What should I pay for a solid rolling 914 shell?

[Jonny Hart]

Hi,

I am getting the 914 bug, never owned one (currently have a 911 SC).

I have found a 1975 US car which looks to be sound, but does not have an engine. One very old repaint that's faded, no damage, no repairs. Scruffy but original interior, dash not cracked! Photos of the common rust traps look good. Four spoke alloys (the ones that look a bit like 911 Fuchs with slots in)

It has been a runner recently but had a non-Porsche motor. The bodywork was not cut or modified for the conversion.

What should I pay?

[Mr Pharmacist]

What engine was in it that didn't need any mods to fit?

I saw a thread on 914world recently that said a roller was worth $500-1000. That seemed a bit low to me? Is it here or in the US?

[Jonny Hart]

It's in the US. The 'engine' was actually an electric motor. No mods to chassis or bodywork.

$1000, really? Even basket cases here seem to be over £5K!

[Darren C]

Hi Jonny,

Prices seem to be on the up and most of the guy's in the US have cottoned on. I'd be very surprised if you can still get a reasonable condition car minus engine for $1000 USD.

I'd of thought that if the car had little rust you'd need to be the wrong side of $3K USD, plus dont forget shipping charges to UK for a car that wont be able to move under its own steam and import duties which have no concession in charges for a car minus an engine.

There are still a few bargains to be found so why give yourself a hard time with a car that has no engine? Plus if its had an electric motor in it there's bound to be all sorts cut out the loom or just plain missing. Holes drilled for battery mountings etc and all sorts of headaches.

[Jonny Hart]

Hi Darren,

I actually want to convert it to electric power again.

Technology is moving fast. 100 mile range and 90 Hp with off the scale torque from standstill is now realistic as a diy package ( Google Zelectric bug ). I also like the idea of being able to drive right into the centre of town and get a parking space outside my favorite restaurant and a charging point for free!

The 914 looks like it came from another planet so seems to be the perfect platform for a car that glides along silently. It is fairly lightweight and aerodynamic, also has enough cubby holes for the batteries.

I already get my engine noise fix from my 911!

[Bewildebeest]

I actually want to convert it to electric power again.

Good for you !! Great idea.
You're probably aware of 914world.com - there are several folks over there who have done this conversion and sound(ish) rollers do come up fairly regularly. Craigslist also seems to provide a few. Bad rollers are more plentiful than good ones and prices are all over the place. (Teaching you to suck eggs I'm sure)
This is on 'world' at the moment http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=263033

7 cars for $500 each !!!!

Don't let people put you off ! Do it !!

[camperco]

We quite fancy building an electric one and we had a look into it last year after seeing an electric bug in LA.

The mileage and performance claims seem a bit optimistic. People want to believe them, like they want to believe in a clean diesel engine, so be careful there. Also the cost of shipping a rolling shell will be way more than its worth so you will get better value buying the best car you can afford.

But first of all you need to ask the DVLA if they will reclassify it as an electric vehicle or it wont qualify in the low emission/electric zones. I suspect that this will be very difficult. So much so that I would make an application for your current car, tell them its electric and see what they say. You dont have to go through with it but you'll get to find out if its possible and before you have spent any money.

[Jonny Hart]

We quite fancy building an electric one and we had a look into it last year after seeing an electric bug in LA.

I'd say you've got to do it judging by your surname!!!

That is very useful info regarding DVLA and electric cars - I will check that out.

My current thinking is to buy a trashed Nissan Leaf and use the batteries from that. The leaf has a 60 - 80 mile 'real world' range but it weighs 1475 kg. The batteries are 225Kg of that. The 915 weighs 900kg with the ICE weight being 125 kg. So lets say I can get the car (minus engine) down to 700 kg, adding the batteries/motor back it should be possible to still be under 1000kg. That's be a good target to aim for.

