Question: What Car Should You Convert?

[@dillzilla4454]

i got a 2008 dodge charger which is even more of a boat than the e39 and i can comfortably get 200 miles on a 56kw battery and is one i would recommend if using tesla components. this is because of the ease of the conversion itself for that particular car. there was tons of working space and installing a model s LDU was almost as simple as dropping the rear dif out and putting the LDU in its place. it also has a very deep storage under the trunk for battery space while still keeping the normal trunk size. because the front was built to house a v8 engine you also have nearly half the car worth of room to pack whatever you want in. for me i temporarily packed a generator in there for registration purposes then eventually swapped it for another set of batteries. the main reason i got a charger is because they were cheap, extremely common, and commonly had their engines pre-pulled out of them with the only major ICE components remaining being gas tank and the rear dif.

[@alibro7512]

My 2 cents worth 1. Pick a car you like and want to be in long term. This should be you're number 1 priority as you're about to spend a year or two working on it and hopefully several years driving it. 2. Pick the cleanest one you can find or you'll spend as much time repairing it as converting it. 3. Find the highest spec one available, preferably with heated seats and if possible a heated windscreen to save on cabin heating. 4. Unless you're REALLY smart with CAN go for an older car. A few years ago I decided I wanted a project. At first I wanted to put a V8 into a smaller car but the thought of 20mpg at well over £1 per litre (currently £6.50 for an Imperial Gallon) made me think again so the idea of an EV conversion started. After much disappointing research where everyone talked about small, light and aerodynamic I came across this mad Irishman converting BMW's and the rest is history. If I ever finish my Landrover Freelander project I'll let you know how it went.

[@blackterminal]

how's it going?

[@alibro7512]

@@blackterminal Slowly, lol

[@alibro7512]

@@blackterminal take a look at my channel for latest updates

[@blackterminal]

@@alibro7512 My little BMW has been going since 2016. :). Though it's now much further along touch wood. Life gets in the way sometimes.

[@alibro7512]

@@blackterminal no videos in your channel?

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

I was only half on-board with you until you cleared up the golden line, that there isn't a technology reason you can't convert any vehicle anymore. There just might be a budget reason. And the larger, heavier, and less aerodynamic vehicle you want to convert, the more expensive it's going to be, probably linearly. A lot of people want an EV because it's cost effective, and, for them, spending less is a big part of that decision. Also, taking less risk on a DIY project means smaller budget too. My first EV was a kick scooter, then an electric bicycle, then a motorbike, and now a very small and light sports car. Honestly with how good of EVs you can buy and roll off the lot these days, the reasons for doing a conversion are greatly reduced. It's pretty much "Because I love this vehicle and it doesn't exist as an electric" now. Classic cars more or less.

[@alanmay7929]

i think the Audi A2 is the way to go, its all aluminium super light construction, spacious and super aerodynamic for its time and even now, i have seen a similar project on internet on day.

[@rkan2]

I would also vote for the A2 since it is so similar to the car I'd like to convert, e.g. the B5/C5 A6/A4/Passat/Superb :P

[@kierank01]

I was thinking of the A2 also, but Damien just told us not to convert light/aero cars 🤔😅

[@TC-V8]

@@kierank01 didn't say 'not to' convert an aero car - just that it is now not a requirement with better batteries. Of course if you choose to convert an more aerodynamic car you'll be able to go further for a given amount of battery energy.

[@arberkramar]

Slow on the reply, but also consider parts availability in case of chrashes and bumps, because A2 is made of alu sheeting and nobody repairs chrashed alu panels.

[@blackterminal]

I never thought your first videos were cringe. I enjoyed them all.

[@ianhill20101]

Diesel Audi A2 is perfect candidate for all to follow along cost wise.

[@alanmay7929]

i totally agree with you on this one, full aluminium body and no rust drag coef 0.28.....

[@rkan2]

@@alanmay7929 The drag coefficient isn't even that great considering the B5 Passat is 0.27 :P They are cheap considering their aluminum body though.

[@ianhill20101]

Excellent drivetrain shares alot with other vw's for an upgrade path on brakes and suspension, the aerodynamics matter more as the speed increases so under 30mph little town run around the lightweight shell will make a big difference to kwh per mile if the batterys can be packaged in a decent way .

[@seancosy1]

Jerryrigeverything in US is proving your point with a Humvee conversion.

