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Well as we know, Tesla's are getting older and hopefully someday in the near distant future we will be seeing cheap auctioned cars for good prices.
That lead me to start thinking about how feasible it would be to shoe horn one into our cars.
Our chassis has a lot going for it considering the gas tank sits directly behind the diff, so that leaves heaps of room for large motor units, and even batteries if designed and sealed away under the rear storage area.
As for battery packs, the chevy volt uses a T style pack that would possibly fit the transmission tunnel fairly compact.
Any other neat ideas? Has anyone done an electric FC swap yet?
I like the idea of retaining the transmission for fun but that just adds losses.
Discuss!
Last edited by driftxsequence; Nov 19, 2019 at 01:33 PM.
Check out EV west. They sell conversion kits and can custom tailor the setup. Some
of their clients cars are retro and make serious tire shredding power. I considered the swap (Years from now) and if I actually had the funds I would expect to pay 10-12k for a properly completed swap. I’m sure it can be done way cheaper and more DIY but safety has to be kept in mind with that much potential energy stored in the trunk...
There is another (purple) FC with an insane setup using an auxiliary power unit from an aircraft turbine engine, coupled to the factory Transmission , along with a miniature RC turbine engine used as a generator? It’s a very steampunkish?? Setup and probably is fun to drive. I’ll see if I can find the video..
Somewhat related, I've always had this sick fantasy of taking the drivetrain from the front of a 2000 - 2006 Insight and swapping it into the rear of an SA.
Tesla drivetrain into an FC sounds like an excellent idea.
Not sure I would use a pre-fab battery pack however. Nothing will fit perfectly. Best bet is to break an existing EV pack into modules and then re-position them to fit the FC.
I think electric cars are the future and electric conversions far more interesting than LSx's but am not sure using Tesla as a base is the way to go.
They are extremely proprietary and protective of their tech and software (see Rich on youtube for examples), and will cut you off from parts and updates on a whim.
Not sure what a suitable replacement might be but the market is growing and options will surely become available.
