Electric Vehicle (EV) conversions
Hennepin Restomods is really excited to be nearing completion of our first EV conversion project. It's been quite an adventure getting here, but it will be done shortly and we'll have plenty of info on it soon. But before we detail the Electric A100 van, here is a primer on EV conversions.
Can you convert a classic car to electric?
YES! Almost any vehicle can be converted. There are many ways to convert a vehicle, and here are a few options:
- Modern motor swap. Commonly using Tesla motors and an aftermarket motor controller. It’s also common to use the battery packs from Teslas as well. There are quite a few used motors and packs available as they’ve been in production for more than a decade. The Tesla motors are very powerful and not terribly expensive. But there are other options as well. The Nissan Leaf has been in production almost as long as Tesla and are readily availble cheaply as well. Far less power, but decent torque. The Leafs’ battery packs were really bad so plan to replace it in a conversion and increase the range in doing so.
- Older style aftermarket conversions. These tend to be simpler power trains using older DC motors. They have a lot less power and are less efficient, but simple, new, and reasonable in cost.
- Our A100 conversion went a different route. We sourced a brand new, OEM style drivetrain from China. It’s reasonable in power, but high voltage and more efficient than the DC motors.
What about power and range?
The sky’s the limit! While there are EVs on the market with over 1000hp, and these could be the base for an amazingly fast EV, a Nissan Leaf motor is 110hp and 200lbs-ft. Not impressive, but very drivable. Our Chinese drivetrain is 160hp, which will make a great cruiser. You don’t need Tesla Plaid or Lucid Sapphire power, but it’s an option.
For range, it’s all dependant on your battery pack. More and bigger batteries will provide more range. Many modern EVs run about 400V, and it very possible to build a 300AH battery for a pack over 100 kW-hr in capacity. Batteries can be distributed within the vehicle but can take up a lot of space.
Aftermarket battery packs (LiFePO4) are a little less efficient than OE (Tesla) packs, and are a little larger and heavier. But they are more thermally stable and don’t require cooling like many OEM packs.
So power from 100-1000hp is possible and range from 80-400 miles is possible as well.
How much does it cost?
It’s common to see high end Tesla powered conversions that can cost $150k – $400k. It’s easy to build a vehicle in that price range, but it’s possible to convert a car for far less than that. A motor and controller will cost $10-30k. A battery pack will cost $5-15k. And the conversion itself can cost $20-50k depending on how complicated your build is.
If you’re looking for an electric classic or to convert your classic vehicle to an EV, we’d be happy to talk to you about it, give us a call!