Beetle - All Electric Vehicle Conversion (1999)
Sale price: US $500.00 Make an Offer
| Used |
| “Completed in 2012 and driven till 2016. Bought a Restaurant out of town. Driven daily to local day job summer and winter. It has electric tank heater for winter using factory defrost and heater. Clutch-less direct drive standard transmission works flawlessly. Charges with standard 120vac 20 A outlet in about 5 hours depending on use. Usually just plug in overnight. Range with 9 - basic deep cycle AGM batteries was 34 miles perfect for local commute. The battery pack is in need of replacement simply due to age. This is a great way for a do it yourselfer can get into an electric car without all the experimenting. I will share the many details involved in this conversion with serious buyer, I have a degree in communications electronics and did 100% of this conversion.” |
| Year: | 1999 | VIN : | 3vwca21c7xm441918 |
| Mileage: | 125000 | Model: | Beetle-New |
| Fuel Type: | Electric | Vehicle Title: | Clean |
| Make: | Volkswagen |
Sheridan, Wyoming, United States
Vehicle description
This conversion uses an A/C 50 Three Phase A/C drive motor and controller from Thunderstruck Motors out of California and they still sell a version of the AC 50. This is much lighter than DC drive and allows dynamic braking when you let off the throttle that charges back into batteries as well as helping with slowing down. It is reversible with a simple switch. (No shifting required)The A/C motor has no brushes or armature windings to go bad. The controller is laptop programmable for various battery options and operational parameters. With newer lighter, longer lasting Lithium batteries the operating range could be doubled. The AGM deep cycle batteries virtually eliminated any battery maintenance. No gas, oil changes or tune ups required. You will need an aptitude for how electrical things work to appreciate this car. Schematics and controller operating manuals are available.
This is NOT a turn key vehicle. It is an experimental garage conversion that has proven itself with several years of service, It has been dormant for 3 years and does need some electrical tending. It is sold As is, Where is, and must be transported on a car dolly. The motor/controller combination alone was $5000 and is still supported by Thunderstruck Motors as well as accessories. The other hard and expensive drive line adaptation and mounting, (see Photos), has been done already with adaptor CNC milling by Leveen Engineering out of Minneapolis, MN. There are no wear components in the motor drive adapter as it uses the spline center of the clutch pressure plate for transmission connection. This motor and set up has many thousands of miles of service life left.
Thunderstruck has informed me that there are "Chevy Volt" lithium replacement battery packs that were drilled wrong in manufacturing out there, for less than AGM replacements.
More details can be provided to Serious Buyers, ie, Power steering, power brakes, remote start for winter warm up, built in chargers, etc.
My Reserve is minimal as I need to recover the costs of selling this vehicle, not recover the costs to build it. I enjoyed much success with it and hope someone with the same desire will buy it. This is a 10 day auction so start "watching" it and jump in with a bid when you"re ready! This has and will be a rewarding project for the right person. Thanks
This is NOT a turn key vehicle. It is an experimental garage conversion that has proven itself with several years of service, It has been dormant for 3 years and does need some electrical tending. It is sold As is, Where is, and must be transported on a car dolly. The motor/controller combination alone was $5000 and is still supported by Thunderstruck Motors as well as accessories. The other hard and expensive drive line adaptation and mounting, (see Photos), has been done already with adaptor CNC milling by Leveen Engineering out of Minneapolis, MN. There are no wear components in the motor drive adapter as it uses the spline center of the clutch pressure plate for transmission connection. This motor and set up has many thousands of miles of service life left.
Thunderstruck has informed me that there are "Chevy Volt" lithium replacement battery packs that were drilled wrong in manufacturing out there, for less than AGM replacements.
More details can be provided to Serious Buyers, ie, Power steering, power brakes, remote start for winter warm up, built in chargers, etc.
My Reserve is minimal as I need to recover the costs of selling this vehicle, not recover the costs to build it. I enjoyed much success with it and hope someone with the same desire will buy it. This is a 10 day auction so start "watching" it and jump in with a bid when you"re ready! This has and will be a rewarding project for the right person. Thanks