914 Electric Conversion, 914 electric conversion Options

[Craigers17]

Not sure why the electric car discussions are always so polarizing? I just view EV's as "another option".....not as "the final mandate that we are being forced into"(possibly my own naivety). I view, at least an immediate future, where vehicles are powered by a variety of options including electric, hydrogen, H2O, and whatever other alien technology we are able to deconstruct and re-imagine. I also feel that there will always be some sort of exemption for gas powered vehicles to account for the "car hobbiest/enthusiast crowd", as well as other markets that will require diesel or gas. Like most things, I don't believe these discussions are always so black & white / cut & dry, etc.

That said, like a lot of people here, to me it's more about practicality, usability, & cost, along with other nuances one way or the other. To me, you've got to have at least a 300 mile range, 0-60 in the 7-8 second range, top speed of at least 90, and overall weight of 2100-2200 lbs. Those would be my personal goals, before even considering converting a 914...not even discussing cost yet.

I think I would personally enjoy instant torque, eliminating many moving parts, Oil leaking onto my carport, valve adjustments and trips to the gas station.

Conversely, I KNOW I would miss meaningful manual shifting between gears, as well as the sounds and smells of a combustion engine and the organic experience of that whole thing. It's my assumption that most people on this site have 914's because of that "experience"...the inexplicable smile that that you can't wipe off when you feel so attached to the road and to your 914, as you rapidly shift between gears, while careening through the twisties with the top down surrounded by the sounds & smells of a gas engine, the 70's leatherette interior that somehow still smells like the 70's, and somehow thinking that you might still hear the vague sound of your radio somewhere in the background.

I think some parts of the above adventure will be hard to duplicate with an EV 914..... but who knows.....I've never driven one....just my 2 cents....

[Chris914n6]

If you wanted to preserve the rare engine, but still enjoy driving the car why would you not? The rarer the engine the more likely I would convert it, I don't see a reason to consume the last of some rare parts, just to drive the car a few times month.

If the car does not have an engine anymore would you rather just scrap it? Mine hasn't had an engine for decades. The burned 308 kept a handful of other 308's drivable and itself back on the road.

How is it different than installing a six? far less modifications. For many classic car conversions the modifications to body, chassis, interior, and wiring are exactly zero, for many that is the point.

What's the point of owning a classic Ferrari if you are going to take away the best parts?

You buy a sports car for the sounds and the twistys, electric kills both pleasures.

If you want the benefits of an EV then buy a car that was engineered to be an EV.

If you are not driving the EV everyday racking up the miles then a conversion is a huge waste of money.

[RolinkHaus]

We purists just don't like our beautiful German cars messed with. These cars are now a limited treasure.

[flipb]

Geez, people get their panties in a wad.

The 914 isn't a rare enough car to chastise people who elect to make modifications. Putting in a water-cooled engine also requires making permanent changes. EV drivetrain is a choice some owners make, like putting flares on a narrow-body car or dropping in a SBC.

I'm pretty sure most EV conversions don't start with a Concours-ready, perfectly original specimen. It's a way to customize and keep it on the road.

To each his own.

[sechszylinder]

It is always the same misery with these EV conversions, maybe a systematic problem.
If you want to get people excited about a EV converted car then you have to outperform the existing ICE specs of that particular car in most diciplines.
Especially if you convert an old sports car, which provides at least 70BHP, please do not install any smaller than that ! And yes I know electric motors perform different from a power point of view.
Reducing the range is regrettable, but being slow is a shame for a "sports car" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) !

my two cents

Benno (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_flagge6.gif)

[mate914]

Make sure you use a good old East coast car for your thingy. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Shivers]

"If you wanted to preserve the rare engine, but still enjoy driving the car why would you not? The rarer the engine the more likely I would convert it, I don't see a reason to consume the last of some rare parts, just to drive the car a few times month."


Ok, rare engines come in rare cars. Drilling holes and welding brackets is a no-no to many that own cars like an old Porsche. And the ones that do modify their Porsches, want speed as a trade off. I just don't understand why not a MR2, or a Fiero. Both mid-engine cars and everyone expects them to suck and no one would care.

"I don't see a reason to consume the last of some rare parts, just to drive the car a few times month."

Maybe it is greedy of me to want to drive my car, it is why I own it.

[bbrock]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) Every time one of these threads pops up, my desire to own an electrified 914 grows for the spite factor alone. I miss the days when people turned up their noses and shunned my 914.

