Amazon conversion to Electric

[morwenna240]

Originally Posted by Army

I agree that manufacturing, "doing stuff", batteries, tyres and brakes cause polution but in a way those aspects are pretty much out of the common man's hands...

...if there happens to be a future for "classic cars that you want to use" I think the chances are pretty high that an electric conversion will be the main way in which people can keep their classic cars on the road.

(Eventually we will probably have to install a robot that drives them for us too!)

In the UK "they" are saying that by 2035 no more internal combustion engines will be sold. It is obvious this rule isn't going to go far enough to reduce at street level polution (let alone the pollution caused before the vehicle is actually driving down the street). I think "they" will have to do more - and do more more quickly.

Despite the panic and stress I have heard through out my life time that the oil will run out it seems much more likely that "they" will have to stop the wide spread use of oil based fuels.

Perversely it seems that my plans to convert my diesel Mercedes to petrol in order to keep it going for a few more years now seems like a bad idea. In principle I will be able to make my own fuel for an old fashioned diesel engine even if fossile fuels are no longer sold....

...realistically, however, electric seems to be the most likely reasonable solution.

For me an electric conversion is all about the practicality of being able to use and drive something with character (at some undisclosed point in the future)

Point i'd make is : it'll no longer have a whole lot of character with an electric motor in. Oh, an another point: At what stage an when, do Gullwings, 250 GTO's etc become worth only a couple hundred, due to no or restricted fuel, hmmm?

[Bracpan]

Originally Posted by morwenna240

Point i'd make is : it'll no longer have a whole lot of character with an electric motor in. Oh, an another point: At what stage an when, do Gullwings, 250 GTO's etc become worth only a couple hundred, due to no or restricted fuel, hmmm?

Well put me down for every 250 GTO.... sorry but that's one car that's never going to dropping below 8 figures...

But i do get your point, its very difficult to asses at this stage, personally i think there will be fuel available for at least another 25 to 30 years as by the time ICE are stopped they will still be running 10 to 15 years later. How easy it is to buy that's another problem as i cant see so many petrol stations around then. You might have to order it to be delivered..
I think we are ok for a few years yet... ( fingers crossed)

[Army]

Originally Posted by morwenna240

Point i'd make is : it'll no longer have a whole lot of character with an electric motor in. ...

I disagree. I think many a classic car could still be utterly charming with a replacement electric motor. For some vehicles it might actually make them more usable (!)

Originally Posted by morwenna240

... Oh, an another point: At what stage an when, do Gullwings, 250 GTO's etc become worth only a couple hundred, due to no or restricted fuel, hmmm?

The point I'm making is for classic cars that get used. Not ornaments or investments.

Much like the "problem" with electric cars a few years back - where do you charge them? - I expect old fashioned fuel will be harder to find in the future much like in the 1980s in the UK if you had bought a diesel engined car (you often had to go and find fuel at places like the bus station)

[morwenna240]

Ummm, can agree with that, there's def some "classics" as could use 400 hp.

[csm22]

As much as I bought my Amazon to reconnect with ancient tech, I recognize the argument for prolonging their relevant lifespan... as well as improving performance.

This looks like a viable solution: https://apple.news/AX10XYjB-Qg2Hejbyi_k-zg

[Army]

Originally Posted by morwenna240

Ummm, can agree with that, there's def some "classics" as could use 400 hp.

Originally Posted by csm22

As much as I bought my Amazon to reconnect with ancient tech, I recognize the argument for prolonging their relevant lifespan... as well as improving performance.

This looks like a viable solution: https://apple.news/AX10XYjB-Qg2Hejbyi_k-zg

At the moment at least having the battery capacity to produce such large amounts of power at the wheels for a reasonable (or even usable) length of time would mean a lot of battery space and weight.

I don't think that would be suitable for a classic. I'm thinking much more like the Wheeler Dealers Maserati conversion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0JbbRFuMhw

The OP was talking about a Zoe equivalent set up and trying to find a solution that wouldn't be as expensive as the Land Rover conversion mentioned earlier in the thread.

At the moment the cost of a decent engine rebuild is about 3K (be it USD EUR or GBP despite the descrepancies in currencies) - that's the kind of money I'd be looking to spend on batteries. Until the prices reach that level I'm not a player especially as you'll probably have to replace them every 6 or 7 years...

[Bracpan]

Originally Posted by csm22

As much as I bought my Amazon to reconnect with ancient tech, I recognize the argument for prolonging their relevant lifespan... as well as improving performance.

This looks like a viable solution: https://apple.news/AX10XYjB-Qg2Hejbyi_k-zg

Wow that is interesting... imagine that in an Amazon
I would be happy with half the power of the car on the Ramp.
I hope more motor like this become available in the future.
Its the batteries that are the problem at the moment, price and life expectancy, once they improve I think things will move on very quick..
if you watch all the film Dave Kindig show off a Corvette ! I went to his workshop a few years ago...the standard of his builds are stunning...each car was perfect i could not find even one tiny fault in any of the cars we saw...

[Colonel Froth]

Hello folks, I hope you're all well. I just fancied adding some knowledge. Fossil fuel use in the UK's national grid has been nosediving over the last decade and power stations are on course to stop using coal by 2025. The "electricity isn't 100% clean so I'll carry on using 100% dirty petrol" argument has lost whatever teeth it had over the last ten years. Our electricity's pretty clean and it's constantly getting cleaner. We've started having entire quarters when more electricity from renewables than fossil fuels goes through the grid.

The problems you highlighted with rare earth minerals are really those of free market capitalism, not electric vehicles. There's scope for an ethically produced electric vehicle using 'conflict-free' rare earths. But if you look at the ethically produced mobile phone Fairphone, you'll see that it's incredibly niche when competing in a free market. Virtually no one wants to pay for those foreign kids to have a decent wage when it's cheaper to be complicit in their exploitation.

Electric vehicles aren't an attack on our way of life, you won't be judged for preferring the ICE. Burn petrol because you love it, don't hide behind sloppy arguments.

Originally Posted by Underdrive

Although electric vehicles maybe 'clean' in their lack of emissions where they are being driven, they are far from 'green'. The electricity they are charged with is only as clean as the method of generating it, still mostly coal or nuclear around the world. Plus the rare metals used in the motors and batteries are finite. They are often mined in the poorest countries by exploited children paid a pitance and will at the current rate, run out before fossil fuels.

[Underdrive]

Potentially controversial prediction: in a few years time electric vehicles will become a novelty and a commercial white elephant. Manufacturers will continue with the latest versions of I.C.E. using biofuels. Not entirely my own prediction but partially borrowed from Ross Brawn (F1) who knows a few things

[Burdekin]

Originally Posted by Underdrive

Potentially controversial prediction: in a few years time electric vehicles will become a novelty and a commercial white elephant. Manufacturers will continue with the latest versions of I.C.E. using biofuels. Not entirely my own prediction but partially borrowed from Ross Brawn (F1) who knows a few things

Electric cars don’t pollute at source is their advantage, so cities have cleaner air. Could we grow enough to fuel transport and also feed the world? How carbon neutral is that?