[stuntfreak]

Hello everyone, its been long since I’ve posted anything here.

Coming back to the topic, I have been converting many two wheelers and four wheelers to Fully ELectric vehicles as a part of my hobby and R&D.

So far I have converted 7 vehicles and my 8th one is in progress. I would like to share some details on the two recent builds that I am doing. With years of experience in this field, none of my builds comprise of any sort of jugaad or make shift mechanism. All the builds are well designed and fabricated in my own workshop by my friend and me personally and we do this to produce reliable awesome daily drive-able vehicles 2-3 hours each day apart from our regular work. We are in talks with the authorities and certification agencies to get them certified as well.

1. I have taken up the task of converting something really old skool, a classic, and close to many people’s heart in the Indian automotive scene, the Maruti 800. (Just started)

2. My daily drive, the Chevrolet Beat. (Complete)

To begin with the Beat,

I have used a 15 KW motor with the standard diesel manual transmission, allowing me to climb heavy slopes in first gear and cruise at 100 kmph and drive hassle free regularly in the Second gear. We have eliminated the clutch of the car and programmed our motor control unit (MCU) to match the motor RPM to the input shaft rpm to enable an easy shift between gears. Rest of the gears in the transmission have been removed and replaced with light weight blank sleeves while also taking care of lubrication.

The motor provides a peak torque of 75 Nm and a continuous torque of 26 Nm.

I have installed a 15 KW battery pack under the seat in place of the fuel tank and in the boot in place of the spare wheel. My range without AC and Light is close to 115 kms and with Ac and lights is 95 kms. Time to full charge is 6 hours at home and 45 min on a fast charger.

I have hired a good friend of mine to document my builds from now on to make videos as I have realised that I have not created good video and photo materials to showcase to you guys. Anyways we will be shooting and editing each build and posting online for you’ll to enjoy.

This is a non commercial activity and we do this for fun. If any one has any questions, you’re more than welcome to PM me or reply here so that everyone can be a part of the knowledge learning session.

We all love cars. And believe me when I say this, after years of driving modified and actual motorsport race Cars, I am now addicted to EVs. The feeling is like no other. And I am never shifting back to ICE.

Small Video of the Car:

https://youtu.be/KqEF5DgRbcA

Cheers guys. Enjoy.

[Shreyans_Jain]

This is brilliant. It was only a matter of time that someone was able to do a properly good job of EV conversion. Hats off, my friend.

Please share the approximate cost of converting your Beat. What make of batteries are you using? How did you source them? Do you have regenerative braking? How does your car fare in flooded roads during rains?

The range you are claiming is almost 50% of what people are getting with Nexon EV. Considering your battery is also half the size, that is simply fantastic. In your opinion, is it feasible/practical to do a build with a 40kw battery for a 250km assured range?

What is the legality of this conversion? Have you endorsed it on your RC and insurance?

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

This is brilliant. It was only a matter of time that someone was able to do a properly good job of EV conversion. Hats off, my friend.

Please share the approximate cost of converting your Beat. What make of batteries are you using? How did you source them? Do you have regenerative braking? How does your car fare in flooded roads during rains?

The range you are claiming is almost 50% of what people are getting with Nexon EV. Considering your battery is also half the size, that is simply fantastic. In your opinion, is it feasible/practical to do a build with a 40kw battery for a 250km assured range?

What is the legality of this conversion? Have you endorsed it on your RC and insurance?

Thank you so much for your kind appreciation.
We have been working our butts off and blowing our own personal money to build such cars but at the end of the day I guess it’s worth it.

Yes I do have regenerative braking I have forgotten to coverage in the video. As a matter of fact I have paddle controlled regen feature in my car. Mounted in the steering column. So pull to brake contrary to pull to shift like in ICE cars. Check photo attached.

My range is not claimed but actually achieved as I drive this car daily and have also been stuck on zero charge at times. Lol.

I am building a 300 kms assured range car after I finish the Maruti 800. In july. Will update you’ll in that too. And yes it’s very feasible and ROI is less than 28 months if used for fleets.

I’m sorry my beat is NOT WATERPROOF. But my future builds including the 800 will be. All IP67 rated.

I have applied for a Type registration and have got my beat certified but I’m working with the guys to make this a legal thing for all my builds.

Thanks for your interest and genuine questions. Check the photo of my regen lever.

Cheers.

[srini1785]

Neat Job. Well done.

If you could provide some more details it would be helpful. For eg did you use a standard conversion kit ?. if so from where. I was curious since its one the first EV conversion projects cars that i have seen that retains its old manual transmission. Almost all others are automatic ( means no gears ). I see that you have a workshop. Lucky you. I wish i had one for my projects.

Eagerly awaiting details.

[Samurai]

Wow, brilliant job.

I clicked on the thread thinking that some newbie is asking how to convert his car into electric. I sincerely didn't expect a converted car.

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

I have applied for a Type registration and have got my beat certified but I’m working with the guys to make this a legal thing for all my builds.

So until then you still have to produce PUC certificate to the police? It will be interesting to see your PUC certificate.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Neat Job. Well done.

If you could provide some more details it would be helpful. For eg did you use a standard conversion kit ?. if so from where. I was curious since its one the first EV conversion projects cars that i have seen that retains its old manual transmission. Almost all others are automatic ( means no gears ). I see that you have a workshop. Lucky you. I wish i had one for my projects.

Eagerly awaiting details.