[@blackterminal]

at massive expense

[@Marlow925]

Well .. I have a 1978 VW Scirocco GT sitting with a busted engine, so that pretty much satisfies all those requirements :)

[@koeniglicher]

Long story short from this video: The vehicle must fit the needs you have, be easy to work on, and that you want to keep for a long time. The vehicle does no longer need to be light, small and aerodynamic. Modern lithium-ion cells will make up for it.

[@arberkramar]

Hah! How true your video is. I can tell you guys from experience... you need to select a car that is nice to watch on stands. Because you will be getting a lot of that before you get to drive it and motivation is by far the biggest factor here. Not $$$ but the will to go on. So for your first DIY EV pick something you really like. And nowadays there is no shortage of TUVed parts like before. So you can prepare and browse around at the breakers. No need to spend much on new industrial parts if there are spare EV parts readily available...

[@ZirKonman]

- This is absolutely correct! Convert the car that you would like to drive. I've been planning my upcoming conversion for about two years now and been digging a lot into what would be the ultimate car for me. And It is a E39. Or actually two of them - a sedan and a Touring :). Will be starting a new KZbin -channel and a thread on the openinverter -forum for them within the following months. - But what I see Damien didn't actually know is that the E39 sedan is one of the most aerodynamic cars that there were around the millennium. But does it make a huge difference? No. A E39 has a CdA (drag coefficient * frontal area) of around 0.586. Almost all of the sedans from that time (and even still today) have a CdA around 0.65 +- 0.1 so there can be about a 15% range difference with the "best" and "worst" sedans. (Aero does about 50% of the consumption in mixed use.) With lithium batteries you can make that 15% increase with a small amount (like 20 +-10 kg) off batteries. - I think the most important car spec is that if you are stuffing a lot of batteries and a heavy electric motor the car it should have a large motor and transmission etc. to strip so the curb weight doesn't increase too much. For this a straight six (or even V8) BMW with automatic transmission is great. At the same time a tiny car would have it's weight increased a lot so there wouldn't be much room anymore for luggage before reaching total mass.

[@maxprea3745]

Pick a car that can take the amount of battery you need/want. I am doing a Ford 32 hotrod. The frame will be a skateboard with all of the EV parts and the body on top.

[@bryandickerson5365]

Finally, a Damien video with few enough technical terms so that I actually understood everything he said - woohoo! But seriously - a very helpful tutorial.

[@damianjones6546]

Well, the engine in my Nissan Pathfinder is knackered so i guess I will be converting it now.

[@blackterminal]

Light small cars get overloaded on their axles with battery weight. Imo a medium size car is more ideal.

[@petrkocandrle3779]

Please do a Subaru Outback. The best would be the 2007-09 generation, but also 2010-12 would be a good fit too. There is pleanty of those cars with broken diesel engine while it is very practical, well built and fun to drive vehicle with great off-road capabilities. So having a ev conversion how-to would probably save a lot of cars from being scrapped.

[@Ryukachoo]

Damien says to convert a light aerodynamic car. Meanwhile, there is a 1971 Corvette in my garage which has the aerodynamics of brick and weighs a little more than the Sun

[@davidianmusic4869]

(North) American dude here, done lots of construction, gardening and landscaping work and live in the country.. I can put a good word in for the Mazda b series / Ford Ranger, same truck. Smaller than most but I’ve carried embarrassingly large loads ( embarrassing for the larger pickups ) like 15 sheets of drywall plus lumber. Not room for passengers, but you have cars for that. If you need more than that truck skip the regular sized trucks and go for (the massive) F250, or pull a trailer.

[@sprint955st]

My VW T25. Cheers.

[@Pats-Shed]

I like the idea of the Mitsubishi L200 conversion as I have a 1998 Hilux and would like to convert it to EV . Seems like the removal of the engine and swapping the gearbox to GS450 would yield battery space either side of the rear prop and give better weight distribution. Just need to figure out the centre diff to retain the 4WD. Happy New Year Damien and best of luck with the new house 🏠

[@jammi__]

Convert an old Audi, something from the 90s, such as 80 quattro / S2 / RS2 / Cabriolet. They should be old enough to be classics and are very nice and reliable cars, simple to work on and there's plenty of community support, technical information, and parts. If you choose an Audi 80, choose the V6 model, because they have nicer headlights and in general better equipment and their front springs will be ready for a heavier load.

[@lsh3rd]

I’m considering a newer Audi as many of these are mechanically totaled, but still very nice cars. My current idea is a first gen TT with a Prius transaxle… once that’s running, throw a Toyota MGR in the back. A great side project would be to coordinate the dual motor inverter with MG1 and MG2 coupled, then add another inverter for MGR and add control to Damien’s VCU to run all 3 motors.

