EV West - Electric VW Bus | Fully Charged

During Jonny Smith's visit to EV West, he was clearly very happy to drive a converted early Model Volkswagen bus.
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[@GreenJimll]

I love the idea that electric conversions can give new life to old vehicles. Not only does that save "classics" but also means that all the embodied energy in the manufacture of the vehicle is saved too.

[@dougroyce5784]

Wouldn't conversions be the fastest way to get the most cars to electric as opposed to people buying new cars?

[@jayofman]

You see the bigger picture from cradle to grave 👍

[@letsgocamping88]

Price is the factor for most. Needs to be a vehicle with a fair amount of value to it for it to be viable.

[@dougroyce5784]

Oh ok I saw the vegetable oil conversions were a few parts and tubing so I assumed it wouldnt be too different. Thanks for the info. @@leolego2

[@newscoulomb3705]

@bamboo zooka Who can afford $50,000 factory electric cars?

[@GreenJimll]

Also amused that the bus we're seeing is _after_ the paint job. :-)

[@yarkmates3409]

Jon Knight , have you never heard of rattys or be rat look , ,,,,it’s the “style”

[@TheCrazyFinn]

@@yarkmates3409 That's so cool man!

[@svenwesterlund3405]

Mint!

[@SpenserRoger]

@@yarkmates3409 why would you assume he hasn't lmao. I'm always amazed how they can do paint work on these cars and make it look disheveled

[@grendelum]

It’s a brilliant job...

[@patmcdaniel2016]

That guy interviewed himself very well. Good show.

[@peteroconnor5537]

Always enjoy watching the EV West videos and seeing their creations. Not a VW guy but this was truly an amazing conversion.

[@Hyperious_in_the_air]

love EV West. Got most of the components for my electric motorcycle build from them. They give great advice as well.

[@thornlec]

Would like to see your plans

[@tomsummers1137]

As a “die hard” VW bus guy, who has driven this bus, I can say without reservation that this is a very proper and viable second life for these old girls. The range is equal to or greater than when stock, the ride is genuine split-screen bus, and the architecture is unmolested. BTW, Michael didn’t mention that the Logo paint work was approved by the Porsche people themselves. Thank you to Fully Charged for showing this baby to your world. This Channel is the shizzz!

[@sarcasmo57]

I love that it still looks so rundown.

[@andreschutt6538]

This contrast is awesome😀👍an old iconic VW bus with the most advanced electric motor tech Keep up these kind of videos✌️

[@hemelhempsteadherts]

Excellent video, beautifully presented and delivered by knowledgeable forward thinking people .... with a passion.

[@erinboatguy]

Super super cool.....love what EV West does

[@carlmichelsen1230]

Have you considered making an episode on the operational fully electric busses in Roskilde - Denmark?

[@biff1tannen]

Lurer på hva en sånn ombygging koster egentlig?? 🤔

[@SuperSiggiboy]

In Trondheim (Norway) we will have 35 operational electric buses in August

[@trashmail8]

Or those in The Netherlands. :)

[@alexandervk70]

In China 95 percent of all busses are electric, not a big of a deal

[@shiraz1736]

My preference would be 1-2 min of driving then get that thing into the workshop and go into how you mounted the motor, batteries etc, bit more mechanical = much more interesting.

[@thankyouforyourcompliance7386]

True. Too much driving footage and advertising. Mentioning of respect for old design is valid but I would have preferred to see how that did it and not just listen to it.

[@tombley5760]

But you'd have less of Johnny sliding his shades down.

[@cawfeedawg]

Just go to EV west's youtube channel and drill down into it.

[@andymccabe6712]

What is it with you people micro analysing and criticising everything?! Someone is giving you a channel to watch - watch it!!! There are millions of other channels to choose from, or hey-here's an idea-make your own.....!!

[@shiraz1736]

Andy McCabe Micro analysing really. I wouldn’t call it that, we want to see this Chanel continue to be successful and I don’t think they mind if people who watch their Chanel make comments that may improve the channels content and increase their subscribers ,so settle down son no need to get emotional.

