Sigma-galant.com

Is there anyone on this site interested in doing such a conversion?
I have thought about this for a long time, and with the current cars I have, I have the perfect shell for it, a dead stock Galant Wagon.

Here's an extreme version of what I'm talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=369h-SEBXd8

Anyone have any thoughts on the topic?
And better still, does anyone have any experience in doing anything like this?

Dave...

Would love to see an electric motor in a galant, but how deep is your wallet.

I know exactly what you are saying.
This sort of thing doesn't come cheap, or quickly.

brilliant concept and would love to see it happen

I'd be spending alot of time at the RTA's about such a drastic modification/conversion.

I doubt being a complete change in terms of fuel type, engine type, emission catergories , the laws and regs would be HUGELY different (as opposed to a regular engine changeover)

I'd be looking at a Falcon that's recently been built (registration is ZEROED) as inspiration and information
(this particular car runs a twin turbo diesel engine with solar power)

There's been a couple down near me in recent times. An old MK1 Mini and a Toyota RAV4 (about 1996). Both go very well. There was a story on 3News a couple of months ago and I think it was in the ODT Newspaper as well.

I went to an EV show day a while ago (at least 6 months) on Newcastle Foreshore.
I got talking to a bloke who had done a conversion on a Suzuki van.
He was explaining some of the problems I would have to overcome.
EG:
- If you car has a brake booster, you need to make a vacuum so it can work, this means installing an electric vacuum pump.
- Window demister, you need a heat source, 12V hairdryer straight into the dmister ducts is most commonly used.
- Battery location needs some thought, venting to outside air (not cabin is always better) the Galant wagon should be a good shell for this. When the petrol tank is removed the space under the floor would be perfect as the boot floor is the boot floor, so there is plenty of room underneath, just the spare wheel would need relocating).

Scorpma82 wrote:I doubt being a complete change in terms of fuel type, engine type, emission catergories , the laws and regs would be HUGELY different (as opposed to a regular engine changeover)

As far as I could tell, because there are no emissions at all, the only thing they look at is installation, and power output.

Dave...

Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), had his 1967 Camaro changed to an electric Camaro. Many have said he killed a classic but are far as I can see he has a car he can drive anywhere will never need petrol or oil and is actually a lot quicker than a stoc '67 Camaro ever was, lol

Have you got any links to details of the build?

Can't seem to find a copy of the show in english, but these might be of use;

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217752/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQW7kWkf2v8

This is the full episode but it is very poorly dubbed in German.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkOgLFm0kqI

when i first read about mitsubishi's in-wheel electric motors i immediately thought about how they could be retrofitted to our cars.

The datsun in that clip appears to use a single electric motor under the hood? which means using existing driveline components.

one advantage of inwheel electric motors is that there is no need for any existing driveline components and by running 2 at the back the quest for LSD is over! Most of our cars don't have independent suspension which makes fitment even easier. Batteries would go under the bonnet, of course and should be easier to position for ideal weight distribution than a regular engine.

The problem with motor in wheel is the weight.

Lower "un-sprung mass" makes for much better handling, especially on uneven/rough surfaces.

An adaptation I thought of was to use independent motors but with belt driven wheels.

The other plus is you now can have ABS, Traction Control and Stability Control without any other hardware.

Cheers.

The RHCP Camaro uses the stock trans and diff. Pretty much has an electric motor where the combustion engine was and a back of batteries where the fuel tank was.

I was thinking (it might be wishful thinking) of mounting the motor in the transmission tunnel (or as far in as it can get) and using the engine bay and under the rear wagon floor for mounting batteries. Trying of course, to get the weight as much as possible back in the factory weight distribution so the brakes and suspension work as they should.

That could happen, but remember the electric engines themselves weigh a hell of a lot.
I think one mounted close to the fire wall, 4 batterers under the bonnet and 6 in the back would be a pretty good balance

Superscan811 wrote:The problem with motor in wheel is the weight.
Lower "un-sprung mass" makes for much better handling, especially on uneven/rough surfaces.
An adaptation I thought of was to use independent motors but with belt driven wheels.
Cheers.

The motors Protean Electric will be producing this year are only 31kg each and 81Kw (800Nm) each so i guess they are getting lighter all the time. I had to shift a sigma disc brake rear by myself the other day and OMG it was heavy. Though i understand that a 'twin electric live axle rear' would have a different weight distribution to the standard rear axle, even if you could get the weight to be similar -but for a 30-40 yr old cruiser/daily, I'm sure it would be OK. And it would be relatively straight forward to install.

Have you looked at the factory motors????
Quite a few out there now
Lexus L330H (hybrid), Toyota Prius Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota VoltZ EV, Chevrolet (Holden) Volt EV, Nissan Leaf EV, Mitsubishi i-Miev EV, Tesla sports car EV in USA, I think Ford have produced a couple of Hydrogen fuelled cars in USA, Audi have done an EV R8, BMW have done a Hydrogen car, More than likely VW have done a protoype

Not to mention aftermarket guys and prototypes of the past

id look at all these cars (as best as u can since info on them are limited and hard to find) as inspiration and infomation

Someone mentioned thuings like never using petrol/oil/coolant and what not...which is fine, certainly see the benefits in it....but u might want to look at your range ur motor will give....at what speed

I know that the Mitsuchicken i-Kiev has a range of about 150km (at best) and the Nissan Leaf is no better off
Not to mention, no engine noise either
The inside of your car will look unusual as it will have no gear lever (but that could be part of the character of the car)


Food for thought

Some pics of the Lancer Evolution MiEV. Most EV or Hybrid cars I have seen use a T shape battery compartment.





http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/cor ... l1321.html

This is another way too.
http://hackaday.com/2010/08/23/a-differ ... otor-cars/