nc_beagle Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 Some of you probably do major overhauls on StarQuests. I'm curious how difficult it would be to convert one to EV. Not necessarily something I'd want to have done right now but as parts get more difficult to source and (hopefully) crate motors (like Ford's) and batteries come down in cost, it might be a cool way to keep them going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX181 Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 EV conversions can be relatively straightforward. Assuming you are starting w a manual transmission car. I've helped with a couple of VW Beetles over the years. 2 biggest hurdles are fabricating the motor to trans adaptor parts and finding room for batteries. The StarQuest platform is definitely short on battery space. I think you'd end up w some under the hood next to the motor and some in the hatch area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKB94 Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 I spent a little time researching this and it just didn’t make sense for me. A ton of money for 250hp and maybe 50 mile distance. I was looking into the drop in power pack units. Not ready to DIY a concept that I don’t believe in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tux Posted March 20, 2023 Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 Only thing that remotely makes sense would be to try and retrofit Tesla motors and load up batteries anywhere you can, trunk, trans tunnel, under hood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc_beagle Posted March 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2023 I wondered about battery location. This is out of my wheelhouse, that's why I asked. And I wasn't sure what sort of range you'd end up with. Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psu_Crash Posted March 21, 2023 Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 It was done many years ago. I think if you search youtube it may still come up. No idea what the specs or range were though. I also am not on board with electric cars, but hey, if you want to then I'll watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Cary Posted March 21, 2023 Report Share Posted March 21, 2023 GM EV specialist here. You "could" use a Bolt battery pack but it takes up the entire undercarriage of the car. The motor is in the front but you could fab it up to be in the rear like a Tesla. Another option is to just use a Tesla motor/battery pack. The pack can be configured vertically or horizontally depending on space limitations. So if you wanted to use the former engine bay for the battery pack you can. GM uses batteries that are broken down into sections within the packs. Each cell has about 3.2V but when put in series makes a much higher rating. You'd need a controller to monitor battery heat, charge, and regenerative braking. Not too difficult but it is possible to wire up. You will also need to run a coolant pump for the charging port if you decide to use a GM charge adapter. Coolant is circulated through the battery pack on GMs as it is a sealed unit. We can open them up to service certain cells but it's a very specific procedure you don't want to get wrong. I only suggest going with a big manufacturer of EV cars cause they have it figured out. Makes it the best option for charge distance, parts service etc. Someone on the interwebs did a Tesla swap to an old BMW 3 series. I'll try and find the link to give you an idea of what they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc_beagle Posted March 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 Thanks for all the information everyone. It's not something I would do anytime soon and even then likely only if all ICE options were gone and I wanted a big project. I don't even have a StarQuest yet so it's all hypothetical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Cary Posted March 22, 2023 Report Share Posted March 22, 2023 53 minutes ago, nc_beagle said: Thanks for all the information everyone. It's not something I would do anytime soon and even then likely only if all ICE options were gone and I wanted a big project. I don't even have a StarQuest yet so it's all hypothetical. Nothing wrong with hypotheticals. EVs have come a long way since they first began. There is a lot more to them now than there was before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueCuda Posted March 27, 2023 Report Share Posted March 27, 2023 As everyone knows the EV cars have almost zero drivetrain noise. I can't imagine that with an older car, even a starquest is going to have lots of noise that is normally covered up by drivetrain noise. I think it would be miserable to drive without the ICE powerplant. I totally get the need for EVs in certain applications but I just can't imagine converting a classic to an EV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nc_beagle Posted March 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 You just add in noise. I'm thinking the sound the Vipers in Battlestar Galactica made. LOL. I guess for me it was a case of parts dwindling and what do you do if you want to keep the body on the road. I guess another ICE swap would work though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKB94 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Yes, I was around 8-10k in parts for electric. Ford 5.0 parts will be around a long time and 10k buys you a shipping container full of used engines. Why I went the way I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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