[@selflesssamaritan6417]

Beautiful. I love seeing reasonably-sized classic cars being resurrected into EVs. The VW Bus surprisingly has more capacity compared to those larger pickup trucks - despite its size and simplicity. Now the VW Bus became more eco-friendly just like its image.

[@ramblerandy2397]

EV West have been getting soooo much exposure in the last 3 months. Almost everyone, who has a major EV channel, has gone to see them. 👍

[@TheLateBrakeShow]

Rambler Andy I went there before Xmas

[@ramblerandy2397]

@@TheLateBrakeShow OK, maybe FC was first in the queue. Off the top of my head there have been three others, and they are just others I subscribe to. [oops, we love FC best though 😎 ]

[@RWBHere]

Nice to see a Bus in such pristine condition! 😉 Thanks Johnny and Michael.

[@rickhurst9058]

Really impressed with the range on this and the fact it's an actively used workhorse, rather than just a showpiece!

[@ronanoboyle8432]

Amazing...and another great episode!

[@Rootsman417]

The lettering on the side of the bus is "Porsche electric car racing service" in german.

[@greynolds17]

now he just needs a taycan to tow behind it

[@Noukz37]

Danke!

[@84imreplica]

I love this bus. I've been an air cooled VW fan for many, many years. One of the numerous VWs I've owned was a 1970 VW single cab pickup, with a flat six Porsche engine and tranny. It's one of the few vehicles I've owned that I wish I hadn't sold. The elephant in the room here is the price. It's an awesome idea, but man-o-man is it every expensive.

[@marcofecteau]

Another awesome build, bravo EV WEST!

[@AnthonyGriz]

Something old +Something new = Something Awesome!!

[@parajacks4]

Electric is the future for classic cars. Kudos to EV West.

[@MrArgonlegends]

That is such a nice chanle. Love to see you thanks for the video

[@gramateur5776]

I see Jonny has mastered the California Stop; and the follow camera car doesn't even bother with red lights.

[@BevanEdwards]

Brilliant content as always - I'm very interested in what EV West are doing and I love the way Fully Charged delivers that information. One note, you guys should consider flatten your edits on the timeline before exporting. I saw at least three flash frames in this episode, which are easier to find on flattened timelines in my experience. :)

[@Who.is.Clinton]

Wow, EV West? you guys rock!

[@26DR715]

has ev west got there own youtube channel very interesting to watch what is done with these old vehicles. Good video as always keep them coming good work.

[@raychambers3646]

Well all I can say is EV West simply the best ,thanks from UK.

[@plonk7]

Fab Vdub, fab people. Great stuff!

[@dirtona2606]

bout time you got to EV West

[@AegeanEpiphany]

Wow the boss of EV West is impressive. A great speaker.

[@AlexdaCunha]

These guys are amazing

[@ferryengr]

Our '67 Split Screen Bus rode better and better with more weight in. VW had a high load rating on the vehicle and the suspension is pretty stiff with the bus unloaded. Going electric not only improves the drive train, but would improve the ride by adding the weight of the battery pack.

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

A bit lateral here but, that Bus looks like the ideal candidate for regenerative suspension. I mean those two guys were like the nodding dogs that you never see now, remember them? The more mass the more regeneration.

[@ubonrat8653]

Great video and really cool bus

[@watkinscopicat]

he’s such a great ambassador for electric cars!

[@michaelj7069]

I love these videos!

[@supersonic79]

Looks great! I want one.

[@alaneasthope2357]

Hah! I was expecting a before and after video, then realised that it was the "after" video with the beat up paint job. What an awesome van, hiding all that 21st century tech inside. Jonny was like a kid in a sweet shop.

[@lawnlyrider4893]

You have to meet jehugarcia, being in that area.

[@mbirth]

And Gabriel Iglesias who is a huge VW bus fan.

[@letsgocamping88]

They did by the sounds of rich rebuilds visit to jehu

[@markcontracting3303]

Just bloody crap

[@BradMosch_engineer]

They know each other and have done videos together.