I will further increase range with a mixture of fibreglass bumpers, pop-up headlight delete, an 'aero package' (think Lupo L3 slipperyness) and low rolling resistance tyres.

Anyhow what really gets me is having 90hp @ 1 RPM!!!

[Biggles]

Jonny

i have a shell that i will be selling. it's a 75 and in excellent order although i have already put steel arches on it.

PM me if you want more.

Chris

[Bewildebeest]

My current thinking is to buy a trashed Nissan Leaf and use the batteries from that.

Just the batteries or the drivetrain as well ?

[Jonny Hart]

Just the batteries. I'll drive the original manual gearbox with an AC motor. Otherwise it's a load of CAN bus ball ache and that's coming from someone who designs CAN bus systems for a living!

Check out EVWest.com. I'm looking at the 914 kit on there, in conjunction with the Leaf batteries.

I haven't sussed out whether car breakers in this country have cottoned on to the fact that a EV's batteries are around £6K to replace. Hoping I might offer a bag of sand and get away with it! Ssshh!

[middlefour1]

Just the batteries.

Hi, I would be very surprised if you could buy a battery pack from a car that had been in an accident. The risk of a cracked cell or interconnection on the batteries would be a high risk. I would also question whether they would be allowed to sell that from a damaged vehicle. I worked for 15 years in the 70's and 80's on industrial battery electric vehicles and have seen what damage a cracked cell or connection can do, so be careful. Ask Tesla what happens when a connection gets damaged.

However, a very interesting project. I would take the Leaf range with a very large pinch of salt, I know somebody who had one for a short tine and on a cold, wet, dark winter morning he was lucky to get 20 miles. Folk are getting their collective knickers in a twist about diesel car emissions/performance/mpg when real world range in real world conditions on electric cars is still pretty pathetic.

What voltage are you working on for the motor and where do you propose to get the traction motor from, be interested to know.

Good luck!!

[camperco]

As it happens a shell has just come up for sale and its onsite here at our Greatworth workshops. One - question though. Had you considered the GT look? This one has full GT arches in steel and 1 or 2 other mods for a 914-6 conversion but the customer has just bought the real thing so its going on the market next week.

I don't know how you are established workshop-wise or even where you are based but we might be able to co-operate. We have have the space and all the kit so you might be able to build it here? Lets talk if you go any further with it. Steve above has lots of engineering experience and he's well know to us, maybe he would be able to offer some advice along the way too?

[impmad2000]

I always thought a Boxster was a great doner shell for an electric conversion. Not a classic, but really cheap, and you'd get good money for for the unused bits.

[Jonny Hart]

Just the batteries.

Hi, I would be very surprised if you could buy a battery pack from a car that had been in an accident. The risk of a cracked cell or interconnection on the batteries would be a high risk. I would also question whether they would be allowed to sell that from a damaged vehicle. I worked for 15 years in the 70's and 80's on industrial battery electric vehicles and have seen what damage a cracked cell or connection can do, so be careful. Ask Tesla what happens when a connection gets damaged.

However, a very interesting project. I would take the Leaf range with a very large pinch of salt, I know somebody who had one for a short tine and on a cold, wet, dark winter morning he was lucky to get 20 miles. Folk are getting their collective knickers in a twist about diesel car emissions/performance/mpg when real world range in real world conditions on electric cars is still pretty pathetic.

What voltage are you working on for the motor and where do you propose to get the traction motor from, be interested to know.

Good luck!!

Youtube Nissan Leaf battery disassembly. You'll be surprised.

I'm hoping to use an AC-50 HPEVS motor but they aren't available in the UK yet so might have to import one from the U.S. It's an AC motor so has regen braking which is worth a few miles especially in hilly sussex.

144 V @ 600A is the target. That's typically around 45 3.2V cells. The Leaf cells are interesting as they are double cells, e.g. 7.4 volts.

I think the point is that whatever battery technology is chosen now, it will be out of date in 5 years so it doesn't really matter.