looking for ideal base for electric car conversion

My buddy has 4 Haflinger's in various stages of completion. I've finally convinced him that it's the perfect electric conversion candidate, which we'll do this dry season
Quite light- just over 600kg stock
Low power- 25-30hp ICE engines depending on the year. A pair of my HubMonsters should fit the bill nicely.
Low speed- This 4x4 isn't for going fast.
Flat roof- Perfect for solar panels.
Short range- At his farm anything more than 10 miles use in a day would be unusual, so we're talking a relatively small battery pack that would never need to plug in due to more than 2 meters of flat roof for solar panels.

I think this is the version he has:
Haflinger.JPG
 
I did the search here, found no entries on MB 250e.
It's the Benz all-electric hatchback. Used off-lease for less than $25k.
AND it desperately needs a conversion: equipped only with a slow charger, single phase.
Surely some wizard here could come up with a rapid-charge conversion that would make this a viable alternative??
 
I'd forgotten: The Benz 250e is closely allied with Tesla, and thus probably carries a battery bank of 18650-type batteries. These don't inspire confidence in me, there's just too many of them, too many connections, too mind boggling....
 
Hi Izeman. May I suggest an Opel Calibra. Much larger than a CRX and way more numerous. .26 cd,1200kg. Parts I would think are cheap and easily available. As there was a 4wd version, there must be space for a diff at the rear of a regular fwd to make rwd. Probably use a shortened prop and diff from an eclass. Airbags,Abs,side impact beams,tc.. Not exclusive but stylish. Good luck.
 
I've been pondering doing an ev for quite some time. I think a great vehicle base would be the 4 door Geo Tracker or Suzuki Sidekick. It weighs in at 2200 lbs curb weight, has 1.6L 4cyl topping out at 95HP or so and can be had for dirt cheap. You can buy a newer one for dirt cheap, and gut it out. I am thinking hybrid, so keeping everything, and somehow figuring out how to implement electric into the drive train.
 
Watts it called? "highway speeds and a 200km range"... Sorry, for many "urban", 21st-Century folks it's a "foreign concept".

Where "high speed" travels (on land, using a wheeled vehicle) involves "beating the competition" ie options like the horseless carriage ("car"), pubic transportation (sp?) vehicles... etc.

... so in "EV-terms" one might ask "Hard to pedal?"... and lots of empty seats? ... plenty of (empty) cargo spaces?

... and might conclude that any "large" and "heavy" vehicle (that you can't assist by pedaling from starts, up hills/against gravity/etc.) is probably not the "best" in "saving money" terms. Alternatively, one can spend LOTS of money and forego stuff like vacations...etc. ... and etc.

:wink:
 
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