I've been going over all the reasons why this would/wouldnt work, and the list is leaning heavily towards the possible, but then I have never owned a c303 or an electric, though I am technically capable of doing the conversion. Im wondering if any of you have considered this or heard of it being done with a pinz or a volvo. I have seen it done to some older Land Rovers.
Right now the volvo i would be working with has has the original b30 replaced with a 164 engine thats got about 15KM on it. The price of batteries has gone down a good bit lately, and the technology behind some of them, like the new lithium polymer, has gotten a lot better. The charges last longer, self discharge/cycle life is better and weight is down. Im wondering if a single motor with the ability to also engage the rear axle or a dual motor system would be better. With the complexity of a single motor system, the price would end up being similar to a dual motor system. Not sure which would be more complicated to design and implement, though. Certainly there are complexities for both methods, but in the end I find myself more and more interested in doing this. I dont plan on driving this thing any great distances, mostly local, so its even more attractive.
I know the general consensus here is that doing something like this destroys a perfectly good vehicle, like the "jackasses" that take a Sugga and put a chevy small block in them, but I'm really interested in doing this for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with wanting to hoon this thing or see how much mud I can kick up to show my redneck buddies how cool I am. Im thinking about the limited viability of combustion engines, particularly in light of a possible societal collapse, and doing something with alternate energy - while also learning about electric conversion, which I have a huge interest in.
From the basic research I have done thus far, it seems like the c303 and the way it was designed to operate make it ideal for a conversion and that doing so would allow it to still retain its awesome capability as an offroad vehicle. Add in solar recharging capability and you have an almost unlimited expedition vehicle. Could fill my jerry cans with water instead of gas.
I would love to have your opinions on this.
PS - I am not planning on doing this in the immediate future, just tossing some ideas around and respect the experience and knowledge of the members here who have been a great help in my initial research and decision to buy one of these awesome vehicles to begin with. This place rocks.
at least they'll be out of my front yard! ..
