Electric Vehicle Conversions – The Surgery – Classic Car Restoration Wellington

Classic Car Electric Conversions

Classic cars in New Zealand

The future is here, and for some of you, that future is electric. The market has a growing number of fully electric or EV cars available and it looks like this segment will continue to grow. What does that mean for our classic cars, are they destined for the graveyard. Definitely not, even though man classic owners will want to maintain their combustion engines, there is a growing demand for fully electric or EV conversion for classic cars. The team at The Surgery can help you plan and build your fully electric classic vehicle so there is no reason that classic car owners cant have vintage style with the drive train of the future.

Questions you may have about EV conversions

1. Can all classic cars be converted?

Yes, pretty much all classic cars can be converted to fully electric. From cars like MG Midgets, VW Beetles all the way up to VW Kombi’s and American pickup trucks.

2. What parts will be required?

There are two paths available to us, Fully electric or EV conversion kits if they are available for your vehicle or build a custom part list as required. As interest in this market continues to grow, more and more kits are becoming available around the world.

3. What are the benefits ?

Converting a classic car to a fully electric vehicle would not only save you money on fuel bills and ongoing maintenance and servicing costs as electric drive systems are generally maintenance-free. No more engine problems, just relax and enjoy a reliable vehicle.

4. What are the costs ?

It can depend if you want to use a kit or work to build something more custom. They vary from vehicle to vehicle, with the majority of the cost being the batteries. Every year the cost of batteries goes down, as demand and development continue.

5. What range can I achieve from an electric conversion?

The general calculation for battery range is the batteries useable capacity which is (around 80%) over the watt-hour per mile (average laden weight divided by 10). Taking the Tesla battery for example which is 5.3kW each. If you were to have 12 of these batteries you would have a total of 63.6kwH, this gives us a useable capacity of 50,880wh, 80% of 63,600wh. The watt-hour per mile is 1500kg (a rough average laden weight of a classic cars) divide this by 10, which leaves you with 150wh/m. Finally, 50,880wh over 150wh/m leave us with 339 miles or 547 km range from that system. Below is an example list of the range available for different numbers of batteries.

Apromate ranges for a vehicle with a average laden weight of 1500kg

12 batteries – useable wh = 68000wh / 150wh/m = 340 miles / 545km range**
10 batteries – useable wh = 42400wh / 150wh/m = 282 miles / 453 km range**
8 batteries – useable wh = 33920wh / 150wh/m = 226 miles / 363 km range**
6 batteries – useable wh = 24000wh / 150wh/m = 160 miles / 257 km range**
4 batteries – useable wh = 16960wh / 150wh/m = 113 miles / 181 km range**

**These are rough caulcation, based on averages. The biggest variables are the kilowatt hour of the battiers and the typical laden weight of the vehicle.