New Project Options

[mb911]

You guys are being dicks. Seriously, knock it off.

Keep it up and there will be Time Outs passed around like party favors. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

ALL 914s with ALL drivetrains are welcome here. If you have a problem with it, just don't post. Post in the threads with drivetrains that you approve of.

Taking off the Admin hat....

This is really cool and I'm looking forward to watt you are going to do with this car!

Zach

Thanks Zach

[Optimusglen]

Whether we like it or not electric cars are the future, the sooner we all come to terms with it the better off we'll be. I imagine it will be like when people transitioned from horse/buggy to automobiles. Some day those of us who cling to ICE classic automobiles will be in the same boat that modern horse enthusiasts are in.

Excited to see the project progress.

[76-914]

Wasn't it Henry Ford who said, "If I'd asked people what they wanted they'd have said faster horses"! Electric is an improvement that will be refined plus you will have a back up emergency power plant in your garage should the electricity conk out. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[914e]

After a minor modification,



My car goes VROOOOOOOOOM again after 24 years.

[Chris914n6]

Whether we like it or not electric cars are the future

So you haven't read the part where there is not enough minerals on Earth to replace even half of the 1,000,000,000 ICE cars currently in use around the world. Which btw is only 4% of global carbon emissions. Electric cars are not going to save the world, but it might make your city air cleaner.

[siverson]

I’m all for this project (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I would like an electric 914 with a really light battery pack. 50 mile range would be enough for me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Me too! I'd like to have a six conversion, nice orig 4-cyl, and an electric 914. EV West right by my house has a ton of experience with these.

Somewhat related, I think the new Tesla Model S Plaid is really going to redefine sports cars and what it means to be a sports car or "a car for drivers". 0-60 in 2.0 seconds. The fastest production car ever of anything and it has 4 doors. What is the point of going even faster? A $200k top of the line 911 is slower than this much cheaper sedan. But is it as fun to drive? No.

Good luck with the project!

-Steve

[pek771]

So, I'm thinking about batteries. Tesla has the laptop batteries in the frame, so the 1100# battery package is pretty low. I don't think we can approximate the weight/CG of a Tesla Model S with a converted 914. However, If I get some fiberglass deck lids, and limit the batteries to around 600#, I should be approximating the stock weight distribution. I don't know where the CG lies in a vertical plane on a 914. It would be great if someone has this info. I can only speculate that the handling will be adversely affected if the battery weight is higher up in the car. I believe an AC-50 motor is around 120#. I will still have the 914 transmission (we do like to shift, after all). Likely only need 2nd and 3rd. The AC induction motors torque up pretty well at low RPM with the proper controller.

I need to probably change the springs in the rear, possibly some bigger torsion bars in the front. I may be able to sneak a couple of battery modules into the engine bay.

So, it looks like the first order of business is to do an analysis of the weight distribution. We want the 914 to come out of the corners like a rocket, which ain't happening with a Type 4 VW engine.

BTW, I have a fish scale hanging in the garage, so I can weigh everything in and out. The car was like 1900# on a CAT scale, but a CAT scale is really not that accurate. I had to weight the SUV and the 914 together, and subtract off the weight of the SUV. Must be someone in the area with corner scales.

[mepstein]

I’m all for this project (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I would like an electric 914 with a really light battery pack. 50 mile range would be enough for me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Me too! I'd like to have a six conversion, nice orig 4-cyl, and an electric 914. EV West right by my house has a ton of experience with these.

Somewhat related, I think the new Tesla Model S Plaid is really going to redefine sports cars and what it means to be a sports car or "a car for drivers". 0-60 in 2.0 seconds. The fastest production car ever of anything and it has 4 doors. What is the point of going even faster? A $200k top of the line 911 is slower than this much cheaper sedan. But is it as fun to drive? No.

Good luck with the project!

-Steve

A friend of mine has a Taycan. He calls the Tesla a fast electric car and the Taycan a sports car with an electric motor. He has a bunch of other high performance Porsche’s so I get what he’s saying. Fast acceleration is fun but (obviously to 914 owners) doesn’t make a sports car in itself.

