Anyone do a Tesla electric conversion?

[runsfar]

Hey, gang! I've been thinking of ditching the old gas burner and going electric in my Eagle wagon. I'm just toying around with the idea now, so any conversion will most likely be years away.

Has anyone here attempted such a thing? Am I going to get stoned if I remove my 258? The truth is, I just don't drive all that much, and electric seems like a nice upgrade for the environment and maintenance.

Thoughts? Insights?

Thanks,
John

[johnbendik]

That sounds like a fun project, the kind that might consume decades of your life.  I'm not saying that as a criticism... that's what project cars are for, after all.

In one sense, the Eagle does not seem like a good candidate, since most electric vehicles have individual motors at each wheel, which would waste a lot of the existing Eagle AWD setup.  I guess you could just replace the gas engine with an electric one and leave the rest of the wagon as is, though.

However, only you can decide if you will get stoned when you remove the 258.  I would advise against it, though.  It's hard enough to keep track of all the parts as it is.  Maybe afterwards, to celebrate.

JB

[runsfar]

Well, you have a point about getting stoned.

Most of the info I have read so far refers to creating a bracket of some sort to mount an electric motor to the existing transmission. That's how a lot of classic car conversions are done, although some people do drive the axles directly. Then you find places to mount the batteries, add electric pumps and such for power steering and brakes, etc. It's definitely a project.

[Budwisr]

Look up Solargen AMC Concord.

[atmafox]

I've investigated this.  The controls and unsprung weight to do motors for each wheel are going to make it much harder and reduce handling.

That said!  What you CAN do is just keep the driveline and put an electric motor with appropriate controllers in place of your petrol burner.

Never worked with this site so much but https://www.evwest.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=8&osCsid=f4nkchke0rhc003csrep7m1v47 is an example.  That would just be set up to bolt to the input on your torque converter and you'd drive everything the way it was previously.  The benefit here is ease and that you don't need as much torque out of the motor because you've got all the gearing to help you out on it.

Good luck!
-Atma

[runsfar]

Thanks, @Budwisr. That was interesting. I wonder how much one of those would sell for at auction. Would they be worthless, or like gold?

@atmafox, it wouldn't be for each wheel, but for each axle, like a Tesla. That would definitely be the hardest to do, but the best solution, because it eliminates the most mechanical parts that can wear out and leak and generally cause headaches.

The problem I am faced with, which may or may not be a problem according who you talk to, is my auto trans. Slapping an electric on a manual trans is pretty straightforward. You just keep it in gear the whole time. The problem with the auto is, the torque converter requires revs to produce thrust. That means, either maintaining a certain RPM on the motor at all times, or some other means of keeping that pressure up. With no clutch, the trans is just freewheeling until the revs get high enough.

I've only started to research this. I was just wondering if anyone else had attempted it. Maybe I'll be the trailblazer! Those Solargen Concords just wouldn't cut it, with 30-32 miles per charge. I'm looking for 100 or better.

[Budwisr]

I actually never heard of the Solargen Concords until one was for sale at a local used car lot several years ago. It only had a couple hundred miles on it. Of course it didn't run because it had no batteries. If I recall it was listed for around $5000.

[runsfar]

That would have been cool to see.