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Lots of good replies above. I welcome all of the comments, even the ones calling me crazy.
I need the reality check.
In the discover/design phase of any project, you're going to need to figure out what exactly you want to accomplish and from that determine how best to get there.
I knew going into this that I want to go AWD electric. But what exactly does that mean? 1 motor and use the existing AWD drivetrain? Or go 4 hub motors or 1 motor up front and 1 in the rear?
What are the pros/cons and how will those choices drive decisions about having to cut into the car or not. I'd much rather not because I'd run the risk of compromising the structural integrity of the car.
But would removing the engine and fuel tank and oil bits already do that? How will I have to compensate for those things?
I have a lot of thinking to do.
I need to get in touch with more people who've done an ICE to electric conversion. And if I'm lucky, I'll find someone who's done a Porsche 911 conversion.
In the meantime, here is my baby and I hope that in the end, I do it right.
Yup! I've watched quite a few videos on those cars. The Tesla roadster battery back would be insanely expensive.
I'm starting to read up on using a Tesla drivedrain (rear wheels only) with Chevy Volt batteries.
The site I'm checking out right now is http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/
As I get closer to actually deciding which way to go, I'll post up build thread.
Had a conversation with the Wife today that went like this:
Me: So this guy built his 911 EV using a Tesla motor.
Wife: Really? Sounds cool. How much do those cost?
Me: About $12k Link to EVWest
Wife: Nope
Proof will be in the pudding for sure.
I got in touch with EVWest and Michael Bream is recommending the Tesla drive train. I'll have to speak with him on the phone to iron out the details then begin some more serious planning.
I need to finish my other project, a '76 BMW 2002 restoration I'm doing for my Wife, before starting this one. The 2002 is another 3-4 months out.
Michael threw out a number for what the kit would cost, I hope that price was all inclusive. If so, then I think this is do-able sooner than later.
So, high level, it's looking like I'll be going with a Tesla drive train and a 32 kWh battery pack. Depending how heavy I am on the peddle, that should be good for 120-150 mile range.
I'm not concerned about the battery package so long as I get the drive drain, controller, charger etc right. That's because I expect battery development to continue and I can swap these out for those better batteries when they're available.
The only downside to going with the Tesla Model S drive train is that I'll likely lose the AWD of the C4. That's because it's a complete package. Motor, gearbox, controller, etc. All I'd have to do is mount it, attach batteries and go. So, not only would I be going electric, but also converting the car from C4 to C2! LOL.
I wonder how soon Porsche drive trains will become available? Might have to do another swap then.....
This'll be the last I'll post about this. I'll start up another thread to document the build.
Thanks for the comments and entertaining my daydreaming.
I HONESTLY hope you are successful and end up with a high performance, environmentally friendly, fully electric 964 that you can plug into your wall at home to recharge and enjoy for many miles and many years. But I am going to predict that if you proceed, you will end up destroying a perfectly beautiful 964. Not saying you wont finish it, I'm saying the results and performance and balance will not come close to the current car. EVWest did an electric conversion to a 356 kit car. That looked like a MUCH better option to me. But good luck. Please keep us posted.
If you want to build an electric Porsche I'd go with a 914. There's so much more room for batteries and you can maintain a decent weight balance, and there's several that have been done before so you won't be re-inventing the EV.
I HONESTLY hope you are successful and end up with a high performance, environmentally friendly, fully electric 964
Me too! To that end, I'm going to be doing a lot of planning, measuring and research. A lot of research. This will end up taking a lot of time before I actually do the conversion.
Originally Posted by A914MAN
If you want to build an electric Porsche I'd go with a 914.
It's not about building an electric Porsche, but an electric Porsche 964! And if possible an AWD electric 964. That would be the ultimate goal for sure. In order to accomplish this, I may have to cut into the car. Batteries will dictate this. I want to have as much range as possible. So yeah, a 914 would be easier in that regard. Unfortunitely, I've never done anything the easy way.
Originally Posted by GMKF
The torque will be nice.
I'm also cooking up a plan for a 928 with a V10 TDi engine out of the Touareg...
The instant torque is addicting. That is no lie. Can't wait to experience it in the 964!
Make sure to take some good recordings of the sound in the cabin before you dump the ICE. That way you can link the throttle position sensor and speedo to a DSP playback system and have the best of all worlds!
Has any progress been made with this project? Someday I’d like to electrify my 91 Targa - especially if I could get 100+ mile range out of it.
No progress at this time sadly. Life gets in the way sometimes. Both good and bad events have kept this in the planning stage. Might be there for a bit longer.
Thanks for the update - life definitely gets in the way.
My family is going to San Diego this summer and we're going to test drive a Zelectric Motors electrified VW while we're out there. I'm planning to outsource the build when the time comes and they claim they don't cut the car (I'm not sure they will convert a 90's era car though).
I will leave my Targa in tact if I can find a good rolling chassis that I can electrify instead. Most of the rollers I see are stripped bare and I don't want to have to source a whole interior (10-20K?) on top of an expensive conversion. The parts and labor for the conversion itself will cost as much as a well optioned Tesla Model 3.
In any case this is all definitely 5+ years out and a lot of things can change before then. Maybe battery prices and tech will look totally different.
Since I'm troubleshooting another no start issue. It's given me time to think about this conversion some more and seriously consider it once more.
I reached out to EVWest to see if they've made more progress on their Tesla kit for the 911 and oh boy have they!
Since my last post they unveiled this little gem in partnership with RWB and Streetfighter LA at SEMA in 2019.
The car as a whole I'm not too crazy about, but the drive train....oh man.
Watch this video from EVWest
It's a drop in solution, everything basically plug in and go. They seem to have really done the work to make it as easy as possible to do this conversion.
There will still be things to integrate. The 12v battery is charged from the high voltage battery with a DC converter. So from there, the rest of the 12v system and stuff like heating will need to be sorted out to make sure it still works.
For the most part, you buy the kit, they assemble it for you and ship it. I remove the ICE components, install the EVWest kit and go.
I think my Wife is on board.
So, keep an eye out for a motor coming up for sale soon! Just over 125k miles & motor had a top end rebuild on 10/27/2015 at 110,107 miles by http://www.ipb-autosport.com in Sacramento CA.
:-)
06-15-2018, 06:13 PM