What I'm hearing is that for $40K we could have a 914 that outperforms just about any modified 914 out there. My question is, why hasn't this been done? What does it cost to stuff a rebuilt 911 engine into one of these thing? Compared to some of the awesome builds I've seen in my short time here, the price tag doesn't seem out of line.

We celebrate transplanting all sorts of engines into this amazingly flexible platform that Porsche designed, but take stinky dead dinosaurs out of the equation and the crucifixes come out. Why tear up a perfectly good 914 to put a Subie engine in instead of just buying a Subie? The same could be asked about a 911. The reason, of course, is that the combinations of these engines with the 914 platform creates an experience like no other. Why is transplanting an electric motor so different?

The car does need to perform though. I wouldn't even feel safe in a car with top speed of 70 mph in the land of 80 mph speed limits. It has to be capable of reaching triple digits just to have the margin of safety. I'm looking for a car capable of at least 250 miles of range on a 30 minute charge before replacing our main driver with EV, but for a 914, I'd be happy with less because driving the 914 is less about gettin' there as it is goin' there. I could afford to spend a little more time at the charging station to let people sneer at my car in disgust. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Shivers]

"What I'm hearing is that for $40K we could have a 914 that outperforms just about any modified 914 out there."

The 40,000 price was a guesstimate, for all that HP. Not the car in question. 70 mph will get you killed on SoCal freeways. And the 200 mile range number, well I bet it wasn't at 70 mph. So I jump in my e914 and I zip up to angeles crest hwy, for a great day of camaraderie and playing in the twisties. Where do I plug in for the drive after lunch or funnest trip, the trip down? I'm glad you like it, e-cars are here, a Porsche 918 will get you to 211 mph real quick.

[mepstein]

Some people are able to get around in an electric golf cart and others commute 100 miles each way by highway. Different strokes for different folks. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a 914 around town grocery getter that couldn’t do more than 50 miles between charges. I’m not going to spend 40k for it but price isn’t always the point for a toy. We are lucky in PA that classic car reg is a small, one time fee, no yearly taxes and classic car insurance is cheap. Finding space inside the garage would be the only concern.

[bbrock]

For fun I found this list of real world range tests @ 70 mph and compared with charging station distances in my area. Note that Porsche is once again the king of understating their capabilities.

One of my favorite drives is down through Yellowstone NP out to Cooke City and over Beartooth Pass to Red Lodge. There are 11 cars on this list that would easily get me from home to the charging station in Red Lodge and that is the farthest distance between stations I'd be likely to drive for regional pleasure driving (or even cross-country driving for that matter).

The biggest obstacle now to switching the family truckster for EV is charge times. ID.4 (that I've been eyeballing) charges to 60 mile range in 10 minutes and to 80% charge in 38 minutes. That would tack on a lot of time to cross country trips. They get closer to my goals every year though.
https://insideevs.com/reviews/443791/ev-range-test-results/

[Shivers]

"There are variables simply out of our control like wind, traffic, and weather. However, we do our best to control what we can. We always set the tires to the manufacturer's recommended pressure, we crosscheck the speedometer with a GPS for accuracy, we charge up to 100 percent and enter the highway either immediately or within a couple of miles. Then we drive at a constant 70 mph and in long loops so we end up basically where we started. "

Ok, sounds real worldly to me. I guess I'm less of a long loop driver and more of a squiggly line kind of guy. Besides, I don't care how many playing cards you put in the spokes, it won't sound the same. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[mgarrison]

I'm not against electric cars or conversions, per se...but I do experience a weird twinge when I see a classic sports car converted to electric. Here's my personal experience with it happening. I sold my 1969 Saab Sonett V4 to a guy back East. It turns out his Dad bought the car brand new, and he had driven it in college! Early Saab's are a pretty niche crowd. Then he sent me this:

https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/sin...-210004790.html

The car looks amazing - better than when I had it for sure, but...It was 1/639 built in 1969. I sent 3 engines & 2 transmissions, and tons of spares with the car. I still feel gutted, but not 100% sure why; the Sonett is beautiful, and it looks like it drives nice. No clue on range, but that was not how it was used anyway. Maybe its the sound... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[Root_Werks]

Had a Tesla Roadster a few years back. Cool car and always told people if this is where car tech is going, we're all in for a treat. Shoot, back in very early 1900's, 97% of the cars on the road were electric.

