1986 BMW 318i Baur Cabriolet EV located in Perth, Australia!
About 4 years ago I began thinking about making an EV. The reasons for this were many and varied – environmental reasons, energy security, had a friend working on one, my car had just been hit and needed replacing and, well, I love a good project and challenge!
The first step for me was lots of research – what was involved technically, what sort of car to convert, what it would cost. My objective was a “100/100/10” car – that is it could go a minimum of 100 km on a charge, minimum of 100 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of 10 seconds or better.
During this time I decided that the critical part of choosing which car to convert was that it had to be a car that I would still want to be driving in 10 years – there was not point putting all this effort and expense into something and then not enjoy driving it.
I considered a number of donor cars, and decided to target a BMW E30 Bauer cabriolet. The reasons for this were many – I had had an E30 before and they are a great little car and fun to drive, parts are readily available, they are a decent size (I’m quite tall), they are well built, and the Bauer convertibles have the advantage of a 2-part removable roof so you can still have shade in summer with the back part down, and they have a built in roll bar. They also avoid a lot of the leak paths that many convertibles suffer.
I was luck enough to find a car in Victoria on the internet that was being sold unlicensed as the owner didn’t want to fix what would be required for a roadworthy. I had it inspected and no major issues were found, so I picked it up site unseen for $2000. Luckily when it arrived I found out it was in excellent condition inside and out, but with a tired motor. It took all of $300 to get the car register in WA, and I proceeded to try and wear the tyres out before the conversion started.
The next big decision was EV drive train configuration to use. I laboured long and hard about whether to keep the gearbox or not, but at this point I met Rob Mason who had just converted another BMW E30. One drive told me that a direct drive system worked fine, so that made all the pieces fall together. This also gave me the ability to copy Rob’s design and layout, and gave me confidence that everything would fit.
The final EV system consists of an Advanced DC FB-4001 motor direct drive, 45 x 160 Ah LiFePO4 Thundersky battery pack, Rod Dilkes Battery Management System (BMS), Zilla 1K LV controller and Zivan charger.
Next came the grunt work of the conversion. I drove the car to the EV Works workshop, and pulled out 280 kg of junk – motor, gearbox, muffler, fuel tank, radiator etc, then left the car with them to mount the motor and build the battery racks. I then took the car home on a trailer, where it spent months sitting there as I slowly added all the smaller components (vacuum pump etc) and cabling etc.
Just as the car was ready to be completed, work asked me to go to Houston for 6 months (which became 9 months…). Damn frustrating to be so close and not be able to finish it off, but within 2 weeks of my return to Perth the car was running.
Overall it has been a great project, and I’m really happy with how the car has worked out. The car easily makes the “100/100/10” objectives, and is a hoot to drive. Many thanks to my patient wife, and all the great and help and advice along the way particularly from Rob and Ian at EV Works.
http://www.evalbum.com/3533
That's right... an Electric Baur!
I have had this article in draft stage for a couple of years. I just came across it again today, so here it is!
Kudos to owner Malcolm Reeson!
The first step for me was lots of research – what was involved technically, what sort of car to convert, what it would cost. My objective was a “100/100/10” car – that is it could go a minimum of 100 km on a charge, minimum of 100 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of 10 seconds or better.
During this time I decided that the critical part of choosing which car to convert was that it had to be a car that I would still want to be driving in 10 years – there was not point putting all this effort and expense into something and then not enjoy driving it.
I considered a number of donor cars, and decided to target a BMW E30 Bauer cabriolet. The reasons for this were many – I had had an E30 before and they are a great little car and fun to drive, parts are readily available, they are a decent size (I’m quite tall), they are well built, and the Bauer convertibles have the advantage of a 2-part removable roof so you can still have shade in summer with the back part down, and they have a built in roll bar. They also avoid a lot of the leak paths that many convertibles suffer.
I was luck enough to find a car in Victoria on the internet that was being sold unlicensed as the owner didn’t want to fix what would be required for a roadworthy. I had it inspected and no major issues were found, so I picked it up site unseen for $2000. Luckily when it arrived I found out it was in excellent condition inside and out, but with a tired motor. It took all of $300 to get the car register in WA, and I proceeded to try and wear the tyres out before the conversion started.
