Electric VW Beetle - Bolt-in kit

hi everybody Richard again here from Electric  classic cars and on this week's episode it's   going to be all about my favorite car the  VW Beetle and our bolt in conversion kit   now it's fair to say the beetle is not exactly a  rare car there was over 25 million of them made   and I've had my fair few of them over the years in  fact my first ever car was a 1968 VW Beetle when I   was 17. cue lots of embarrassing photos that Tim  was no doubt going to dig up now and put on the   screen and I've had that car as I say since I was  6 17 and I still have it now and I'm well 50 in   a couple of weeks so uh who out there has still  got their original car they passed their testing   at the age of 50. I bet there's not many so I've  had a 1968 I still have a 1968 I had a 1961 a 66   um I've got my 1303 obviously so I've had a  fair few beetles and I've done probably all   there is to do to Beatles over the years with  my team I've customized them or crashed on yet   I don't know if I've crashed one there you go  well let's maybe believe that a wheel fell off   one but I wasn't driving so it wasn't my fault  um so yeah as far as Beatles are concerned I I've   pretty much done all there is to do to Beatles  I've um I've restored them um I've done you know   cow look Resto Cal those who know those sort of  things um uh custom uh my 68 Beetle now it's got   a roof chop and I've d-pillared it as well  um we should do an episode on that on your   Beetle we should do an episode on that yeah  you're right let's do a net shot on the beal   um and as far as engines are concerned um  you know I've rebuilt up so many engines but   the last iteration of engine I had and I went  Type 4 engine for those that have in their VW   Beetle world will know uh type one is a engine  that's normally in a VW Beetle type four was in   um well the Type 4 car which was a VW Beetle of  the 70s but also uh VW buses and it's a big strong   uh motor and I start to go in Type 4 Motors high  performance in my beetles in the mid 90s let's   say and my last iteration in my 68 Beetle um I'll  have to find a picture of that because it's pretty   awesome it was a supercharged um Type 4 motor  2.4 liters um with a water cooled intercooler   um custom made um Cosworth injectors it was a  beast of a thing and it was about as powerful as   you can probably we push a road going Beetle and  I went down to south of France and Italy in that   and it was fantastic but it was 200 just over  200 horsepower and it was high maintenance to   keep that thing alive oil changes filter changes  et cetera Etc and then I did my first electric   conversion and I thought wow same amount of power  no maintenance zero low 100 reliability and as you   saw yeah this is the future so there you go long  story short of my you know history of VW Beetles   um now this one here in particular um is an oval  or um as they call it um an oval Beetle uh made   it is where we know dates are something like 1953  to 57 we'll have to check that uh for the beetle   uh for the oval Beetle before that it was split  split window at the back so essentially that had   a split there and after the oval they went to  a larger rear window and in the early 60s and   um about mid 60s the uh rear window got bigger  et cetera so this is an oval and as far as the   kit is concerned there's a number of iterations  for uh VW Beetle kits because uh over the years   beetles have changed bear in mind they're in  production from late 40s through to uh early   80s and in Brazil and Mexico beyond that as well  so they've had their fair amount of changes so   let's cover some of those changes that affect the  uh the bolting kit that we've got in front of us   now we'll start off the back end and I've come  into uh The Beatles posture cousin this 911   because essentially the suspension is pretty  much the same really um there's two different   iterations at the rear of a beetle swing axle and  IRS now IRS which is what this is here is easier   for us to work with it because essentially you've  got independent rear suspension which is what IRS   stands for um and you've got a CV joint which  is that on the end of a drive shaft and that   goes onto the wheel end and on the inner end  is a Tesla step so we can just hook that into a   Tesla and take the engine and gearbox completely  out so with IRS conversions we use a Tesla Drive   Unit but with swing axle we can't do that so with  those conversions or those beetles if you like   we use a net gain hyper 9 motor and attach that  to the transmission so two different flavors at   the back is if you've got a swing axle it'll be a  hyper nine onto the gearbox or transmission and if   it's an IRS back end then it'll be a Tesla Drive  Unit now IRS was available on things like the 30   and 3 the 1302 and semi-automatic beetles so in  the main most of the conversions are hyper 9.   