Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
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- Jonny Hart
- Put a fork in me, I'm done!
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Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
So I've gone and done it! I've bought a 1975 914 that has been converted to electric drive! Although an older conversion (2010), this is no milkfloat. It has no less than 42 x 160Ah Lithium Ion cells. The controller can deliver 400A to the motor in bursts and 160A continuous. What does that mean? Well, supposedly a range of 80 miles and a top speed of 100mph. Acceleration should be better than a 2.0L car with 100HP @ >0 RPM constant. Torque is off the scale - able to start from standstill in 3rd.
Motor is coupled to the standard manual gearbox:
Cells in the back, above the motor:
More cells in the front:
Interior a bit of a mess. Pinstripe material???
Rust free but dusty and sun faded:
At the shippers Friday just gone:
A question to the gearbox guys. I can either use reverse gear or reverse the motor direction (meaning it could do 100mph backwards!!). It doesn't seem right to run a gearbox backwards but will it actually damage anything?
Motor is coupled to the standard manual gearbox:
Cells in the back, above the motor:
More cells in the front:
Interior a bit of a mess. Pinstripe material???
Rust free but dusty and sun faded:
At the shippers Friday just gone:
A question to the gearbox guys. I can either use reverse gear or reverse the motor direction (meaning it could do 100mph backwards!!). It doesn't seem right to run a gearbox backwards but will it actually damage anything?
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- DDK slapper chatter
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Brilliant - look forward to seeing it in the flesh. Where are you based ?
- inaglasshouse
- DDK 1st, 2nd and 3rd for me!
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
The future has arrived!
Looking forward to this. Perhaps a comedy drag race video or two, in due course?
Looking forward to this. Perhaps a comedy drag race video or two, in due course?
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Yes Jonny! great work, sir. Looking forward to this.
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Ooh, I've been interested in this stuff for a while. Looking forward to seeing what you do.
'68 912
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
The motor does loook a bit like the one they used in the "top gear" electric car show.....................
Clive
West Cork, Ireland
RGruppe #814
1978 SC/1984 3.2 Outlaw -Jaffa 911
1973 914 - on Webers - historic rally car- Tango 914
1977 924 2.0 on Webers street legal race car - Martini 924
Flachbau -in progress
West Cork, Ireland
RGruppe #814
1978 SC/1984 3.2 Outlaw -Jaffa 911
1973 914 - on Webers - historic rally car- Tango 914
1977 924 2.0 on Webers street legal race car - Martini 924
Flachbau -in progress
- Jonny Hart
- Put a fork in me, I'm done!
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- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:28 pm
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
They are quite common so could well be.anglophone1 wrote:The motor does loook a bit like the one they used in the "top gear" electric car show.....................
It's one of these: http://www.evmotors.com.au/products/fb1.html
- Jonny Hart
- Put a fork in me, I'm done!
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- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:28 pm
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Technology is a bit bonkers isn't it?
Right now I can actually see the container boat with my 914 on it, going through Gatan locks in Panama!
http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/so_ ... gatun1.php
It's on a ship called the Kobe Express, due in Southampton in a couple of weeks.
Right now I can actually see the container boat with my 914 on it, going through Gatan locks in Panama!
http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/so_ ... gatun1.php
It's on a ship called the Kobe Express, due in Southampton in a couple of weeks.
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- DDK above all
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Brilliant isnt it, I watched mine all the way through the Panama Canal on its way to Dartford in May this year. I had a fit when I saw the ship unexpectedly turn right at Gib and head for Barcelona. Seems they often divert to pick up the odd container. Actually only added an extra 4 days to the journey !Jonny Hart wrote:Technology is a bit bonkers isn't it?
Right now I can actually see the container boat with my 914 on it, going through Gatan locks in Panama!
http://www.kroooz-cams.com/portcams/so_ ... gatun1.php
It's on a ship called the Kobe Express, due in Southampton in a couple of weeks.
Tony Parker
968 Coupe
In the past;
1 x 914/6 GTR
1 x 987
4 x 968's of various hues
1 x 996
1 x 986
1 x 944
968 Coupe
In the past;
1 x 914/6 GTR
1 x 987
4 x 968's of various hues
1 x 996
1 x 986
1 x 944
- Jonny Hart
- Put a fork in me, I'm done!
- Posts: 1551
- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:28 pm
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
A bit of an update.
Garry helped me pick up the car from Southampton docks in exchange for sorting some wiring out on his new towing rig. What a jolly nice chap. Everything went very smoothly and Kingstown are highly recommended and efficient. We were in and out in around 40 minutes I reckon.