The next big decision was EV drive train configuration to use. I laboured long and hard about whether to keep the gearbox or not, but at this point I met Rob Mason who had just converted another BMW E30. One drive told me that a direct drive system worked fine, so that made all the pieces fall together. This also gave me the ability to copy Rob’s design and layout, and gave me confidence that everything would fit.
The final EV system consists of an Advanced DC FB-4001 motor direct drive, 45 x 160 Ah LiFePO4 Thundersky battery pack, Rod Dilkes Battery Management System (BMS), Zilla 1K LV controller and Zivan charger.
Next came the grunt work of the conversion. I drove the car to the EV Works workshop, and pulled out 280 kg of junk – motor, gearbox, muffler, fuel tank, radiator etc, then left the car with them to mount the motor and build the battery racks. I then took the car home on a trailer, where it spent months sitting there as I slowly added all the smaller components (vacuum pump etc) and cabling etc.
Just as the car was ready to be completed, work asked me to go to Houston for 6 months (which became 9 months…). Damn frustrating to be so close and not be able to finish it off, but within 2 weeks of my return to Perth the car was running.
Overall it has been a great project, and I’m really happy with how the car has worked out. The car easily makes the “100/100/10” objectives, and is a hoot to drive. Many thanks to my patient wife, and all the great and help and advice along the way particularly from Rob and Ian at EV Works.
| Owner | Malcolm Reeson | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Perth, Western Australia Australia map | ||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Vehicle | 1986 BMW 318i Bauer Cabrolet | ||||||||
| Motor | Advanced DC FB-4001 Series Wound DC Wish I had got the dual shaft version so I could run altinator and AC compressor off the front shaft. | ||||||||
| Drivetrain | EV system consists of an Advanced DC FB-4001 motor direct drive, 45 x 160 Ah LiFePO4 Thundersky battery pack, Rod Dilkes Battery Management System (BMS), Zilla 1K LV controller and Zivan charger. | ||||||||
| Controller | Cafe Electric Zilla 1K LV Fantastic controller, pity they are so hard to get | ||||||||
| Batteries | 45 Thunder Sky 160 Ahr, 3.20 Volt, Lithium Iron Phosphate Rod Dilked BMS - elegently simple, very effective. www.evpower.com.au/-Thundersky-Battery-Balancing-System-.html www.evworks.com.au/index.php?category=6 | ||||||||
| System Voltage | 144 Volts | ||||||||
| Charger | Zivan NG3-144VDC | ||||||||
| Heater | Have the zilla cooling cct running through the dash heater, more for zilla cooling. But hey, I live in perth where it is always warm | ||||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Meanwell SP500-13.5 Think this thing leaks and has a constant battery drain. Have been experimienting with putting diodes on it. | ||||||||
| Instrumentation | EV works fuel gauge driver. WebPage Fantastic, gives fuel gauge as battery state of charge and tacho as ammeter. Also have 7 LEDs and buzzers for various warnings/status. | ||||||||
| Top Speed | 80 MPH (128 KPH) Have had it up to 120 km/hr, and was still pulling. | ||||||||
| Acceleration | Better than when it was petrol. I estimate 9 seconds to 100 km/hr | ||||||||
| Range | 80 Miles (128 Kilometers) Have done 120km, and think the actual range is around 130 km | ||||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | Have been measuring this at the powerpoint and been getting high readings - 350 w/km - suspect this is a charger efficiency issue and a low level leak/drain somewhere in the system | ||||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 5 adults | ||||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,650 Pounds (1,204 Kilograms) Weight is now around 1200 kg. Car is about 70 kg heavier than when it was petrol. Weight distribution is around 630 kg front / 560 kg rear | ||||||||
| Tires | Yes. Round and black | ||||||||
| Conversion Time | Roughly 8 months from motor coming out to on the road registered as EV | ||||||||
| Conversion Cost | Around $30k Australian, done when the exchange rate was 65c to the US $. Reckon it could be done for A$20-A$25k now. | ||||||||
| Additional Features | Sound generator on the dash that makes vroom vroom noises for the people who keep asking if it is on when you stop at traffic lights. |
http://www.evalbum.com/3533
Hi
ReplyDeletethanks for the blog!
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