now back into the beetle the Keen eyed VW Beetle  Enthusiast would have noticed these two things   here which normally aren't on an oval Beetle  so usually this is a swing axle rear end and   this has either been converted to IRS or it has  a semi-auto floor pan on so that makes our life   a lot easier because now we can put a Tesla  Drive Unit in so let's have a chat about that   so this is the Tesla Drive Unit that's going  to be going into this so what is this this is   a small Tesla Drive Unit A small rear Tesla  Drive Unit and it's sitting in our latest   iteration of the bolt-in Cradle because  don't forget all our kits are bolt in   um and how does bolting cradle work well  essentially you are bolting it to the front   transmission mount and the two frame horn mounts  which are down here the frame horns are the big   bits of metal that come out out into the engine  bay and between the frame horns and the front   transmission mount that is all that carries the  engine and transmission and this weighs a lot   less than a Beetle engine and transmission that's  for sure so you've got four bolting points so two   up front and two down there and the reason why  I say this is the latest iteration because you   know we've been converting Beetles for seven odd  years now and over that time um you know Evolution   happens and the late latest iteration of this once  we get our new former which essentially allows us   to bend tighter tube radiuses if you like we'll  be able to make this piece all in one that goes   around here which will make it a lot simpler and  more elegant looking let's see so this is our   go-to solution for IRS conversions or IRS beetles  um the only difference is some of the front   transmission mounts are slightly different you've  got two bolt three bolts and I think there's one   other um so there's slightly different um bolts  patterns and mounts at the front so even though   you know you might think oh it's a beetle bolt-in  conversion kit this lots of different iterations   um which we've had to cover over the years I  think we've probably done about at least 10   beetles over the years and so this is the go-to  solution for IRS and as I say for a swing axle   you would need to get a hyper9 with a conversion  plate that bolts onto the existing transmission   which we do a lot of as well so that's the  drivetrain covered let's cover the batteries next   now just thought of something before I go on  to the batteries actually I need to cover the   radiators because radiators is a foreign word  uh when talking about VW Beetles because a video   beetle is air cooled so you don't need radiators  so we have to come up with a solution um and a   position um to mount radiators to do cooling for  the battery and the motor the reason why I say   position because there's no radiator previously on  it so you can't put it at the front so what we do   essentially this radiator pack gets mounted onto  the back of the motor cradle like so and you've   got one here for the battery pack and one here for  the motor and inverter so yeah a foreign object   as well as the electric motor and batteries  a foreign object in the VW Beetle a radiator   right time to talk about the battery packs so um  the battery packs are fairly standard unlike the   motors you've got those two iterations of Motors  you've got the hyper 9 which is 120 horsepower   onto the original Beetle transmission which to be  fair that's about as much as you want to put into   a beetle transmission even though they are quite  strong and then you've got that Tesla Motor which   is what a peak 300 horsepower um motor obviously  tuned down a lot certainly in a car like this but   if you wanted to turn it up like I do in my Beetle  although I have a large test of driving it in my   Beetle you can go as high as 600 horsepower which  is insane so the motors themselves we've got the   two iterations but the battery packs themselves  are the same no matter if it's in an oval a 60s   beat or 70s Beetle 1303 s they're all the same  um and what we've got here is 37 kilowatt hour   battery pack this is your rear pack and this  goes in the luggage space behind the back seat   and it's made mounted very securely at the front  here at the rear and also at the rear um just   where our hand is there onto the rear firewall  through some massive spreader plates as well   um so that's your rear pack and as I say that's  the same no matter what Beetle it's going in and   you're probably wondering what's this thing on the  top well this is the header tank for the Beetle   for the um battery pack so this has the coolant  in because obviously you can't have your header   tank uh lower than what's being cooled and the  batteries kind of come to around about there in   here uh so the header tank has to be at a higher  Point um for the coolant to you know flow down   um so that's your header tank for the battery pack  a rear battery pack and the front patch back to   be fair you've got you know there so there's  your coolant in and out on this pack here and   then at the rear here we've got your uh your vent  your high voltage um connections and your service   disconnect here you've got uh your low voltage  Molex plug here for 12 volt Communications the   BMS inside