[914e]

So, I'm thinking about batteries. Tesla has the laptop batteries in the frame, so the 1100# battery package is pretty low. I don't think we can approximate the weight/CG of a Tesla Model S with a converted 914. However, If I get some fiberglass deck lids, and limit the batteries to around 600#, I should be approximating the stock weight distribution. I don't know where the CG lies in a vertical plane on a 914. It would be great if someone has this info. I can only speculate that the handling will be adversely affected if the battery weight is higher up in the car. I believe an AC-50 motor is around 120#. I will still have the 914 transmission (we do like to shift, after all). Likely only need 2nd and 3rd. The AC induction motors torque up pretty well at low RPM with the proper controller.

I need to probably change the springs in the rear, possibly some bigger torsion bars in the front. I may be able to sneak a couple of battery modules into the engine bay.

So, it looks like the first order of business is to do an analysis of the weight distribution. We want the 914 to come out of the corners like a rocket, which ain't happening with a Type 4 VW engine.

BTW, I have a fish scale hanging in the garage, so I can weigh everything in and out. The car was like 1900# on a CAT scale, but a CAT scale is really not that accurate. I had to weight the SUV and the 914 together, and subtract off the weight of the SUV. Must be someone in the area with corner scales.

@pek771 I Have an AC-34 in our Super Beetle with 4 banks of Chevy Volt batteries. Plenty of power for a bug, first gear is a rocket. Two banks are on place of the gas tank using the gas tank mounting hole to mount the battery box. The rear banks are being the back seat. The car ended up being about 160 pounds heavier than stock most of it ending up in the front. The controller is easy to program and adjust. The down side is the programming is done through a little 2" gauge.

My 914 has a Hyper9 motor with around the HP of a 6 but pushing the torque limits of the 901 and the CV joints. I plan on rebuilding the 901 as soon as it cools off. My 914 was converted 24 years ago and had a 9" DC motor with lead acid batteries by a school for and engineering competition. In the 90's we had EV races with high schools and colleges building cars.
On this one I am again using the Chevy Volt batteries. One bank in the front in place of the gas tank. They had added an aluminum shelf for the old batteries that I cleaned up and reused. I would have not done it they way they did but it was already there.
In the rear I am mounting batteries on both sides of the motor the keep the weigh low and close the same location. I expect the weight to be the same as a 914/6

[ClayPerrine]

If I ever win the lottery, I am going to the Porsche special wish department with a flared 914 tub and asking them to put a Taycan drive train in it. Then I can show up at Parade and kick all the 911 butts in the AX.

If you look at the Taycan chassis without the body on it, it has a void between the batteries and the rear of the car used for the rear seat footwells. If you remove the void, it looks like it is the same length as a 914.


I think an electric 914 would be fun.

Clay

[pek771]

I had the car in storage for a few weeks. I did some measuring and determined I can fit five (5) Tesla 22kW modules in the car handily...three up front and two in back. Also decided that I'm going with a Hyper9 motor, the lower voltage variety, with dual shafts. I have not yet made up my mind about whether to use the extra shaft to drive an AC compressor. I may just go with an electric compressor.

As I am cleaning it up for paint, I have noticed that it must have been hit in front. A new front (bumper) section has been welded in...at least it was a nice job of repair. I am going for a lightweight, so I'm scraping the sound deadener out. I'm thinking I can get under 2000 Lb fairly easily, even with the 290 lb of batteries. It should come out of corners like a rocket.

[mepstein]

Here's a list I made one day while waiting for a plane to take off. It’s not inclusive or accurate but may give you some ideas. Dropping 300lbs and adding an additional 600lbs for batteries will probably end you up in the weight range of a big six with much better weight distribution than all the guys putting big sixes in the back of their early 911’s.


