Electric Fiat 124

[spidernut]

Very cool concept. If I were rich enough, I'd consider it...but then again, that's a lot of money.

[TwinFast]

So Cool !
Could you tell us where the battery are located ?

[dreavis]

I recently saw on the zlectric website that they are currently doing a spider EV conversion. I'm very interested to see how it turns out.

ON another note...I notice that when people offer an opinion that does not coincide with what is perceived to be "positive" people then describe this as "hating". The car is really neat and I applaud the EV conversion, but it is OK for people to point out the more practical side of things without being described as haters.
It's 2017, there's almost nothing practical about owning my 77 1800, but I still love it.

[DieselSpider]

A lot more folks are doing this to a variety of cars using the batteries, controllers and motors from crashed Nissan Leafs. You can pick those up at scrap yards for less than $5,000 with good Lizard batteries and won't have to deal with water cooling them. Big plus is the the Leafs Battery Pack can be fairly easily reconfigured however its still a 24 kWh 400 Volt system and requires a good amount of respect.

[ElectricSpider]

More build and battery placement photos are attached here. We used the Tesla Smart 3 kWhr modules in a 2 P configuration with this twin-motor set up. They are very stable battery chemistry used in the first generation Tesla packs. We are running lower voltage motors with battery operating SOC (state of charge) range of 100-124v and draw less than the constant rated output of the pack thus it will not be stressed even under load, will last for 7-10 years and exceed 100K miles of use. As in comments above, there is no heating or cooling incorporated into the pack due to lack of applied stress. The batteries fit really well in place of the fuel tank and spare tire (8) and for expansion 4 modules fit in the back seat area really nice. We fabricated a clean aluminum cover. 12v battery downsized and located under the dash/passenger side. Even with the shift in balance, the drivability is really good and the weight makes the regen feature perform well in combination with the brakes. Zelectric/David is planning a classic older 500 (not a spider). We did a pink Jolly a couple years ago in the shop and featured it in one of our videos. I have fond memories of almost sliding out of the cars wicker seats while cornering! Neat car.

A base kit will be available from EV West for DIY after we iron out a few details with AC50 and AC34's options w 8-12 modules... @$20-30K subject to options. I did a salvage title (fuel fire) Ferrari 308 and that is incredible but I have to say the cousin here is a more relaxed "sleeper" that I am leaning toward. Happy to post and address comments! Wish I did it earlier... Anyone in town is welcome to check it out!

[RRoller123]

This is really fantastic! Thanks for sharing all this.

[mscafide]

Thank you for sharing some really great information and pics You are doing interesting conversions and I think having a good time while trying to make a business of it. The prices are not awful considering the craftmanship and thought making it happen in older vehicles. I actually think the prices are reasonable.

What is needed to charge the batteries? I live in Florida.

I am thinking about watercraft.

Mike

[ElectricSpider]

Thank you for sharing some really great information and pics You are doing interesting conversions and I think having a good time while trying to make a business of it. The prices are not awful considering the craftmanship and thought making it happen in older vehicles. I actually think the prices are reasonable.

What is needed to charge the batteries? I live in Florida.

I am thinking about watercraft.

Mike

Appreciate the interest! We use Elcon chargers on board. In the case of the Fiat we used dual 2.5 kW chargers. We can switch one off and charge 110v or use both for 5 kW 220/ Level 2 feed. What is really cool about this set up is we can (when needed) plug directly into a 110 or 220 source like an RV connection or boat power supply without need for a "charging station". I made tool tote full of extensions & adapters to use with various outlets. Anderson connectors make the connectors easy to interchange.

The owner of HPEVS who make our motor packages has a speed boat that he uses with oil cooled motors..... Check out our friend in Amsterdam: http://www.newelectric.nl/boating/ - Anne was over visiting us last year and there are some canal regs knocking out fossil fuel mandating 0 emissions boating that are driving his business there.