After we got back to mine, it was time for the first proper poke about. I must say the car was exactly as described. There is no rot on the car to speak of, just a very cheap silver paint job with no lacquer at all. Weird though, as there is no overspray whatsoever so it must have taken some time to do. Car presents like it is primer grey. Still, I knew all that and it is a fine platform for what I want:
Two days before Christmas, ! received a very nice parcel of Christmassy goodies from the guy I bought it off. What a gent!
I checked the battery voltages and thought I'd reconnect the contactors and give it a whirl. First off, I set the date to 000 BC and armed the trigger for 88 mph. No, wait a minute, that's a film. In actual fact this is the SOC (state of charge) meter:
I pressed the throttle and heard a contactor click in, then a whine and we were moving - it actually works! I dont know why I was surprised as the PO did 3 years of commuting in it before he retired. I went round my driveway a few times, gears work as normal but you can start off in 3rd and off course you don't need to release the clutch when stopped. Silent and weird - the previous owner's Mum called it the 'Silver Ghost' apparently.
Next I did what every fellow before me has done with a working vehicle, that's it, start taking it all to bits. To be fair, I wasn't about to trust the wiring by others and there's 500 Amps kicking about in this thing. I also didn't much care for the way the front battery pack had been placed in the luggage bay:
I want to relocate this pack. Half will go behind the cross brace, half in front. So I set about removing the HV leads. Rubber gloves and concentration. Once the packs are disconnected the voltage is down to ~20 volts per 6 cells so is safe to work on.
Here's one of the packs:
After a bit of a clean in the luggage bay I have this:
As you can see there is no evidence of rust. The coppery colour is some kind of discolouring, perhaps a fuel leak in a previous life?
I also removed the controller and top 2 packs in the engine bay and this revealed a further 2 pack below and the motor:
There was tons of dust in this car, here's the back of the controller prior to removal:
500A on those main HV leads!
I then removed just about all the gubbins and wiring that had been used for the conversion. Eletrically, I will be redoing the entire conversion. The mechanical parts like the motor adapter and battery frames are good though.
So the car is all stripped and I am planning the renovation:
Here's the plan:
1) Make IP44 rated enclosures for battery packs. This will become law at some point.
2) Reconfigure front packs, half to move to the area of old fuel tank, half in front of cross brace. Custom build battery boxes.
3) Upgrade controller to Soliton Jr (have found one secondhand)
4) Install new charging system and J1772 connector for public charge points.
5) Rewire. HV leads must be orange (new law)
6) Paint or perhaps even Vinyl wrap
7) Retrim ('repurpose' original gauges so the interior looks standard).
Garry helped me pick up the car from Southampton docks in exchange for sorting some wiring out on his new towing rig. What a jolly nice chap. Everything went very smoothly and Kingstown are highly recommended and efficient. We were in and out in around 40 minutes I reckon.
After we got back to mine, it was time for the first proper poke about. I must say the car was exactly as described. There is no rot on the car to speak of, just a very cheap silver paint job with no lacquer at all. Weird though, as there is no overspray whatsoever so it must have taken some time to do. Car presents like it is primer grey. Still, I knew all that and it is a fine platform for what I want:
Two days before Christmas, ! received a very nice parcel of Christmassy goodies from the guy I bought it off. What a gent!
I checked the battery voltages and thought I'd reconnect the contactors and give it a whirl. First off, I set the date to 000 BC and armed the trigger for 88 mph. No, wait a minute, that's a film. In actual fact this is the SOC (state of charge) meter:
I pressed the throttle and heard a contactor click in, then a whine and we were moving - it actually works! I dont know why I was surprised as the PO did 3 years of commuting in it before he retired. I went round my driveway a few times, gears work as normal but you can start off in 3rd and off course you don't need to release the clutch when stopped. Silent and weird - the previous owner's Mum called it the 'Silver Ghost' apparently.
Next I did what every fellow before me has done with a working vehicle, that's it, start taking it all to bits. To be fair, I wasn't about to trust the wiring by others and there's 500 Amps kicking about in this thing. I also didn't much care for the way the front battery pack had been placed in the luggage bay:
I want to relocate this pack. Half will go behind the cross brace, half in front. So I set about removing the HV leads. Rubber gloves and concentration. Once the packs are disconnected the voltage is down to ~20 volts per 6 cells so is safe to work on.
Here's one of the packs:
After a bit of a clean in the luggage bay I have this:
As you can see there is no evidence of rust. The coppery colour is some kind of discolouring, perhaps a fuel leak in a previous life?
