Electric Vitesse?

[dougbgt6]

38 minutes ago, trigolf said:

I do wonder how long the various suspension bushes will last with all that extra weight of batteries...?

The guy weighed the car to start with then took out the engine. He then aims at the original weight for the new engine and batteries.

I feel like I'm defending him, despite fundamentally disagreeing with what he's doing!

Doug 

[johny]

Im surprised you can just stick batteries wherever you like because of the danger they present in an accident...

[Colin Lindsay]

17 minutes ago, johny said:

Im surprised you can just stick batteries wherever you like because of the danger they present in an accident...

As Bonnie Parker will testify...

[johny]

Its like moving your fuel tank to the front of the car, quite a major mod😳

[Paul H]

And all for a 100 mile range and a cost of £20k

Paul 

[dougbgt6]

31 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said:

As Bonnie Parker will testify..

Died in a hail of....

batteries?  

db

[Colin Lindsay]

1 hour ago, dougbgt6 said:

Died in a hail of....

batteries?  

db

Died with a limp due to severe lower leg burns caused by a burst battery when Clyde crashed one of his cars. Battery acid ate into her leg.

[PeteH]

4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Died with a limp due to severe lower leg burns caused by a burst battery when Clyde crashed one of his cars. Battery acid ate into her leg.

Their (stolen) Car complete with bullet holes. Can be seen at "Whiskey Petes" Casino, on I-15 (Primm?) En-route from Las Vegas to L-A. (More useless information) 🙄

Pete

Edited August 21, 2023 by PeteH

[dougbgt6]

4 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Died with a limp due to severe lower leg burns caused by a burst battery when Clyde crashed one of his cars. Battery acid ate into her leg.

Never new that, I believed the filum, a far more satisfying hail of bullets.

Doug

[trigolf]

Erm, I'm confused now. I thought Bonnie died in the car with Clyde due to an extreme 'overdose' of lead projectiles, even if she did have a gammy leg by then!?🤔

[Colin Lindsay]

5 minutes ago, trigolf said:

Erm, I'm confused now. I thought Bonnie died in the car with Clyde due to an extreme 'overdose' of lead projectiles, even if she did have a gammy leg by then!?🤔

She did, died 'with a limp' not 'of a limp'. But she still ended up limp either way.

The current movie 'The Highwaymen' is superb.

 

 

[daverclasper]

Its funny with mods. I'm very fond of my Vitesse, particularity, as pretty original and chuffed it still has the original factory fitted engine.  Though on U tube, a 63 Yank Ford Fairlane, that looked great (IMO), with original faded paint and small dings and original interior, was modded with an uprated engine, GB box and suspension etc. I thought this was a brill combination.

?

[DVD3500]

On 17/08/2023 at 10:51, Sparky_Spit said:

Am I right in thinking that a 40 year old plus "Vehicle of Historic Interest" loses that status once a conversion such as above has been carried out?

I remember reading something a while ago about a very nice Mk1 Mini that had been converted and through a series of curcumstances to do with age and Type Approval (I think) it became almost worthless as it could no longer legally be registered for the road with its original number plate , due to the fact that it's motive power was not in period, and the modifications to the subframes were considered as "not in period" and it therefore had to have a Q plate issued under the Totting Up process?

How do companies that do the conversions get around that?

They made the mistake of drilling a hole through the frame and running cables through it.

The rules change from country to country but in general, if you do not modify the chassis/frame and use the original mounts it is more or less the same as say making a Spit6 i.e. engine mod.

You usually lose your historic status (again, depending on country)  but here in Germany you get free taxes and free entry to emissions restricted zones.

I have seen several conversions up close. There is modified Spitfire MKIV about 10 miles from my house.

He has been running it since March 2021.

They car weighs about the same as before. Weight distribution is about the same. Acceleration is very fast, even though power and torque are de-tuned to mimic the original as close as possible (again, a rule here in Germany).

About the only downside is the range, about 100 miles on a good day and the fact that he went for a slower charging system. Part of that was down to the technology at the time but he was also a bit impatient... I talked to the company that did the conversion and they said 22 KW charging is not a problem any more.

As to the "Why" I really couldn`t care what someone does to their car as long as it is still safe. I do groan when someone mods a car that is rare or has unique technology. Most Triumphs are none of those (Fury, and other prototypes excepted...)

As far as "heart and soul" are concerned: Whether a soul exists is a philosophical question. Your heart beats though because of electrical pulses. So in a way, the car has more of a heart than it did before...

Having grown up on muscle cars I am pretty much over the sound of engines. Like steam locomotives, if you really want to hear them there will be places to see and hear them for years to come. I do admit though, when a Porsche 917 snuck up on my and revved its engine to get me to get out of the way the sound of the flat 12 did make my knees weak...

Fact is all the guys I know who modded their cars to electric drive between 10,000 to 20,000 (yes ten thousand to twenty thousand) miles a year whereas before they usually barely managed 1000.

Other fact is they are still really expensive. I doubt there is a way to get a car converted for less than 10,000 of your favorite currency and that is only if you cannibalize other EVs and do most of the work yourself which means being a mechanic, engineer, and programmer in almost equal  measure. I am cursed with having enough knowledge of all of those to REALLY fark things up but not enough to fix it once seriously farked.