[@grayman999]

Brilliant idea 👍

[@vanninstylz6331]

Love it! Classic splitty made EV!

[@svenwesterlund3405]

Ah, those beachwood Wayfarers 👍

[@MrJgaspa]

Noise comes from the reluctance part of the produced torque and not the permanent magnet torque. Thats because the different inductance in d and q axis creates a strain between rotor and stator poles which results in noise when the rotor poles pass stator teeth. Cool build tho :)

[@staudtj1]

Yeah ... I was thinkin the same thing :-)

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

Serious q: Is it the rhythmically straining bearings that's the actual noise source, or are the rhythmically changing magnetic fields in air making the air wobble?

[@staudtj1]

@@DavidOfWhitehills As Kelly Bundy would say, That question makes the mind wobble :-)

[@MrJgaspa]

@@DavidOfWhitehills alternating strain forces are transmitted to both stator and rotor (3rd newton law) vibrating the whole structure to the point of being audible. Other predominant noise source can also come from the modulated voltage frequency from the inverter. Magnetic field can not directly "move the air", at least when gas (air) is in electrically neutral state (non ionized).

[@DavidOfWhitehills]

@@MrJgaspa Thankyou for that, it makes perfect sense. However I feel we should leave it to our most esteemed and learned colleague staudtj1 for the final word.

[@Monkey_SK]

I'd love one of those.

[@Samuel-gb5vg]

Though I see the appeal of them, I don't particularly like older vehicles like the VW bus (primarily because I have a bias against ICEngines), but it is nice to see them being converted into all-electric vehicles. I know many ICE lovers will miss the sounds of the many explosions four feet from their body, but I still feel like conversions like this one would appeal to most people who love older cars.

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

There are still people out there who gather to see and hear and feel a steam engine going by... That feeling does not mean that steam engines are a good way to power the world on a mass scale.

[@Samuel-gb5vg]

@@0ooTheMAXXoo0 Correct. 😊

[@TheBeggFamily]

What a super idea.

[@matambale]

Time for a visit with Rich Rebuilds!

[@simonthompson9380]

Wow ! My dream ev !

[@collhandluke9491]

Pozytywni jesteście. Pozdrawiam z Polski, życzę ponownych udanych projektów. Niech was Bóg błogosławi.

[@hampshireracing]

Cool shop truck!🚗

[@tjam4229]

EV West Rocks

[@Br1anuk]

I wish I still had my 1970 Beetle Karman Convertible to get converted to electric power.

[@ronkirk5099]

Makes me wish I still had my '69 VW Bus. Sure miss it now.

[@shortwing]

Nice vid, nice job on the bus. Get those disc brakes installed.

[@philrabe910]

Oh, hell! That could have been a 20 minute show at least. I was really getting into the vibe of your chat. Didn't Robert visit EV West a few years back?

[@erhardt1477]

Well... As soon as these kits come to Europe ... Ìll be in heaven 😎 Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪 PS. I you guys need a German translation... let me know 👍😂💪

[@markmilligan6616]

You can't do that, the summer months wouldn't be the same ever again without VW transporters broken down on the side of the A303 at the slightest whiff of a hill ⛰ 🚐😱

[@TheLateBrakeShow]

Mark Milligan That’s true enough...

[@rollingtroll]

4:51: YES! There IS a comfort in the vagueness. It's something I really miss in modern cars. It's all overly direct and overly tight. Either Jonny doesn't indicate, ever, when he's in America, or the indicators don't work :D. Cool little van, nice patina, nice conversion.

[@WrathChild-NZ]

Great vid, found two flash frames though!

[@RubenKelevra]

Where? 🤔

[@PeterStilwell]

The guy from EV West - sorry didn’t get the name - is a good presenter, good personality, good chemistry with Johnny.

[@EnlightenedSavage]

He is the owner. He has alot of videos he has done with jehu Garcia.

[@UncleWally3]

Words of cosmic wisdom? “It’s still a Volkswagen . . . “.

