Z3 EV Conversion

[Andybpowell]

I'm trying to keep this updated as I go along so I don't have to spend ages in front of a computer

today I cleaned up and painted the diff removed the rear bush and replaced it with a poly bush so it went from this

to this

also stripped media blasted and painted the rear calipers

the rear flexible hoses arrived today so just waiting for the new pistons and seals

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

Loving it. Looking forward to giving my GT project the same treatment.

 

[Andybpowell]

Loving it. Looking forward to giving my GT project the same treatment.

it's going to be worth it, and there's no way I could have put those Calipers or the diff back on in that condition it would have bugged the hell out of me.

 

[Andybpowell]

Another quick update nothing too exciting I was holding off on re-fitting the rear subframe as I had hoped to fit a battery pack in the space freed up by the fuel tank but after much head scratching and measuring and a chat with @Tom Cheesewright I have decided they just wont fit and I will probably just have to lose the boot instead.
the upside of this is that I can re-fit the rear subframe with all of it's shiny paint, new bushes, hoses, brakes etc
also while I had the opportunity I took off any surface rust and undersealed in the general area nothing major

then re-fitted all of the new and newly painted shiny bits

Hopefully tomorrow I can get the new rear brakes fitted (as long as the missus hasn't got too many jobs lined up for me)
it would be nice to get it back on the wheels

 

[runnr548]

Awesome work! Looking forward to the rest of your build.

 

[Andybpowell]

As I'd hoped I got the rear brakes fitted today, I didn't buy new shoes for the parking brake as they rarely wear out on these setups unless they are sticking or adjusted up too much so just refitted the old shoes

New discs and stripped and repainted carrier and caliper

other than getting the shoes fitted which is always a pig the longest part was adjusting up the handbrake so that both sides are balanced
the car is now off the lift and back on it's wheels and hasn't rolled off the drive yet
I'm not sure what's next probably Motor mountings then the front battery box which I'm not looking forward to I hate welding ally mainly because I'm crap at it

 

[Andybpowell]

Not much progress today as I had to spend half of it tidying my garage it's tiny to start with this is literally the whole thing

But it's done now so I can get on with the motor mounts
I did get started and I now have a plan, the inverter has been removed from the top of the motor for better access and also to protect the inverter when I'm welding

the mounts are going to be made from 40mm X 20mm mild steel box section with nuts welded in where the mountings will be to stop it collapsing as can be seen in the next photo

This is as far as I've got hopefully tomorrow will see better progress but for today this is it

 

[Andybpowell]

Sadly the missus had other plans for my time today but I did manage to get the motor mounts tacked together and just need to fully weld them up

Hopefully I'll get time tomorrow to finish them

 

[Bazza]

I’m loving this thread keep it coming, I was fortunate to drive the new Audi Etron GT Sports OMG
what a car 600 bhp no lag 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds, wish I had the knowledge and guts to start my own ev conversion.

 

[Andybpowell]

I’m loving this thread keep it coming, I was fortunate to drive the new Audi Etron GT Sports OMG
what a car 600 bhp no lag 0 to 60 in about 4 seconds, wish I had the knowledge and guts to start my own ev conversion.

At that rate they'd have to start an EV conversion section on the forum

 

[t-tony]

There may be a trick here for you guys.

MSN

Tony.

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

There may be a trick here for you guys.

MSN

Tony.

We're getting solar and batteries installed at the house end of July. Should be enough juice to run the house and charge the car without needing to touch the grid most of the time. And should be able to do something similar to this guy with the right software. That would be a nice bonus! Decided not to try to get the car powering the house just yet.

 

[Andybpowell]

I was hoping to be a bit further along this week but have had some trouble with my welder and am waiting for a new torch for my tig so why I was waiting I thought I'd give the engine bay a clean, which lead to me grinding back the surface rust that I discovered under all of the dirt and old oil amazing how all of these little jobs escalate

all sorted now just needs a lick of paint as do the motor mounts

also got started cutting the ally for the battery box but cant go much further without my welder

 

[Andybpowell]

So I have actually got quite a bit more done just doesn't seem like much
the parts for my welder arrived so that's all working so any dodgy welding now is all down to me. The welding required on the ally front battery box is pretty much complete, doesn't come out well on the camera as it's all a bit shiny and I'm no David bailey this will hold 6 BMW battery modules sandwiched between two 8mm thick ally plates for cooling and there will be space at the top for the BMW safety box and connectors

The motor and adapter plate have been removed so that I could remove the entire clutch system getting the pedal out was a pig
also I had to finalise the motor to gearbox coupler which unlike most is a spring loaded floating design only allowing about 1mm of movement but hopefully this will eliminate a common point of failure in many conversions and once the motor mounts are painted it can all go back in and stay in.

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

Wow that coupler is really something!

Are you looking at heating the battery modules at all? I've found mine haven't needed any cooling but they do want warming up in winter. So I'm adding some heating pads to the underside of my new battery box.

 

[Brian James]

Amazing stuff .....absolutely fascinated and in complete awe for what you are doing ...a real role model and inspiration. Well done !

 

[Andybpowell]

Wow that coupler is really something!

Are you looking at heating the battery modules at all? I've found mine haven't needed any cooling but they do want warming up in winter. So I'm adding some heating pads to the underside of my new battery box.

I haven't considered heating if I'm honest but with the battery box design it would be quite straightforward so something else for my long list thanks Tom

 

[Tom Cheesewright]

I haven't considered heating if I'm honest but with the battery box design it would be quite straightforward so something else for my long list thanks Tom

Must get mine sorted before winter. Using the heat pads that go under 3D printer beds. Need to knock up a controller. Probably one more thing to go on the canbus.

 

[Andybpowell]

Had a good day today did some reinforcing on the motor mounts and got them painted and did some minor mods to my coupling to allow for expansion due to heat as the tolerances were very tight and now have the motor all fitted all the bolts torqued up and hopefully it wont come out again

also test fitted the battery box (minus the heavy 6mm thick bottom plate) all looks really good going to be a perfect fit

need to sort out the power steering before I fit it though.

 

[Andybpowell]

Must get mine sorted before winter. Using the heat pads that go under 3D printer beds. Need to knock up a controller. Probably one more thing to go on the canbus.

They're not heated in the BMW housings am I missing something ?