I also removed the controller and top 2 packs in the engine bay and this revealed a further 2 pack below and the motor:
There was tons of dust in this car, here's the back of the controller prior to removal:
500A on those main HV leads!
I then removed just about all the gubbins and wiring that had been used for the conversion. Eletrically, I will be redoing the entire conversion. The mechanical parts like the motor adapter and battery frames are good though.
So the car is all stripped and I am planning the renovation:
Here's the plan:
1) Make IP44 rated enclosures for battery packs. This will become law at some point.
2) Reconfigure front packs, half to move to the area of old fuel tank, half in front of cross brace. Custom build battery boxes.
3) Upgrade controller to Soliton Jr (have found one secondhand)
4) Install new charging system and J1772 connector for public charge points.
5) Rewire. HV leads must be orange (new law)
6) Paint or perhaps even Vinyl wrap
7) Retrim ('repurpose' original gauges so the interior looks standard).
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Terrific. Instead of j1772 you might want to consider mennekes / type 2. A lot of public charge points still only offer UK 3 pin or type 2 (certainly the case for most source london ones) though the ecotricity points at mway services have all manner of connectors. Care though, those pump out juice at massive pace. Just a thought but have you reviewed http://www.flux-capacitor.co.uk there may be some helpful snippets on there given what he has done!
1970 911 2.2 S
2004 996 GT3 mk II
Renault 5 GT Turbo
BMW i3 REX
Jaguar F-Pace S 3.0 supercharged.
McLaren 12C spider
2004 996 GT3 mk II
Renault 5 GT Turbo
BMW i3 REX
Jaguar F-Pace S 3.0 supercharged.
McLaren 12C spider
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Hey Jonny
Looking good. Why are you changing to that controller? was there a problem with the existing one?
Are you only ever going to be slow charging it or will you be using any of the higher amperage fast/rapid charging points? I'm going to be aiming at utilising both, but not sure what charger will allow for this. Keep us posted on the battery boxes as I'll have to do the same but am about 3 months behind you at the moment.
Whats the total volts and total kWh of the battery pack? have you considered adding more for extended range?
Looking good. Why are you changing to that controller? was there a problem with the existing one?
Are you only ever going to be slow charging it or will you be using any of the higher amperage fast/rapid charging points? I'm going to be aiming at utilising both, but not sure what charger will allow for this. Keep us posted on the battery boxes as I'll have to do the same but am about 3 months behind you at the moment.
Whats the total volts and total kWh of the battery pack? have you considered adding more for extended range?
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Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Looking good Jonny. A quick tot up looks like 3 packs of 6 upfront, 4 packs of 6 at back. 3.4v per cell ~140v ?
Anyhow, interesting project. Have fun and look after the battery pack !
Anyhow, interesting project. Have fun and look after the battery pack !
Tim Bennett
RHD Targa 2.2T EFI, Triumph ITB's, EDIS and Megasquirt.
"Old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it"
#1153
RHD Targa 2.2T EFI, Triumph ITB's, EDIS and Megasquirt.
"Old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it"
#1153
- Jonny Hart
- Put a fork in me, I'm done!
- Posts: 1551
- Joined: Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:28 pm
Re: Jonny's 914EV Rebuild
Yes, the charger connections not all the same but you just have to carry a couple of different cables. I'll keep J1772 at the car end. The charger talks to the station to regulate the power. I'm looking at the 30A charger from Thunderstruck EV at the moment.
7 packs of 6 cells in series, nominal 144V system. Approx 22kW. It should be fine for what I want.
I'm changing the controller to a Soliton for a few reasons. Firstly, the Curtis 1231 cannot supply as much continuous current as the Soliton which has water cooling. Second, the Soliton can be configured through a web interface and allows much greater control of motor current / voltage. It has some customisable outputs which can run traditional gauges too. It has a UDP logging facility for diagnostics. It's just a bit more modern.
I also have a musician/composer friend who is going to write a few sound effects for the car.
7 packs of 6 cells in series, nominal 144V system. Approx 22kW. It should be fine for what I want.
I'm changing the controller to a Soliton for a few reasons. Firstly, the Curtis 1231 cannot supply as much continuous current as the Soliton which has water cooling. Second, the Soliton can be configured through a web interface and allows much greater control of motor current / voltage. It has some customisable outputs which can run traditional gauges too. It has a UDP logging facility for diagnostics. It's just a bit more modern.
I also have a musician/composer friend who is going to write a few sound effects for the car.