08-10-2013, 09:46 PM
Ok people Ive kept these thoughts to myself for long enough and I think its time to open it up and get more thoughts and opinions. Basically what I really want is a 1.8 turbo with gti head and manifolds etc but that costs money and everyone is messing around with that kind of thing. My idea is to make an electric 106 that will be a bit of fun and a challenge to build and then can be used as a short range daily. However it also needs to be able to make it up the hillclimb at pugfest! So here goes...
History#
Peugeot did actually make a 106 'electrique' and it had a top speed of about 60mph and had 43hp. Doesnt sound like a lot but remember peak torque is as soon as the motor starts turning! There were a few electric saxos as well I have read. Needless to say they didnt sell many and they didnt make them for long. The french government bought most of them.
How many left?
The Car
My plan is to get a phase 2 106 gti (preferably white) with a blown engine. Reason for this is it should weigh about 800kg which is less than the 306 or 206. Remove and sell the engine, exhaust and all the other fuel related parts to try and make up the cost of the car so I have it as cheap as possible. Parts to sell are fuel tank, exhaust, engine, radiator, fuel lines etc. I want it to be white so it ties in with the whole eco and clean thing. I really like the gti body kit so want that too. I want it to look like this.
Some 106s came with electric power steering so I need to find an electric power steering pump and use that so I have power steering. Ive been informed that the brakes need a vacuum from the engine too so I will need a vacuum pump to make sure they work as well. Any electric windows will be swapped to winders in order to save weight and use less electricity. Of course lowered 60mm with strippage and bucket seats.
Lots of info about weight saving here.
Adapter Plate
In order to mount a motor to the gear box I need to design and manufacture an adapter plate to mount the motor to the gear box. Although I don't need the gears the idea would be that you could use different ratios and most importantly it makes it super easy as there is no messing around with drive-shafts etc. For reverse some extra wiring would be needed. The plate should be made out of some half inch aluminium and should have holes to line up with the gearbox and the motor. Places will make custom plates for about £800 but Jonny can apparently do it too. Anyway I'm sure it will be cheaper than that. Also a 1.5 NAD 106 gearbox may offer better ratios!
Coupler
I need a coupler to connect the motor shaft to the gearbox shaft. The gearbox has splines and the motor may have splines too. This is probably the hardest bit to make as the two need to be aligned perfectly or the coupler will vibrate and shear. May be able to make this up on the cheap as well although I may need to make a few spares as well.
Motor
This is the important bit really. I need a motor from a forklift or a milk-float. Something really beefy but not weighing a million tonnes. Its almost certainly going to be second hand and needs rebuilding. Really needs to have some kind of mounting face on it as well in order to bolt onto the mounting plate.
Mounting
Id aim to be reusing the exisiting engine mounts with a custom welded frame to support the motor end of the motor/gearbox drive.
Batteries
Time for some numbers. I want to be running 144V as 72V is lame. That means I need 12 12V batteries. Lead-Acid ones are really heavy and charge a limited number of times before they are ruined. LiPo batteries can be charged thousands of times and weigh 1/3rd of the normal batteries. They are more often than not smaller as well. 12 batteries should see a range of around 50 miles and if i put another 12 in parallel then that could be increased to about 90 miles. Top speed should be about 70mph. Pretty good im thinking but also rather expensive as they are £200 a battery new. To distribute weight some would be in the boot, some in the floor pan (low as possible becauseracecar) and maybe 2 in the front to balance it out. Id fabricate some kind of cover for the batteries and carpet over the top so it was all nice and OEM. I also need to find a 144V charger to charge the beast.
An additional 12V battery is used to power the normal lights and electrics.
Controller
Another important bit going on here. Probably going to need some help from Cully and Wingnutz and his mate. The controller controls the speed of the motor. The higher amperage the controller is the better the acceleration. The higher the voltage the better the top speed and efficiency of the car. So... I want acceleration but in reality range is the one to have. Seeing as its one or the other im wondering if it would be possible to have two controllers in parallel and switch between the two meaning that effectively there could be a sports mode and an eco mode. Controlling the speed of the car should be as easy as connecting a 0-5Kohm potentiometer to the end of the throttle cable.
More Fun
To get it on the road it will need to be MOTd, i presume it would need a tax disc but it wouldnt actually cost much as its electric and it would have to undergo one of those vehicle tests they always did in scrapheap challenge. Then it would just need lots of charging so Id put the charger in the fuel cap.
