# My bmw 1997 318i conversion



## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Started an official thread ... Ill be keeping things up to date as things advance .... 

Machining my coupler














Transmission adapter plate 


First test fit ... Realized i need to shim the motor an other inch and a quarter 








































Finally in its place  brackets left to do i want the original motor mounts to be used  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Motor finally fixed and in its place hopefully for years to come  used the originsl moyor mount positioning ...




















Now the sucky part of sandblasting and repainting the rear subfrsme to make sure the car lasts long ... 








Ive got everything in new from hubs and bearings to bushings to suspension ... Everything


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

prepperation of the original heater core to receive its new set of 2 1500 kilowatt electric heaters  ... 








Finished sandblasting and repainting my rear subframe parts 








Tommorow i hope to get the rear back reinstalled and finished and redo the front end ... After that all the mecanical part of the car will be finished  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

I do have some questions for peoples input on those who want yo help ... 

I have an ac76 motor setup and im debating putting the controller either over the motor close to the firewall to save room but it wont be cooled very much or upright were the old radiators were in the front to get plenty of cold air ? Is the curtis controller water tight enough to be exposed to freezing temperatures +~ -30 degrees celsius water snow ext or not ?? ... 

Vaccum pump not extremely noisy started it today but i have concerns about it being annoying inside the car ? ...


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Mount the pump on rubber dampers and away from the firewall and you shouldn't hear it. Will it be brake switch controlled or you running a vacuum tank? 

Bigger problem for the controller is grime and corrosion. Mount it over the motor and liquid cool it. Simple chill plate and a small motorcycle radiator and electric pump should be fine. It can even be thermally controlled so in cold weather it doesn't run the pump if not needed.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

tylerwatts said:


> Mount the pump on rubber dampers and away from the firewall and you shouldn't hear it. Will it be brake switch controlled or you running a vacuum tank?
> 
> Bigger problem for the controller is grime and corrosion. Mount it over the motor and liquid cool it. Simple chill plate and a small motorcycle radiator and electric pump should be fine. It can even be thermally controlled so in cold weather it doesn't run the pump if not needed.



I get what your saying ... I just really don't like the idea of liquid cooling ... more potential problems  .... but I also don't want my controller to rot with the price tag it has lol . looks like ill mount it over the motor but leave room for future upgrade if need be, for a fan or liquid cooling :s lol 

vaccum pump is brake switch controlled its the canev.com pump I was suggested by them that no tank was necessary as theyve done it plenty of times even on large vehicules with no problem . pump is already on 3 rubber grommets ... 

thanks for reply ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

by the way for anyone doing a bmw 3 series conversion ... the adapter plate for the tranny was a breeze  ... had good help from this website ... 

http://evbimmer325i.blogspot.ca/2012_06_01_archive.html

I got the tranny picture printed nearby it cost me 12 $ for a full sized print to the indicated dimensions  ...

as for the thickness I had to go with one 5/8 plate for the tranny adapter and because of my machined coupler ect I had to shim my motor by another 1 1/4 inch . obviously all with aluminium to limit the weight and corrosion issues


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Got the rear put back together only missing a few nuts from bmw to complet the rear ... 

Worked on finishing my emw charger today and im finally seeing the light lol ... Boards finished starting to mount everything together tommorow


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Looking and reading good!


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## esoneson (Sep 1, 2008)

crackerjackz said:


> I do have some questions for peoples input on those who want yo help ...
> 
> I have an ac76 motor setup and im debating putting the controller either over the motor close to the firewall to save room but it wont be cooled very much or upright were the old radiators were in the front to get plenty of cold air ? Is the curtis controller water tight enough to be exposed to freezing temperatures +~ -30 degrees celsius water snow ext or not ?? ...
> 
> Vaccum pump not extremely noisy started it today but i have concerns about it being annoying inside the car ? ...



Damien McGuire used the same pump and placed it in a 3x6x8 (inch) electrical box on his E36 and he can hardly hear it. I followed the same method on my 1995 318i and got very good results. Very quiet.

Eric


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Charger nearly done hoping to be done and tested within 2 weeks  i ordered a j1772 socket and acv2 card for the car as well  ... Still debating buying a j1772 kit for at home or just the plug and use the breaker as an on off lol or emw juicebox ... Ill see on startup of the charger lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Almost


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Final position of the curtis controller  ...


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

It looks good there. Lots of room for batteries too I think.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Yes ... Ill likely have 47 x 130 or 180 ah cells . Hoping to fit most in spare tire location under trunk and were the gas tank use to be . The rest will have to go in the engine bay  ...


