converting cars to electric
 

FWIW

I think there is a series called Vintage Voltage on Quest.
It is about converting "old" cars to electric, not sure when it is on, sorry

found it, Thursday 9pm

macafee2

Excellent programme. However very, very deep pockets required, and a re- mortgage.

An interesting program but as has been said, those paying have very, very deep pockets.
One of the episodes I saw was for an original FIAT 500. A great conversion but I would have thought part of the joy of a classic like that is the sound and feel of the engine.

Anyway each to their own

I watched about 6 episodes at the weekend but their was no mention about heating or lights.they are quite essential .
I could live without air conditioning.
I know you can obviously get electric heating but the battery drain will reduce range.
The program is good but lacking at the same time.its more focus on performance
It would be good to see them tackle the issues I mentioned

Heater motor and lights will be covered by the original 12 volt system

Fiat 500. ?

Sound and feel. You mean the crunch from non syncro gear box.--:shocked:
I did many thousands of miles in those little beasties.

HERE'S A PICTURE BELOW OF THE LAST ONE I HAD.

I’ve only managed to watch two of those episodes but can’t bring myself to watch anymore. They appear to be the typical unskilled mechanical monkeys who are in way over their heads. The fit and finish of all the work I saw was sub standard at best. Very little care and skill considering the value of these conversions.
It could be a really good programme, but it’s tarnished by the folk doing it...

Yes, but think of all that money you would save by not having to pay VED ! :D

The one of the motorbike was nuts, they bought a modern Royal Enfield to do the conversion. The chap who wanted it gave them a budget of £20k. He could have bought an amazing bike for that and had a decent range not 100 miles with a 2 hour charge up time.

A friend who works for JLR development was telling me anybody who buys an electric car now is mad, the stuff that will be available in 7 or 8 years will make the stuff available now look like a steam engine in comparison. Interestingly the ban on ICE powered cars in a few years apparently does not mean they can not have a ICE powered generator if wanted.

I wouldn't say it'll take 7-8 years. 200-250 miles of realistic range is increasingly becoming the new normal for many of today's brand-new EVs, but prices are generally still higher than the equivalent ICE (in some cases, substantially so), and recharging times are still a multiple of refuelling times.

But the gap is definitely closing, and in some cases there are simply too many advantages to EV over ICE already. Looking at cars like the VW ID3, it's nearly £3k cheaper than a diesel Golf 8 GTD, and more spacious inside. With 100kW charging available as a norm (125kW available as an option), recharging to 80% in under half an hour is perfectly feasible. That's still not the 5-7 minutes it takes to fill a tank and pay for it, but a 20-25 minute recharge in the middle of a 400 mile trip probably isn't outside the norm of what the vast majority would take - I certainly like to stop for at least 15 minutes when taking a refuelling and comfort break on the 270+ mile journeys I used to take regularly before the pandemic struck. Top spec versions of this car will have a range closer to 290-320 miles on a single charge, but that comes at a price of over £39k. This same platform and range of batteries is or soon will be available across other VW/VAG models (ID4 SUV, Seat El-Born, Skoda Enyaq etc).

Going down a size, the Peugeot e208 seems to be very well thought of. It starts at a similar price point to the ID3, but the top spec version is several thousand cheaper. A drawback for me would be a maximum 50kW charging speed, meaning a bit more than 30 minutes for a rapid recharge. But it still can cover some 180 miles of realistic range. Its twin-under-the-skin, the Vauxhall Corsa-e, is a couple of grand cheaper and looks more user-friendly to me.

Going up a size and a half, the MG5 EV is an estate roughly between the size of a Golf and a Passat, has a 200 mile range and starts just above £24k, but only "rapid" recharges to 80% in 40 minutes.

There are plenty of other currently available examples which you can research at your leisure and more soon to come to market this year. But if I was in the market for a new car, considering the total cost of ownership and the high spec of these cars, they would certainly be near the top of my shortlist.