Sold the Tesla for two reasons:

Range wasn't what it once was, annoying to charge so much, not go as far, cost of new batteries was $40k back then

Tesla came out with the Model 3, there's a YouTube video comparing the X, S, 3 and original Roadster. Roadster came in dead last in acceleration.

Got me thinking, why own it anymore? Gonna cost a bundle shortly to keep it going and it won't keep up with family sedans. It's not an old-school Porsche or Muscle car.

Said bye-bye.

It's always been about battery tech. Once that reaches a certain point of cost and weight, things might change?

As for an EV 914, seen a few, ridden in one. Kinda neat.

[bbrock]

"There are variables simply out of our control like wind, traffic, and weather. However, we do our best to control what we can. We always set the tires to the manufacturer's recommended pressure, we crosscheck the speedometer with a GPS for accuracy, we charge up to 100 percent and enter the highway either immediately or within a couple of miles. Then we drive at a constant 70 mph and in long loops so we end up basically where we started. "

Ok, sounds real worldly to me. I guess I'm less of a long loop driver and more of a squiggly line kind of guy. Besides, I don't care how many playing cards you put in the spokes, it won't sound the same. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I'm confused. Are you saying that those variable out of their control do not affect the range of ICE vehicles? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[MM1]

Had a Tesla Roadster a few years back. Cool car and always told people if this is where car tech is going, we're all in for a treat. Shoot, back in very early 1900's, 97% of the cars on the road were electric.

Sold the Tesla for two reasons:

Range wasn't what it once was, annoying to charge so much, not go as far, cost of new batteries was $40k back then

Tesla came out with the Model 3, there's a YouTube video comparing the X, S, 3 and original Roadster. Roadster came in dead last in acceleration.

Got me thinking, why own it anymore? Gonna cost a bundle shortly to keep it going and it won't keep up with family sedans. It's not an old-school Porsche or Muscle car.

Said bye-bye.

It's always been about battery tech. Once that reaches a certain point of cost and weight, things might change?

As for an EV 914, seen a few, ridden in one. Kinda neat.

With California's draconian smog laws, I wouldn't be surprised if someone doesn't keep that Tesla Roadster with the dead battery . . .then puts in the elise/exige drivetrain (that it was essentially born to cradle) for a smog free thrill ride . . .until the CHP hears that obnoxious exhaust . . .

[SirAndy]

Another interesting bit of information:

- The OP has not even bothered to log back in after his initial post

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Superhawk996]

"There are variables simply out of our control like wind, traffic, and weather. However, we do our best to control what we can. We always set the tires to the manufacturer's recommended pressure, we crosscheck the speedometer with a GPS for accuracy, we charge up to 100 percent and enter the highway either immediately or within a couple of miles. Then we drive at a constant 70 mph and in long loops so we end up basically where we started. "

Ok, sounds real worldly to me. I guess I'm less of a long loop driver and more of a squiggly line kind of guy. Besides, I don't care how many playing cards you put in the spokes, it won't sound the same. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I'm confused. Are you saying that those variable out of their control do not affect the range of ICE vehicles? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Big difference when you can find fuel for an ICE virtually anywhere, and it can be fueled in 5 minutes if your range suddenly is reduced when the algorithm for range updates in a non-linear manner.

Until you've reached your planned charging destination only to find that the charging station is out of order and/or has a hour plus queue to charge, you've never really experienced range anxiety while hoping you can find another operational charger before it dies.

Not anti-EV. I'm the guy that's been telling anyone that would listen that you simply can't beat the acceleration of a Model S P100D AWD regardless of how big the engine in your 914 is.

I've also been the guy hosed by a broken single charger that I assumed would be operational. Never doing that again! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif)

[Superhawk996]

Another interesting bit of information:

- The OP has not even bothered to log back in after his initial post

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

We are having fun anyway. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

Thanks for giving us a playground to play on!

[Rand]

There has been history here, including Otmar. But it's always been sketchy. People who are into electric get all exSTATIC about it. But electric needs a lot of development to make sense in a 914.

There is a vast difference between a car that was designed as electric from the beginning, vs a retrofit into an old car. It's evolving for future designs that are engineered around it. But it's not for retrofitting IMO.

Or... I'd love to see SirAndy vs Otmar on an autocross track. THEN you can come back at me.