here and you've got an earthing point  there all battery packs have to have an earthing   point to the vehicle and that's what that is there  so that's the front rear and front battery packs   all the same no matter what iteration the  only thing that changes is the mounts for the   front battery box and what I mean by that is the  battery box stays the same but there's a mounting   plate that goes underneath because the petrol tank  changes in Beetle so let's have a chat about that   now this is the bit that changes a lot over  the years in the VW Beetle the the front boot   or the front as the Americans like to call it  um and in particular the petrol tank mounting   and the oval there's a very small petrol tank  that goes in here and in later Beetle 60s 70s   that is slightly bigger in the 1303s which  has a McPherson strut front suspension this   area completely changes but as I say the front  battery pack itself Remains the Same and what   we have is like a mounting plate which is  just behind me here that goes and does the   conversion between whatever's here to the  standard battery box so if I grab this one   orb this essentially is our little conversion  solution and that goes in place there like so and then that gets bolted into the  original petrol tank mounts and then the   battery pack goes on top and then gets  bolted in so that's how we've got over   the fact that there's different iterations  of uh mountings if you like in the front   of a beetle by having this kind of adapter  plate to go and make up the the difference   right now inside the car we can see that the guys  are very busy putting in the low voltage Loom   um and the high voltage limb obviously these  were on pin boards um because obviously this   is a repeatable kit for us uh the low voltage  Loom kind of follows the original Loom of the   car which comes from that direction up there  and goes through there high voltage mainly stays   within the center tunnel and comes in at the rear  and exits at the front inspection hatch and then   um there's the how do we control the air motor and  instrumentation and we don't really want to spoil   this dashboard although having said that somebody  has made a hash of this dashboard beautiful   looking dashboard and then somebody drilled a  massive hole through there which I'm really peed   off about um to fit that because they couldn't fix  a starter motor problem so they put that button in   there and drill the horrible them in hole right  there there so I'm going to undo that we're going   to weld that up and spray that back so that we  get rid of that but we don't want to spoil this   um a beautiful dash of what we've done we've got  things like um the original Ivory colored switches   for heater controls and as far as instrumentation  and direction is concerned what we're doing   um as with all of our Beetle kits is we've  got this little box here which bolts onto   the original gear shifter Mount down here and  if I just connect it up that essentially sits   like that so here you've got your reverse  neutral and drive and a little display here   which tells you all you need to know about your  battery pack uh voltages battery temperatures   etc etc and that's it so a nice bolt-in solution  there and then behind me um I'll just leave that   there behind me we have the rest of the bits and  pieces so let's have a look at that now under   the back seat is uh the bit we're still working a  little bit on putting the low voltage Lube in but   um we have uh where the old 12 volt battery used  to be still 12 volt battery but obviously a lot   smaller because it doesn't have to crank and start  a a cold Beetle engine anymore it just needs to   have enough juice to close a contactor and it  still runs obviously the windscreen wipers and   the lights so you've got a small little motorbike  type battery down there you've got your controller   for the Tesla Motor you've got your 12 volts um  big fuses um small blade fuses in here relays and   other bits and pieces your MCU so that's your  master control unit that's communicating to   things like the motor controller and the battery  management system so essentially underneath the   back seat is where the rest of the bits and  pieces go and over there is the high voltage   junction box which has got things like the DC to  DC converter charger and heater feeds coming in   and out so there we go underneath the back seat  nice and tidy and it beautifully mounts into   the existing mounts that were already in place for  things like the 12 volt battery which is uh what I   like about the engineering aspect of this is just  literally just all bolts in as one unit it's great   now back in the engine bay just to finish the kit  off we've got the seven kilowatt charger above my   head here um we've got the header tank so we  need two header tanks to forget one for the   battery pack and one for the motor and inverter  and you're probably thinking why can't you just   use one well they work at different coolant levels  at different temperature levels so the uh the   battery would