[@celeron55]

Actually you want to choose the bigger engine variant of a vehicle because it'll have a larger gross weight on its registration papers, which means it can legally carry more batteries without taking off seating capacity. It might also have a larger tow weight, if you need to tow stuff.

[@TC-V8]

I think you'd be crazy to convert an RS2! Have you seen the cost of them! and also noted for their strong and characterful engine.

[@jammi__]

@@TC-V8 You can pick a V6 Audi 80 avant quattro as a better starting point for much cheaper and they can be converted to RS2 spec for the parts that matter for EV conversion, the difference being essentially some of the suspension and brake parts. There are still plenty of them in relatively good condition with nothing wrong with them except the super inefficient 2.6 or 2.8 V6 engine.

[@Mike_Costello]

I have an inner need to convert a Ford F-100. PLEASE convert an F-100 as your pickup. I am getting a Mercedes W124 back to roadworthy but I keep measuring the spaces within it to see how I'd convert it to. This is a great little chat. Thanks and Happy New Year!!!!

[@franciscoshi1968]

I am converting a Mitsubishi Pajero. It is heavy, big and not aerodynamic. The worse that can happen is it may not have good range.

[@rkan2]

I'd love the Audi/VW/Skoda from 97-05 which share a bunch of stuff. The B5 A4,A6 (C5),Passat and Superb are basically the same car. A couple major changes in around 2000 for them when it comes to comms. Also one reason is because I own several and would like an EV version.

[@rkan2]

Also one could do stupid stuff like making a quattro a hybrid :P

[@rkan2]

These cars are relatively aerodynamic too, though not too lightweight.

[@DerekWoolverton]

I was going to put myself on the waiting list for the electric Ford truck, but apparently so many people have done it already that their original announced production is sold out for the next two years. Going to have to find a beater to get me through the lean times. But if I was going to convert a truck, I would probably ditch the bed and put a flat/stakebed on it, so I had boatloads of easily usable room below for electronics and batteries. Also, it seems car manufactures have started to catch on the the ideas Nasa prototyped for electric airplanes: more motors are easier than fewer (and adds redundancy). Why have a differential, if you can just drive each wheel separate.

[@sagster]

Odd fact: Damien played at 2.25x speed, sounds perfectly normal 😛

[@anthonymillett16]

I can only survive at 2x. Nothing less or I give up

[@Mike_Costello]

😂😂 I just tried it. Bahahahaha!

[@tonystock856]

Nissan Navara 2016 with 4 link rear suspension, maybe using Nissan Leaf parts?

[@InTheGarge]

Totally not related...but having that spanner glowing red hot was the best video! I was LOL! Damien a retake is in order. :)

[@EVguru]

Nice summing up of things, but... Just how bad were the Lead acid batteries you were using? The VW Scirocco I converted 20 years ago had a nominal 192V 55Ah (10.56kWh) pack of Optima YellowTops, that weighed 320kg. I could easily get over 25 miles on a charge and it would out acellerate the stock 1.8Gti.

[@dansmith6909]

always wanted to see if you could put a prius drive unit in the back end of a smart fortwo and use only the one motor to power it instead of both MG1 and 2

[@Whereswally606]

Is that an old cga monitor in the background. Looks like one i owned as a kid. Great advices. Thanks again.

[@lsh3rd]

I think that might be the coveted Magnavox re-branded by Commodore with the RGB inputs. I had one for my Tandy Coco 3. Magnavox 8CM515

[@Whereswally606]

@@lsh3rd mine was attached to a comcen 8086 build like a russian tank with 2 5.25inch floppy drives.

[@mentor288]

Thank you Mr. Macguiver (Maguire) 😁. Really loved the sarcasm with the really nice Irish accent.. 😊. I Agree with you 100 % on this matter, you broke it down quite well on why and how. As usuall ppl do not even know why they do, what they do. This would serve as a good tutorial of asking them, do you even know what you want? Thank you for the video, and Happy New Year 2022..

[@speedstrn]

I haven't watched the video yet, but my specific question on which car to convert is . . . Just kidding, have a Happy New Year!

[@bobbondarul7448]

Happy new year smart Yoda :) Stau safe and strong

[@___OmerAJ___]

I dream of converting e36

[@backwoodsbungalow9674]

Me too. The E36 coupé is stylish, the estate is practical and the compact is easy to park.

