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posted by janrinok on Wednesday October 30 2019, @10:58PM   Printer-friendly
from the drop-in-and-plug-in dept.

Submitted via IRC for Fnord666

Drop In Motor Converts Car To EV

With the latest craze of electric vehicles, it might be tempting to take an old project car and convert it from gas to electric. On the surface, it sounds simple, but the reality is there are a number of pitfalls. It would be nice if you could find a drop in engine replacement that was ready to go. According to Swindon Powertrain, you’ll be able to soon.

Based on their existing powertrain that can convert a Mini to EV, the transverse powertrain weighs 70 kg and if it can fit in a Mini, it can probably fit in nearly anything. Specifically, it’s 60 cm wide and 44 cm deep — that means it could fit easily in a roughly two foot box. The height can be as little as 28 cm. The company talks about fitting it on a quad bike or even a loading platform. It can be thought of as sort of an electric “crate engine” — a common term for a ready to install powerplant that, as the name implies, arrives in a crate.

The powertrain with a single-speed transmission, cooling system, and inverter weighs in at 154 pounds and generates up to 110 horsepower.  We aren’t sure what the expected battery pack is, but presumably, it will be somewhat flexible.


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  • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Thursday October 31 2019, @03:50AM

    by shortscreen (2252) on Thursday October 31 2019, @03:50AM (#914018) Journal

    There isn't necessarily a big difference between the drivetrain of a van vs. a car. Old rear-drive Ford/GM vans were available with small block V8s that were basically the same as the ones used in sedans and muscle cars. Probably the same transmissions and differentials too, just a different length driveshaft. So if there was an EV kit that bolted into one, it might bolt into the other. It's just a matter of getting out the tape measure and seeing what will fit.

    Front-drive minivans also used car engines. IIRC the Chevy Lumina had a similar V6 to the Cavalier for instance. The kit described in TFA is for transverse applications and it fits in a mini so why not a minivan?

    It's not going to be "universal" in the sense that they anticipate every possible thing you might want to put it in and ship it with all the nuts and bolts and step-by-step instructions. It will be "universal" in the sense that it wasn't designed with a single application in mind. So you can do whatever with it, as long as you manage to mount it, wire it, and connect drive axles.

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