10 - Firewall pad
10 - floor tar
60 - lids
10 - engine lid
5 - rockers
20 - glass bumpers
20 - targa top
5 - carpet
15 - exhaust
10 - Backpad
20 - air control
5 - door hardware
185
10 - Seat sliders
5 - interior padding
20 - headlights
10 - steel crossbar
10 - Heat flappers & lever
30 - battery and
5 - battery tray
265
20- Headers

310

Pedal board
Targa latches
Vent window & trim
Shortened sub dash
Sun visors
Glove box & ashtray
Trunk locks F & R
Glove box lock
Windshield wipers
Windshield washer
Trunk heat shield ?
Brake caliper shields
Radio & speakers
Engine lid latch & cable
Front trunk latch & cable
Front carpet board
Spare tire
Center tunnel covers
Shift knob
Antenna
Door cards
Door pocket

[Shivers]

I watched a documentary where the scientists had a drone in flight, had some kind of malfunction and it hit the earth. Wasn't that high up. The battery burst into flames upon impact. And not just a small fire, the dirt was frozen so two guys grabbed a big rock and started smashing the battery pack that didn't want to go out. Tesla may have crash zones for this reason, if they don't they should. Are you going to use some type of fire suppression system? Cool project

[windforfun]

I watched a documentary where the scientists had a drone in flight, had some kind of malfunction and it hit the earth. Wasn't that high up. The battery burst into flames upon impact. And not just a small fire, the dirt was frozen so two guys grabbed a big rock and started smashing the battery pack that didn't want to go out. Tesla may have crash zones for this reason, if they don't they should. Are you going to use some type of fire suppression system? Cool project

So maybe batteries aren't really any safer than gasoline. Lithium ion & lead acid...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

[pek771]

Update, March 2022
Waiting for the motor, still. NetGain has no Hyper9's in the 144V variant available at the moment. It has been 10 weeks.
I do have the transaxle adapter frome EV West, which is really shiny and nice. As is the aluminum flywheel, and the Stage 2 Kennedy pressure plate. Transaxle is done...A-F-M-S-Z. I took out the X fifth gear, and put in a stock 914 5th although the electric car guys tell me I will be mostly running is 3rd or 4th.
I did see some Tesla Model S modules, which I will be using. The mounting is a bit different than what I had pictured, but it is certainly do-able. I can get three batteries in the front. one where the fuel tank was, and two under the stowage area for the targa top. There is still room where the battery tray was, and on the opposite side, where the D-Jet control unit was.But, I do have to get in a coolant unit fr the controller and batteries, and an AC unit. There seems to be room for fender well condensers.
I stripped all of the road grime off the bottom, wheel wells, everywhere. The wells are once again orange. It is cleaned, and undercoated with Second Skin Spectrum. Some of it got treated with osphophospate to prevent any future corrosion, and then coated with POR-15 and topcoat. I installed 80 mil sound deadener in the floors and door panels. I cut out the old battery tray...I won't need it, and it was the only area of the car which appeared to have any rust at all.
Car is totally stripped of any trim, glass, interior, brakes, pedals, everything. Should be fairly easy to paint now.
I have left everything stock, except where I cut the wiring harness, and I even left that so it would be easy to reconnect. Just in case anyone ever wants to put an underpowered smelly engine back in it.

[DBF]

Great article in Panorama about a 13-year-old young woman doing an EV conversion on a 76 914. To her (and her generation), EV's and EV conversions will be the norm, but she is also one of us since she also thinks a 914 "is really cool". I wish her luck, and looking forward to reading about the details of your conversion.

[914e]

@pek771 did you see the electric 914 on BaT. It looks pretty well done.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-pors...comments-anchor
It might give you some ideas for your project.

[pek771]

@914e
I did not, but I will check it out.
Pat

[Mikey914]

Well, it had these bumpers on it. There was a pile of bumpers there, and I took these as being the nicest. I don't care about period correctness. I Actually have no idea what should be on it. I do need to find some better seats, and some fiberglass to replace the front and rear lids.

I think 914 Rubber is still working on improved fiberglass and carbon fiber lids. Is there more piles of 914 parts where you picked this one up?

I have the fiberglass and carbon fiber in stock.

[Mikey914]

Ans if you look at the list provided we can even provide with a headlight delete option