VW Beetle 1303 conversion

[Tomas]

Hi!

Tomas from Sweden here! This is my first post. I have got a VW 1303 that I will convert to electric. I see no point in using the original gearbox as I want to keep it simple and effective. Of course a Tesla SDU would make a great drivetrain but I have also been looking at the Outlander motor/inverter as it's almost half the price. I know that the motor/inverter is just a small amount of the total but everything adds up. Would it be a clever choice or do you have any other suggestions?

[johu]

Welcome
For a beetle that seems perfect. Already a new beetle on here that runs very well.
Where in Sweden are you? You can enter it in your profile.

[Bigpie]

Like everything, the choice of motor, inverter, batteries etc depends on your goals and constraints. For budget builds the Outlander is hard to beat, in the UK they're really quite cheap. If you get the outlander inverter, heater, charger and motor, those are really well documented, simple to use and great value for money.

[Pete9008]

I'd agree with all the above, power wise it should be fine in a light car like that. In terms of simplicity in some ways it could be easier to keep the vw gearbox though, no changes would be needed to the engiine mounts and no driveshaft mods needed either.

Not sure what your plans are for batteries but its also worth bearing in mind that to get the best out of an SDU you would need something with higher current capability.

[Tomas]

Thank you all for replies! My main goal is to learn how all goes together. I would rather have range than maximum power output. For batteries don't know yet but perhaps 20-30 kWh!? I know opto innovation used BMW batteries but i guess I would be able to fit more modules than they did. Would it be possible to use the outlander charger and dual BMW setup (2x5 modules or 2x6 modules? Haven't really read much yet about charger setup

[Bigpie]

The outlander charger will do 80s (5 BMW modules) or 96s (6 BMW modules) no problem. My more modern Beetle uses outlander charger with 96s (2x4 VW PHEV modules)

[Ctwidle]

When you buy an Outlander rear motor try to get the driveshafts as well. It seemed almost impossible to get just the inner cv joints that you need to splice onto the Beetle drive shafts. I finished up keeping the 74 superbug gearbox with an adaptor plate and coupler. The gearbox was rebuilt with just 2nd and 4th - not running yet so I can’t say how successful this will be.

[Tomas]

Thank for the heads up @Ctwidle! Here in Sweden it doesn’t seem to be a problem to get the driveshafts or inner cw-joints. Do you have a buildthread?

[m.art.y]

I know that the motor/inverter is just a small amount of the total but everthing adds up. Would it be a clever choice or do you have any other suggestions?

If you would be keeping the VW gearbox you could also use gen3 Nissan Leaf motor/inverter set. Quite a compact solution as I have seen how others have done it with this setup. I have gen3 Leaf motor/inverter sets for sale at good prices

[Tomas]

Yes I have been looking at the Leaf drivetrain also. But since my Beetle hasn’t been on the road since 1984 I have no clue in what condition the gearbox is in. And rebuild it does cost a lot of money and would probably be a weak point in the drivetrain so I have scrapped that idea.

[johu]

Not using it might also make it quieter. ICE transmissions can be pretty loud because the engine is louder. Probably the simple reduction gearbox is a tad more efficient also and certainly smaller and lighter.
Still need to verify on Audi once wheel bearings and drive shafts are fixed Touran and Polo are/were pretty noisy which is slightly annoying.

[Tomas]

Does it matter from which year the Outlander components come from? Does a charger/dcdc and motor from 2018 work with an inverter from 2015?

[royhen99]

As far as I know a 2015 inverter will work with a newer motor. I bought as new as posible at a reasonable price, so have motor and inverter from 2019 and charger from 2021. It's worth checking what cables come with the units as buying them separately can add up to a lot. Make sure you get the resolver cable that goes between the motor and inverter as the connectors are no longer available.

[Tomas]

Is it the resolver cable that @tom91 sells custom made?

[Bratitude]

Rear outlander motor is a great fit, I’m still investigating making some vw drive shaft adapters for it.

I wouldn’t make custom shafts, rather I would turn down the cv joint stub and weld a 90mm flange onto it, so type 1/90mm vw axles bolt up.

Alternatively, i have both adapter plates and drive shaft adapters for matting a leaf into a vw

[tom91]

Is it the resolver cable that @tom91 sells custom made?

I can make a resolver cable or a LV(12V can) cable for the Outlander Rear inverter.

Also got solutions for HV cables for the rear inverter and motor.

[marcexec]

I'd try to get rear diff, half-shafts, motor, inverter, heater, DC-DC/charger, cables and maybe even battery from one car. Scrapyard wouldn't be left with much "unsellable" bits and Outlander battery while not the best is certainly enough to get started.
I'd love to see a writeup, should be very neat!

[Ctwidle]

I just picked up a 2014 Outlander PHEV at auction as a ‘Repairable write off’. I am currently harvesting as much as I can before disposing of the rest. Its done 200k km so I won’t bother with the ICE or front motor/generator and i haven’t harvested the heater as my home town is just sub tropical.
I already had a rear motor coupled to the original gearbox and by mounting the inverter and charger above them I will be able to reuse all the original cables. Battery modules, split in half, will just fit behind the back seat. The charge cable (AC only) will need a short extension from the original beetle fuel inlet. I know I am putting a load on the rear but I hope eventually to replace the Outlander battery with something a bit more practical. Tom91’s new VCU should take care of the higher level stuff.
I will be updating the build thread ‘Yet another Voltswagen’ with some images shortly.

[Tomas]

Got my hands on a Tesla SDU for a very decent price so I bought it, will get a OI drop in board for it. Have to restore the car and update brakes and suspension first before I go any further with conversion

[johu]

In the shop it says "available in one month" but in fact I have two boards still here.
I got the new batch on friday with vcc and gnd plane swapped 20 boards of scrap

[Romale]

In the shop it says "available in one month" but in fact I have two boards still here.
I got the new batch on friday with vcc and gnd plane swapped 20 boards of scrap

how is this possible? did the Chinese make a mistake in the manufacture?