Eric

[PhillySpider]

awesome. love it. to the haters above: well, for the price of a decent 124 spider plus whatever you put into it to make it a daily driver, you could buy a very reliable used corolla which would be considerably faster.

yeah...that's not the point.

hope i can see this awesome beast in person, some day.

LOL, good point. Go buy a corolla instead of wasting all that money on these spiders. Personally, I hope to one day have FU money so I don't need to choose between an $85k electric spider or a hundred other cars...I'll buy the all and my only worry will be if my kids still work after I'm dead and leave them $Billions!

One can dream right?

[zachmac]

awesome. love it. to the haters above: well, for the price of a decent 124 spider plus whatever you put into it to make it a daily driver, you could buy a very reliable used corolla which would be considerably faster.

yeah...that's not the point.

hope i can see this awesome beast in person, some day.

Pointing out that for the cash I could buy a hundred other cars doesn't make me a "hater" just a casual observer. I happen to like the car and I appreciate the workmanship and ingenuity. I just can't see many buyers at that price point. Maybe if you are labeling everyone who doesn't share your view a hater you should be looking for the hate in the mirror? And for the money spent you could buy a 997 twin turbo Porsche 911 or Mercedes SL63 or SL65, NOT a Corolla. That was my point.

And BTW, I restored a 70 E-type Jag to a National Concours championship win and it cost a little less than this, with the body work farmed out. So yes, anyone can choose to spend any $s they want however they want, but me not agreeing that it makes sense doesn't make me a hater.

Nice car and beautiful work!

[DieselSpider]

124 volt is a little more DIY however I didn't catch whether that was DC or converted to AC.

Are the long runs of cable under the car full current or only from segments of the pack. Is there going to be shielding to protect them from damage in the final install?

I own a Leaf and a lot of work was done to prevent damage to the high current lines and prevent accidental contact.

[ElectricSpider]

124 volt is a little more DIY however I didn't catch whether that was DC or converted to AC.

Are the long runs of cable under the car full current or only from segments of the pack. Is there going to be shielding to protect them from damage in the final install?

I own a Leaf and a lot of work was done to prevent damage to the high current lines and prevent accidental contact.

All lines are from the contactor and rear/mid battery boxes. Per final build specs they are shielded. The bottom lines are encased in a fabricated steel sleeve. The photos per your comment show "build in progress". AC-34's are AC Induction Motors. (www.hpevs.com) We don't work with DC. These AC systems are proving ideal for older conversion projects. We still have more than enough power to substantially damage drivetrains! Point in case with this car. We had to have a little fun and test the limits Toasted the spider gear and snapped an axle clean! Nothing a little work doesn't fix! We can always tune the controller down and the AC-50 single package will be more suitable for "lower" performance.

[riverdadd]

car nage!

[autotransgression]

well. since i have been dragged off-topic, here is a response:

...Pointing out that for the cash I could buy a hundred other cars doesn't make me a "hater" just a casual observer...

but calling it a "neat" project (and putting it in quotes like that) sure seems condescending.

...Maybe if you are labeling everyone who doesn't share your view a hater you should be looking for the hate in the mirror?...

er...what? instead of commenting about the great job that was done on the car and offering anything to the conversation, you chose to insult the owner. how, exactly, was i 'labeling everyone who didn't share [my] view'?

...did you see the price? you could buy a near mint low miles Tesla roadsters for $30,000 less than that and it would run circles around that car...

again, offering nothing here, except the implication that the owner wasted his money. and please note that i said one could buy a corolla for 'less than these cars' (meaning fiat spiders in general, as a response to the tesla comment). but we do not wish to drive generic econoboxes; we have spiders.

seriously, do you two have nothing better to do than cry about an offhand comment on the internet? one which, i might add, did not originally quote or name anyone in particular, but which DID engage with the OP in positive conversation? seems pretty fragile.

and to reiterate to ElectricSpider: awesome car.

[zachmac]

ElectricSpider, am I understanding your posted specs on the website correctly? They seem to indicate you can drive ~130 miles and then need to charge for ~7.6 hours?