not like the higher temperatures  that the motor and inverter gets up to so since   we've got two separate systems so this is the one  for the motor and inverter here is the connector   for the motor so essentially there's the motor  ends dangling down there and that goes on there   like so closes up and connects to the motor down  here and over here we've got the charge socket   now you may be wondering why we've got the charred  socket inside the engine bay well on older beetles   uh the petrol filler was actually underneath  the boot itself so it directly went into the   tank so there's no petrol filler if you like  on the outside of the body of early beetles so   that's why you have to have a charred socket in  the engine bay on later beetles um probably what   mid to late 60s and onwards the petrol filler cap  was on the front quarter panel so that's why the   charge sockets in there and obviously all the high  voltage goes in and then through the car on the   um plate just behind my head here so that's  that's enough inside the engine bay I think   I'll motor Bay I think we should call it now so  there we go that is our electric conversion kit   for the VW Beetle or the various iterations of  because uh hopefully I've made it clear in this   video over the Decades of production there was a  number of uh Evolutions if you like the VW Beetle   but our standard kit fits all apart from the motor  there's two choices there obviously with a swing   axle and IRS and while we're talking about Motors  obviously that's a lot more powerful than the   36 horsepower I think engine that used to be in  this so we've disc brake conversion on the front   uh additional braking from the motor with the  regentive braking at the rear but don't forget   we tune these motors down so even though that's  maximum 300 horsepower it's tuned way down to   um cope or so that the car can cope because you  know who would put 300 horsepower in a big lay   you'd have to be an idiot you would have  to be in need I know it's an idiot to   put 600 horsepower or 600 horsepower in a beetle  exactly you've got to be insane to do such things   um so that is the conversion kit itself I think  we've covered most of the things is there anything   I've missed what do we normally get asked uh wait  wait yes there's a long waiting list unfortunately   is that what you mean not very good now as far  as weight is concerned this weighs more but   um it's effectively the the same as a full tank  of fuel uh engine and gearbox plus one passenger   so you're not carrying too much more weight around  just imagine you're carrying a friend around all   the time but the most important thing is weight  distribution Wise It's better because you've got   a bit more weight up front of the front battery  pack and back in the day I always used to try to   drive around with a full tank of fuel in the front  or you know even putting something like a sandbag   which people used to do to improve the weight  distribution and handling at the front and I'm   old enough to remember that when I lived down in  North London I used to travel all the way up to   Wales back home with a full tank of fuel which  cost me 18 pounds which is insane you can't do   that now can you I can remember struggling to  put 10 pounds worth into a car you can probably   remember when it was too shinings mate so the  weights slightly increased but you've got huge   increase in power to weight ratio haven't you so  you've gone up from 36 horsepower to 120. 120 with   a hyper 9 and up to probably around about let's  say 200 horsepower 250 horsepower with the air   small Drive Unit can we have rapid charging in  this you can have rapid charging this one that   doesn't have it but yep uh other conversions that  we do have rapid charging options as well anything   else we forgot I think that's it range I think  we covered as about 150 miles so I think that's   all any other questions ask us below obviously  we Supply these conversion kits to conversion   companies around the world we're still not doing  DIY Air Supply yet um but uh I think that's it so   yeah there we go conversion kit for the VW Beetle  a car which I have huge emotional attachment to   um I've had them all my life and love them  to bits but I'm interested to know questions   to you guys do you have a car that has a special  you know place in your heart or what car did you   did you have in your youth what was your first car  because my first car was a VW Beetle so answers   below oh we always look at the comments below  really interested to read them so on that note   I hope you enjoyed this video and  we'll see you on the next one [Music]

Channel: Electric Classic Cars

Views: 561,503

Keywords: vw, volkswagen, fusca, vw beetle, vw fusca, ev, conversion, classic, electric vehicle, battery, charge, zero emission, zero, emission, sustainable, sustainability, electric, classic car, car, electric classic cars, british, engineering, kit, vintage voltage

Id: LEQgV0t3BKU

Length: 21min 58sec (1318 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2023