As far as tinkering these cars: They are still old. He has replaced UJs, diffs, and rear axles/drive shafts so all that remains.

I have been following and studying alternative transport for over 10 years.  EVs are not perfect and not the solution for everyone. They are however good for most people most of the time and are really the only field that is making any real strides anymore. Combustion engines have long peaked. Hydrogen fuel-cell cannot me improved because of the laws of physics and the infrastructure can`t be built up (there are very useful cases for it but personal transport is not one of them). E-fuels and synthetic fuels are vital for areas where hydrocarbons are best and I am also very active in seeing that this remains an option as there are vehicles such as un-modded cars that need them but again here, for the masses this technology will just not be ready for prime time within 10-15 years at best.

When you look back 10 years cars with over 100 mile ranges in electric mode were considered impossible and now you can`t get one with less than 200. Infrastructure is a problem in some countries but here in Germany I have made almost 10 1000mile trips in an EV and the added charging time was almost zero because i have a bladder and I get hungry.  Oh and 2 of those trips was towing a hood/bonnet on a trailer.  Realistically I would say the added time was 30minutes to an hour at most, if at all.

Growing up near Detroit I will verbally "bitch slap" anyone who poo-poos cars in general or car culture. I see them all as works of art (Allegro excepted) and engineering marvels and have as much a right to exist and be maintained as anything else.

Once the German CDU party allows dual citizenship (I would have to give up my American to become German  under current rules) I am planning on becoming politically active to protect historic cars AND renewable energy and I don`t see that as a contradiction at all...

 

 

[ahebron]

16 hours ago, DVD3500 said:

I see them all as works of art (Allegro excepted) and engineering marvels and have as much a right to exist and be maintained as anything else.

 

Damn I quite like the look of the Allegro especially the Estate car but dont tell anyone

[DVD3500]

2 hours ago, ahebron said:

Damn I quite like the look of the Allegro especially the Estate car but dont tell anyone

Next you'll tell me you're into Morris dancing... 😄

 

[ahebron]

I used to work with a strange chap who was but no all I confess to is liking the look of the Allegro Estate😉

[PeteH]

23 hours ago, DVD3500 said:

Morris dancing..

Line dancing, In a circle?.😁

Pete

[DVD3500]

2 hours ago, PeteH said:

Line dancing, In a circle?.😁

Pete

SWMBO and I have been doing "classic" dancing for over a year and a half and one night they asked us to try line dancing. As a fairly proud "Yank" i.e. an American on the winning side of the civil war I seriously had trouble allowing myself to attempt it.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

I did Greek dancing, but have disposed of any and all video that I took of it.

[Wagger]

On 31/08/2023 at 10:39, ahebron said:

I used to work with a strange chap who was but no all I confess to is liking the look of the Allegro Estate😉

That looked like a shortened hearse. My doctor had one. He visited me two days running in 1983. I asked why on the second day. He replied "Good God man, don't you know that you have pneumonia?" Scared me (not quite) to death.

Probably the original Doc Martin.

[Nick Whitehead]

On 21/08/2023 at 08:18, trigolf said:

I do wonder how long the various suspension bushes will last with all that extra weight of batteries...?

In the video, the guy said the weight was being kept to the original kerbside weight

 

On 21/08/2023 at 08:18, trigolf said:

I do wonder how long the various suspension bushes will last with all that extra weight of batteries...?

 

[Nick Whitehead]

I love my Vitesse and it’s 6 cylinder engine. But I can see in the future - 15 or 20 years from now - it will become harder to pop out to my local BP and buy E10 fuel. And it will be expensive. And people will become increasingly unsympathetic to my smelly old petrol unit.

Knowing that an EV conversion looks relatively simple - keeping the same gearbox, etc - as a DIY project and will over time become much cheaper (standard conversion for all Herald, Vitesse, GT6, Spitfire) gives me hope, to be honest.

I’ll be in my 80’s, so likely my children or their children will be the beneficiaries. But still....

 

 

[Colin Lindsay]

Don't you think that horse owners, or steam traction engine owners, might have said that a few decades ago?

I also seem to remember a few years back people complaining that their record collection was now obsolete, or they'd never get film for cameras any more. 

I've seen people who are unsympathetic to a lot of my lifestyle; maybe I'll go out and sit in the middle of the road and block EVs. Why not?

[68vitesse]

An ICE vehicle does not emit pollution, it did not invent and build itself or drive itself about, people to that. Some people have children, pets holidays etc. and cars they drive, all of which cause pollution and environmental damage.

Take responsibility for your actions and not blame a poor innocent ICE.

Regards

Paul.

[DVD3500]

1 hour ago, 68vitesse said:

An ICE vehicle does not emit pollution, it did not invent and build itself or drive itself about, people to that. Some people have children, pets holidays etc. and cars they drive, all of which cause pollution and environmental damage.

Take responsibility for your actions and not blame a poor innocent ICE.

Regards

Paul.

That's the same logic the gun lobbies use in the US to justify the ease with which people can obtain a device that has very little uses except for maiming and killing.

At least a car has more uses than that...