[@SuperFuzzmonkey]

I'd love to be able to convert cars to electric!! I have no idea how but it would truly be awesome!

[@randyeller8139]

Hot rodding in it's purest form, bring older classics back to life with way better drivetrain components. I've seen some prices on EVWest's stuff though... A whole new meaning to sticker shock!

[@jasongooden917]

You guys should talk to Jehu Garcia, with his Electric Samba.

[@tomsummers1137]

Jason Gooden you think they don’t?

[@pebre79]

I want one of those holo sunglasses Jonny is wearing

[@collinriley4976]

I owned three buses, a split window, a ‘72 eight seater, and a ‘78 seven seater. The ‘72 caught fire, and some one bought the car after the fire and installed twin carbs, the split window was traded for a new squareback. All of these cars would have been great with an electric drive system. I loved driving our buses, and miss mine a lot. Would I could have had electric installed. As my neighbor once said as he drove by, “Get out from under that car!”

[@richardupyurass2379]

I want one so bad.

[@jmurkz]

These types of EV's are much more interesting to me than the modern Tesla's and all. They also are very inspiring.

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

I want one‼️👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@balmar3]

More technical details please. I've been following you guys for years and yet this is the first time I hear about a Synchronous Reluctance Motor.

[@fish9468]

You sound just like Steven Mould, and that's a very good thing 🤣

[@otterylexa4499]

Cool bus.

[@garrygballard8914]

💚💚💚 this. 👍 ✌

[@matneu27]

Well made, but I get angry about the open motor terminals 😕 what if a piece of metal or rust is falling on it? Anyway it might be cool to ride across US with German writing on it. I ll rather call it Elektro Bus or Bully (German nickname for VW Bus)

[@Metal-Possum]

Finally!

[@n.steenvoorde]

Hebben, hebben, hebben.... (reed: have one myself) ;-). Great company

[@rubencaixeiro9762]

Amazing, now they should invest in some indicators. They do help other drivers.

[@markwilliams3344]

jonny smith top man

[@rogerolive7043]

Just crossed my mind when we saw the person running with the buggy on the pavement (it's becoming more popular with new parent runners I've noticed) , how much better that would be for Mum/Dad and child if ALL those cars, bikes, vans and lorries were electric.

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

A lot less cancer and a lot less allergies and asthma with EVs. Tires do give off similar amounts of particulates as ICE emissions but only a small part of that goes into the air. It is a lot of plastic and toxic chemicals that come off of tires though. Completely unregulated and tires could be made of safer materials and they could last a lot longer but the money side works against selling tires that last twice as long...

[@Stefan-st]

Wy is there no fully charged merchandise link under the Video..?

[@kaptainkmann7808]

Has anybody ever done an electric conversion on a Chrysler Conquest . I had an 88 tsi. man that car was fun. the first time I heard about electric conversions , it was the car I thought of.

[@greyareaRK1]

I love that California exists, and I doubt it gets much more California than this.

[@0ooTheMAXXoo0]

There are people living out of their Model X, living the surfing life and getting free energy from superchargers... Or how about surfers who use eletric VW buses like the one in this video (it is not the first one I have seen). That is at least one more level of California.

[@greynolds17]

I love that california exists....just not in its current state...I moved out long ago

[@danparish1344]

Funny that it has a transmission with the ability to switch to 2nd gear - I don’t think there are any mainstream electric cars with more than one gear, even the Tesla Semi has just the one gear and no transmission from what I’ve read.

[@tomsummers1137]

dan parish, you need SOMETHING to bolt the damn motor to, man.

[@danparish1344]

Tom Summers You could call it a single speed transmission

[@tomsummers1137]

If you know about air cooled VW transaxle architecture, you know that it has 4 forward gears assembled on two stacks. First and second on one and 3rd and 4th on the other. Frequently one or more of these gears are worn out. It is easier to just remove the stack in that transaxle, and keep the other two gears. It just plain does not matter which, and you can keep it in one gear forever if you want....or if you grew up with automatic transmissions and can’t do shit with two hands and two feet simultaneously. Sadly most drivers on the road today can’t do the somewhat complicated multitasking that driving an old standard tranny rig requires. These conversions are made much easier and thus more affordable because of that architecture. You remove only the engine and adapt the transaxle to hang the electric motor on it in its place.

