly too small to accommodate the news disc and caliper.

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jfroux_1

· #79 · Mar 8, 2019

Nice EV conversion! I wanted to do a Jeep EV conversion but I always wanted to have a Westfaila. I’m not sure where I can buy a damaged chevy bolt in Quebec and I don’t know how it works to legally put an EV conversion car on the road with the right insurance, but I’ll find out.

Yabert

Discussion Starter · #80 · Mar 12, 2019

Here the chevy Bolt caliper and the E-Golf disc on the Vanagon.

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