Unless I buy a trailer to get it to shows maybe I need some kind of alternate fuel. Maybe I could throw a generator in the back and that would be enough to sustain long distance drives.
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions please let me know. This is by no means a project ready to go but I have been thinking about it for a while now and reckon it would be possible with time, space and money.
History#
Peugeot did actually make a 106 'electrique' and it had a top speed of about 60mph and had 43hp. Doesnt sound like a lot but remember peak torque is as soon as the motor starts turning! There were a few electric saxos as well I have read. Needless to say they didnt sell many and they didnt make them for long. The french government bought most of them.
How many left?
The Car
My plan is to get a phase 2 106 gti (preferably white) with a blown engine. Reason for this is it should weigh about 800kg which is less than the 306 or 206. Remove and sell the engine, exhaust and all the other fuel related parts to try and make up the cost of the car so I have it as cheap as possible. Parts to sell are fuel tank, exhaust, engine, radiator, fuel lines etc. I want it to be white so it ties in with the whole eco and clean thing. I really like the gti body kit so want that too. I want it to look like this.
Some 106s came with electric power steering so I need to find an electric power steering pump and use that so I have power steering. Ive been informed that the brakes need a vacuum from the engine too so I will need a vacuum pump to make sure they work as well. Any electric windows will be swapped to winders in order to save weight and use less electricity. Of course lowered 60mm with strippage and bucket seats.
Lots of info about weight saving here.
Adapter Plate
In order to mount a motor to the gear box I need to design and manufacture an adapter plate to mount the motor to the gear box. Although I don't need the gears the idea would be that you could use different ratios and most importantly it makes it super easy as there is no messing around with drive-shafts etc. For reverse some extra wiring would be needed. The plate should be made out of some half inch aluminium and should have holes to line up with the gearbox and the motor. Places will make custom plates for about £800 but Jonny can apparently do it too. Anyway I'm sure it will be cheaper than that. Also a 1.5 NAD 106 gearbox may offer better ratios!
Coupler
I need a coupler to connect the motor shaft to the gearbox shaft. The gearbox has splines and the motor may have splines too. This is probably the hardest bit to make as the two need to be aligned perfectly or the coupler will vibrate and shear. May be able to make this up on the cheap as well although I may need to make a few spares as well.
Motor
This is the important bit really. I need a motor from a forklift or a milk-float. Something really beefy but not weighing a million tonnes. Its almost certainly going to be second hand and needs rebuilding. Really needs to have some kind of mounting face on it as well in order to bolt onto the mounting plate.
Mounting
Id aim to be reusing the exisiting engine mounts with a custom welded frame to support the motor end of the motor/gearbox drive.
Batteries
Time for some numbers. I want to be running 144V as 72V is lame. That means I need 12 12V batteries. Lead-Acid ones are really heavy and charge a limited number of times before they are ruined. LiPo batteries can be charged thousands of times and weigh 1/3rd of the normal batteries. They are more often than not smaller as well. 12 batteries should see a range of around 50 miles and if i put another 12 in parallel then that could be increased to about 90 miles. Top speed should be about 70mph. Pretty good im thinking but also rather expensive as they are £200 a battery new. To distribute weight some would be in the boot, some in the floor pan (low as possible becauseracecar) and maybe 2 in the front to balance it out. Id fabricate some kind of cover for the batteries and carpet over the top so it was all nice and OEM. I also need to find a 144V charger to charge the beast.
An additional 12V battery is used to power the normal lights and electrics.
Controller
Another important bit going on here. Probably going to need some help from Cully and Wingnutz and his mate. The controller controls the speed of the motor. The higher amperage the controller is the better the acceleration. The higher the voltage the better the top speed and efficiency of the car. So... I want acceleration but in reality range is the one to have. Seeing as its one or the other im wondering if it would be possible to have two controllers in parallel and switch between the two meaning that effectively there could be a sports mode and an eco mode. Controlling the speed of the car should be as easy as connecting a 0-5Kohm potentiometer to the end of the throttle cable.
More Fun
To get it on the road it will need to be MOTd, i presume it would need a tax disc but it wouldnt actually cost much as its electric and it would have to undergo one of those vehicle tests they always did in scrapheap challenge. Then it would just need lots of charging so Id put the charger in the fuel cap.
Unless I buy a trailer to get it to shows maybe I need some kind of alternate fuel. Maybe I could throw a generator in the back and that would be enough to sustain long distance drives.
If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions please let me know. This is by no means a project ready to go but I have been thinking about it for a while now and reckon it would be possible with time, space and money.