THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Another quick update. Cage is almost done enough to come off the body for finish welding and detail work (gussets, rails, flooring, etc). This will let us send the body out for paint sooner. Parts are already coming back from powder coat. Wheels have been straightened and cleaned up, then powder coated. Ready for 33" MT KM2's.

Looks good - glad to see that the bumper is not integrated into the "cage" work.

I love the look of a caged 710!

Looks great! I have a cage being designed right now and have many of the same elements in the design.


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A few more progress photos below. Got the front seat bracket in, and it's as low as it will go, so we have a little bit of headroom in the cab.

@Haf-E - Thank you for the comments. We are taking all the advice that we get here, including the cage and seat advice as it's been invaluable. Thanks all that have contributed with comments, suggestions, and PM regarding the project.

Anyone have any good tips on installing new bump stops inside the differentials? That's next....

We're also looking to make our own hub steps, anyone have any input on them, or diameter information?

How could someone fit in the middle seat? It looks like console/storage would be more useful.

I'm also curious why you added the cage? If you are trying to get maximum mileage and usefulness out of an electric conversion, and I assume it's sort of a proof of concept, won't adding several 100lbs and a lot more air resistance lower your miles-per-charge a good bit more?

I agree with Vince. I also find the concept of three seats absolutely awesome... So may i suggest scraping the three captains chairs and replacing with a bench seat?

Vince- Great questions, and thanks for jumping in the thread.

The center seat was intended for my 2 year old son, but after I sat in it myself (I'm 6'2") I actually had plenty of room to swing my legs over to the passenger side. We don't intend on having 3 adults up front often, but it turns out there is much more room than we thought without the dog house in there. Also, We are jigging up a center console mount that goes right into the seat rail taps (we threaded the rails so the seats could sit as low as possible) that will have storage and a 12V refrigerator, so that the seat can easily be swapped over to a more comfortable 2 seater with a functional storage area between the seats.

You are absolutely right about the cage, and I'm sure it will check in well over 100 pounds, but it gives us more storage up top, and allows a viewing platform when going to events (as chairs can be arranged on top). We plan on attending events like King of the Hammers, surf events at the beach, etc... so the flat top will be useful (we floored it with expanded steel), but we did trade off a bit of range for functionality (and looks, if we are being honest here). We will also take advantage of the cage for mounting work and driving lights up top, and maybe some optional solar panels for camp stuff (not charging the EV). With 120kWh in the trailer and 84kWh in the Pinz, we'll have over 200kWh, so range should not be too big of a concern at this point.

That was the plan anyway, but we are just kind of 'winging it' on this build.

looking to make our own hub steps, anyone have any input on them

There is a pipe flange that is the right diameter and has a decent sized pipe thread that I've used (put a short nipple pipe in the flange, and I capped off the nipple with a coupler for a smooth, clean end) but it is critical that the flange is thinner than the gap between the hub and the inside of the wheel to allow the wheel to be properly clamped to the hub with the lugs. I had to turn the pipe flanges on a lathe to make them a bit thinner. To prevent the steps from rattling, glue a piece of rubber (or even a thick cross section O-ring) to the back of the step flange. The rubber compresses without forcing the wheel away from the hub.

The downside to pipe is that it is a "slippery" step. Andre makes some with expanded steel welded around for secure footing. I have my pipe steps on one truck and Andre's on my other truck. I like Andre's better.

Take a look at krick3tts design
viewtopic.php?p=77050#p77050

Any updates? How's the build coming?

OMG the suspense is killing me.

Gozar wrote:OMG the suspense is killing me.

They are still charging up the batteries

A week or so ago, I bumped into his father in Carlsbad, Ca... Actually his father came up to me to ask, "How long have you had your Pinzgauer?". He was very nice, knew what a Pinz was, and we talked for 10 minutes or so... The scoop is that the electric Pinz project is still a thing... but there is a line of customers wanting some VERY nice vehicle conversions in front of the project WE want to see... Of course those conversions are for paying customers.

So, we have to patiently wait....

I was talking with EV West yesterday; they have been very busy with real, paying work so the Pinz has sat patiently awaiting its turn. I was told that the goal was to take it (completed) to King of the Hammers in early February. We'll see if that becomes a reality.