Hello.

This was not a conversion kit. We engineer everything in house and make it ourselves. We have used many types of transmissions on our converts. CVT, Direct drive, AT, MT. Exploring all options for best results. I have learnt that single speed is excellent, but having a low gear ratio for additional torque does make sense specially in not so powerful setups like the beat I have made. My upcoming 800 conversion is a single speed since it’s quite light. And the one after that is a Dual clutch 2 speed setup. 😉 stay posted for seeing it soon.

I am indeed very lucky and by God’s Grace I have a spare workshop to play around. Thank you God and Dad once again 🙏🏽

Cheers mate.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

Hello.

This was not a conversion kit. We engineer everything in house and make it ourselves. We have used many types of transmissions on our converts. CVT, Direct drive, AT, MT. Exploring all options for best results. I have learnt that single speed is excellent, but having a low gear ratio for additional torque does make sense specially in not so powerful setups like the beat I have made. My upcoming 800 conversion is a single speed since it’s quite light. And the one after that is a Dual clutch 2 speed setup. 😉 stay posted for seeing it soon.

Cheers mate.

Great. Did you maintain some documentation?. It would be a great manual for people like me. I am eyeing a beat down Premier PAL for conversion but the daunting engineering task is too much to handle.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Great. Did you maintain some documentation?. It would be a great manual for people like me. I am eyeing a beat down Premier PAL for conversion but the daunting engineering task is too much to handle.

I don’t have documentation, but I do have the knowledge and all calculations. No comparative study as such. Lol I should have maintained all results. Would have made a great research paper. Lol. Anyways ask me whatever you want and I’ll try my best to answer

[black12rr]

Logged in to just say, FANTASTIC WORK.

How much approx will be conversion for say hatch back and for a sedan?

What kind of batteries are those and what motor is it?

Keep us updated, following thread.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

I don’t have documentation, but I do have the knowledge and all calculations. No comparative study as such. Lol I should have maintained all results. Would have made a great research paper. Lol. Anyways ask me whatever you want and I’ll try my best to answer

Few major and minor points

Major: How did you match transmission and motor flanges?. I am assuming that the motor has a square flange with a fixed PCD. Further , the motors generally have a smooth profile on the shaft while the transmission , AFAIK, has a splined male shaft or a female counter shaft. Question was how did you couple them?.



Minor : Wiring of the motor

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by black12rr

Logged in to just say, FANTASTIC WORK.

How much approx will be conversion for say hatch back and for a sedan?

What kind of batteries are those and what motor is it?

Keep us updated , following thread .

Thank you so much for your appreciation. The cost of conversion depends on what sort of performance you want and what sort of range you want and on which car.

But approx cost of conversion bare minimum is 4 lacs and we can even do like 600 bhp setups for 20 lacs. Wide range of application.

Originally Posted by srini1785

Few major and minor points

Major: How did you match transmission and motor flanges?. I am assuming that the motor has a square flange with a fixed PCD. Further , the motors generally have a smooth profile on the shaft while the transmission , AFAIK, has a splined male shaft or a female counter shaft. Question was how did you couple them?.

Attachment 2009353

Minor : Wiring of the motor

The motor was mounted using a custom made adapter plate and a coupling to the input shaft. The coupling was also custom made to adapt the two together. The spline data from the clutch was reverse engineered to make the internal splines for the coupling.

Check image. Thanks.

Cheers.

[Miyata]

Awesome. I was also looking forward to see some before and afters of under the hood - what do you have in place of the engine, radiators, etc.! Some images/videos of the underbody would also be great - what is in the place of that muffler, exhaust/tail-pipe.

Do the batteries have extra protection around them with acid resistant materials?

What sort of budget did you work with per car (on the average) for De-ICE-ing it?

A little more detail on how the AC/Heating units have been done.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by stuntfreak

The motor was mounted using a custom made adapter plate and a coupling to the input shaft. The coupling was also custom made to adapt the two together. The spline data from the clutch was reverse engineered to make the internal splines for the coupling.

Check image. Thanks.

Cheers.

Good engineering. Nice to see that given proper infra , we are able to do a proper engineering job.

How about the motor controller wiring?.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Good engineering. Nice to see that given proper infra , we are able to do a proper engineering job.

How about the motor controller wiring?.

You mean wiring or basic motor controller?? Or further vehicle integration?? Motor controller wiring as shown. From the Curtis manual. Check image.
Cheers.

[stuntfreak]

Originally Posted by Miyata

Awesome. I was also looking forward to see some before and afters of under the hood - what do you have in place of the engine, radiators, etc.! Some images/videos of the underbody would also be great - what is in the place of that muffler, exhaust/tail-pipe.

Do the batteries have extra protection around them with acid resistant materials?

What sort of budget did you work with per car (on the average) for De-ICE-ing it?

A little more detail on how the AC/Heating units have been done.

I’m sorry I don’t have too many before images of the car. Whatever I have I’ll post here. And may be soon again.

The battery boxes are all insulated as per EV standards but not sealed. The next cars that we make will be with sealed battery boxes.

Budget is very dynamic for one off builds. Costing was not our primary concern in the past but surely is in the future so will update exact costs for future builds.

For the AC we have put a 48V BLDC driven compressor that controls motor speed to control cooling and also save energy. The heater has been eliminated as I do not need it personally. But will integrate in our conversions further. As we plan to drive across India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Cheers.