2003 TF 115 EV Conversion Build Log

Sorry to burst the bubble - a few hundred quid is at least an order of magnitude out for what you'd talked about aiming for on the other forum... Batteries - while a lot cheaper than they used to be are still a large expense - and electronics to drive motors, and the motors themselves are also pretty hefty expenditures. I realise the drivetrain setup for the hybrid you'd thought to do is lower powered than a full-electric drive, but you're gonna need to up the budget if you want it to meet your expectations...

Would be happy to share any progress I've made with regards to my conversion process as I go along though.

Thanks to Admins (Psymon?) for setting up the subforum and moving this across

Much appreciated.

I'll post a few things I've learned that are applicable to all full EV conversions, and specific to F/TFs tomorrow when I've a little time free...

HI immo1282

I would appreciate that. Thanks for your time and advice, in advance.

Robert

That would be the great, if we could have separate threads for different parts/areas that'll make it easier for people looking for specific info, Eg Batteries, Inverters, Heating, Vacuum etc..

Excellent Suggestion.

Robert

I'll get right on it. Might start threads for some of the smaller things I've started to deal with as there's literal books worth of material on the big stuff

Did build an EV years ago .Reliant 3 wheeler Sevcon control .Brush Pony motor .4 100ah batts. 30 mph
Great fun. GEMe2 on eBay for good price

From what I've seen of Reliant 3 wheelers.......30 MPH would be truly terrifying! :omg:
Mind you I've only seen them on telly.......we have been fortunate enough not to have had them here in Oz

Wouldn’t Talkingcars idea work as a disguised Street drag car. I’ve noticed the front hubs on my Mk2 look ready to accept the Metro drive train (which we never got here in Oz) but if that is true simply attach a direct drive motor in the middle after removing the tinware that houses the spare, upgrade to a 150 Ah lithium ion battery and presto AWD drag car.
The ICE motor pushes from the rear removing the need for the electric reduction gearbox usually necessary for an electric motor to start off and then bingo full electric power available for next 6 or 7 seconds with ICE boost.
Battery recharges from ICE alternator and ready to go again. My caravan lithium will take 50 amps if half discharged so although some smart DC to DC charger will be necessary these are less than $A300.
It would certainly be a surprise for a Z4

Talkingcars' idea is cool in theory and I'd love to see it realised. Budgets & space constraints are a thing that's going to be highly apparent in the F/TF when you leave the engine & all require pieces in place...

You would also need to synchronise the ICE engine and the electric motor, other wise one end of the car will be trying to go faster than the other.
Shouldn't be impossible to come up with some form of electronic control to do this................Difficult, most likely, but not impossible!

Got my front battery box back from the welder this morning. The guy even drilled & tapped holes for me which is lovely, because two holes ate 6 drillbits and snapped a tap last time I tried cutting this material (304 stainless steel)

Fits my front battery pack wonderfully...


Unfortunately, it fits the car (unmodified) slightly less well...


This is the idea - though I need to cut into the spare wheel well to get it to drop low enough to close the bonnet lid on it...


Will definitely have to fabricate some support bars to take some weight off the wheel-well and put it straight onto the subframe, so there's some modifications needed anyway - but I'll have to get the angle grinder out a little earlier than I'd hoped...

Also played around with my charging port - Turns out the cheap-looking plastic dust-cap that came with my charging port fits pretty well into the metal surround for the fuel-filler. One quick 3D printed part to hold it together and it looks great. The rest of the filler cap has been reinstalled on the car - it seals fine without the metal ring Will repaint the ring as it got badly scuffed when I was taking it apart, but other than that it's in good shape (apart from the metal I removed to fit the charge port cover.