[@eclecticcyclist]

Volvo 480, C30 or possibly Vovo P1800 or Volvo PV544

[@eclecticcyclist]

Oh, I've just noticed how similar the Volvo 480 looks to an XPeng G3 EV.

[@mobies341]

Do a full conversion series on the RX8 you did a video on a few years back.

[@MiniLifeCrisis]

Have you seen Dave Blackhursts conversion?

[@mobies341]

@@MiniLifeCrisis I googled it there, Did he do an EV conversion or an engine swap? I see lots of usful Canbus posts, but talk of a piston instead of rotary dino juice burner.

[@MiniLifeCrisis]

@@mobies341 yes, it's a Leaf based conversion, kzbin.info

[@mobies341]

@@MiniLifeCrisis thanks for the link

[@vidznstuff1]

Really curious about which pickup truck you'll convert in Ireland. An Aussie Ute might work....either way, it's likely an import unless you can find an ex-military unit (thinking Germany)

[@dylanwilliams4960]

Hi, I'm a big fan!! Loved the P38 videos, may I ask, do you know anyone, including yourself, that may want to convert one in the future? Secondly, is it worth going on a ev city and guilds course? Thanks (ps I have no mechanical experience)

[@chriskaye1997]

Why not something like a transit van? Could make it 4 wheel drive? 🧐 If a pick-up truck, it’s gotta be the venerable Hi-Lux, surely? 😊

[@celeron55]

Even a medium sized van will gobble up unimaginable amounts of energy. Prepare for doubling the battery cost. If you go for something like a Sprinter, that's almost triple the batteries per unit of range. It's all about the frontal area and zero aerodynamics at the rear.

[@pashko90]

Hold on, Damien, i already was been thinking what i did subscribed to funny car video channel what you own....

[@surplusstock8778]

i have a 75ft motor yacht with two MAN v12 diesel engines.I use it only on short trips a few times a year but they cost me a fortune in fuel ,maintenance have to be turned over regularly. I thought to replace with two complete ev car drive trains with a back up diesel generator. Any thoughts on whether this would be feasible?

[@vidznstuff1]

Boats suck for EV conversion unless you're happy at 6kt

[@surplusstock8778]

I'm only looking to go 10 knots max for short distances

[@timex8321]

hey do a small CAB OVER flat bed truck

[@davidianmusic4869]

Forgot to cut that bit out. Lol

[@TC-V8]

Anyone found a car/van/truck which would take a complete model 3 pack?

[@grahamleiper1538]

Somebody in US was doing a Sprinter? "SuperFastMatt" did a 1950s Jaguar but split the pack apart.

[@LatutaEV]

It's funny that I made a similar title video but quite different context 😉

[@patrickschenker2442]

Bmw I8 from hybride too full EV

[@sagster]

Commodore 64 with monitor and 5 1/4" floppy drive ??

[@blackterminal]

Maybe he does his accounts on it. But maybe he just likes retro gear. So do I.

[@lsh3rd]

Looks like maybe a 128… but I don’t know Commodores that well.

[@AlistairBrugsch]

@@lsh3rd C64-c. A later re-shell version to match the style of the C128. It also had a different version of the SID chip that sounds a bit different.

[@8sim6]

Anyone converted a bmw e92 ?

[@gazbmw0]

Suzuki swift newest model if possible cheap and cheerful

[@iamgadgetboy]

I think put all your years working on Tesla inverters and convert model S or 3 to full open source fully cut from Elon's tentacles and hack supercharging as it's from the car end not the charger that determines SC or make a nissan Leaf 4wd controlled by your prius mg1, mg2 inverter board system controlling both. Or lastly a rwd prius or yaris using your knowledge on the lexus 450H transmission. Good luck and either way I'll watch. Have an enjoyable new year.

[@rkan2]

I mean.. All you need to do for that is to remove the simcard :D

[@redred5389]

Honda element 4x4

[@baker500877]

Volvo 850 r

[@arushsehgal9434]

Rolls Royce Phantom

[@rkan2]

Ermm :D Not light, aerodynamic or small :D

[@blackmanops3749]

IDGAF, but don't do a minI cooper. I want to do one and too many others have done it. Even BMW did it, albeit not very well.

[@arushsehgal9434]

Mercedes G-class Brabus

[@blackterminal]

We are waiting for your video Arush

[@tanner3801]

A PHEV diesel G wagon would be rad