[@danparish1344]

Tom Summers I drove only manuals before the Tesla

[@J5Jonny5]

Best bus in Cali!

[@gui4j]

awesome ...Ev west are crushing it .... blows the doors off the crap the major car manufactures are making today ...

[@greynolds17]

I love EV west...fully agree with not chopping cars up, I would agree that some cars simply cannot be converted due to their value but most classics you can get away with...they made a lot of VWs with that engine so its not super special.

[@trulyinfamous]

My mom would love to have one of the electric VW buses

[@gerrylangford6485]

If you can afford it, do it! if you can't, dream about it!

[@MicBergsma]

man I wouldn't mind to do electric on my 67 bus but can't afford that much 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@Brad_Jenkins]

Do a kickstarter Mic

[@Volksoner619]

I was thinking the same but for the cost I’d rather just do an angry turbo 2 liter. I drove an electric VW thing once and it was super weird. Kept thinking I stalled it out at every light.

[@michaelcaton9358]

reinventing the British Milk float in new an interesting ways........

[@EleanorPeterson]

Hi, Michael! Oh yes. ♬"Two-ton Ted from Teddington who drove the baker's van,"♪ would definitely approve. (Credit: the line comes from 'Ernie', an old Benny Hill song, for those non-Brits who might be wondering what the heck I'm on about.)

[@SuperMadpom]

I can see it now a milk float with Tesla drive train - 0-60mph in 3 seconds. You'd have to work hard to stop the eggs flying off the back though.

[@michaelcaton9358]

SuperMadpom Now I really hope someone does that!!!!!

[@grabir01]

I would love to see an E conversion for old muscle cars that simply replaces the IC motor. An electric motor that takes the place of the IC leaving enough room for batteries and VR.

[@lfla0179]

Well, it is still a deathtrap, but it won't burn down due to gas leakage it was famous for... 😂

[@alex0589]

look on the bright side of life! (also carry an extinguisher. always.)

[@marzsit9833]

those were the volkswagens that used that bad fuel rail design where the fuel inlet to the injector was a permanently-attached rubber hose that clamped onto the fuel rails and was not replaceable, totally different from the rubber o-ring sealed fuel rails used from the 80's onward. those short exposed hoses would harden and crack and eventually leak. there are conversion kits now that can change the injectors to the newer style with a new fuel rail. carbureted vw's rarely catch fire unless they are not properly maintained.

[@andrewuk]

Cool

[@ltrtg13]

I noticed the boss was having a snooze at the end of the video.

[@SEANMCAD]

RV battery solar power would be a good video for you guys. Vendors like Battleborn, Goal Zero, Kodiak.Inergy. For RVers being able to boondock using their own power for the house is a big deal. I rarely ever run into a RVer that doesnt have aleast some solar power

[@tonypower9315]

How much to convert one would have been nice to know!

[@cmarshall4559]

That would have killed the video 😱 RR did a rundown and it's very very expensive.

[@kimgoldberg8097]

If EV West wants to offer one of these EV conversion kits for a Vanagon, I'm in! I would like to convert my 82 air-cooled Westy Vanagon to EV.

[@GeorgeStar]

The range is amazing! Typically it's in the sub-75 mile range. Is there a DC charger?

[@bikecommuter24]

I see converting to ev as another form of customizing

[@alex0589]

So it's basically a model 3 except no safety features and it would kill you and everyone else involved in the case of an accident? Still kinda fun. I love it. love the idea of converted old cars. Just don't run me over with that solid metal tube of death. please

[@XenonJohnD]

One collision-reducing feature of old air-cooled VW's that people overlook is that people can usually hear you even if they cannot see you. The EV conversion is really cool but the near-silent running may be a disadvantage.