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## tylerwatts (Feb 9, 2012)

Don't force them all in the rear, you need to keep the weight distribution correct. Though some rear bias in front of the axle will help traction.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

S






sandblasted the front hubs and repainted ... Putting it all back together tonight  

Dont i have the best painting rack ever ? Lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Ok so things are moving along pretty good . Tonight im putting all 4 wheel hubs back on as the are finished rebuilding . Im only waiting on calipers to put the wheels back on  . Hopefully in a month max two ill only have the batteries to do . 

Im now calculating ranges for theoretical values with different battery sizes . Id like input to see if my calculations are good and reasonably close to what i can expect . 


47 cells x 3.2 volts nominal = 150.4 volts

100 ah x 150.4 = 15040 watts x .80 for 80 dod = 12032 / 300 watt/mile expected usage ??? = 40 miles

130 ah would be 52 miles ? 

And 180 ah would be 72 miles ? 

I have an ac76 hpevs system can i expect a 10% increase because of regen ? Is 300 watts per mile for a conversion like mine to much ? To little ? Any input appreciated as im getting funds ready to buy the batteries


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## Roderick (Dec 8, 2013)

I've been calculating battery pack size a lot for the last few days as well so here is what I believe is needed to calculate.
wh/mile = weight(lb)/10
pack size = voltage x Ah
range = pack size (w) / wh/mile x 0.8

something tells me 300wh/mile for your car seems a lot...
have you decided what battery to buy? (Calb, gbs ect)


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Up in canada we have two options calbs from the states with huge import fees or sinopolys from can ev . Ive used canev for my hpevs motor and a few other parts and loved the service . They assure me that many mining companies are switching from calb to sinopoly after lots of research . From what ive read they handle cold temperatures a little better ? Anyway price will mostly decide which brand although i love that evwest offers free bottom balancing i dont know if canev iffers free balancing would be great if they do  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Stock the car had 2976 lbs . We have a certified balance at the farm so ill be able to actually calculate it when im done should be very near if not identical


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## Roderick (Dec 8, 2013)

try playing around with this Battery calculator. 
I found it useful although the price is not accurate.
http://www.evsource.com/battery_calculator.php

hope that helps


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Finished rebuilding the front and rear . Clipers are all thats missing  ...


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

This has been a fun thread to read so far, thanks for keeping us up on it. I run an AC 74 on a Metro, and I can see a big difference in controller temp when I run my water pump. I have a switch for the pump, and have driven the cars with and without just to see. With the pump running, the controller never goes over ambient temp, but without the cooling, the controller goes way up in temp. I would consider adding a chill plate. Thanks again for keeping up on this thread!


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Started planning for the engine bay components . Found a great place for my agm battery and my dc to dc 








Now i need to buy a 12x12x6 pvc box to mount all my electric components . I have an idea to mount it but not sure i should ? I would put two steel bars one between the two front shock towers bolted in place over my end of motor . And another bar nearer the front rad 12 inches apart so i could bolt the box on it ? What do you guys think will this strengthen the frame to much or pry the box when it moves with the shock towers ? 

Im also going to buy a box for my canev vaccum pump as someone suggested  dont wanna hear that thing 

Evmetro how are you likeing your ac74 ? Did your predicted battery mileage come close to the actual mileage you can do ? Or did regen bring the mileage up ?


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

The regen thing with me is a can of worms. It may only be conspiracy, but there is a debate about regen that says that it does not really improve the range because it causes small fluctuations in speed that interrupt the kinetic energy. I tend to lean towards this side of the debate, but I do think that regen can increase the range if it is only used on demand by the driver, and not on the accelerator or brake pedals. I am planning a variable trigger on the shifter that can be actuated with my fingers when I want to use regen. Opportunity regen. As for the AC 74, I really enjoy it. The AC35 or AC50 is more appropriate for a Metro, but that EV feels incredible on twisty mountain roads. I think you will enjoy your choice of motors. I probably don't have any authority to rate HPEVS, but in case I do, I give them two thumbs up.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Live from the garage  lol














Ceramic heater testing ... 2 x 1500 watt heater elements .

Works like a charm . Heats like mad lol on 120 volts ac full power im at 21 amps being pulled .


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

So after running my heaters on full blast for over two hours in the garage and verifying voltage leaks and amperages ect ... Im very comptent . The high heat silicone does its job wonderfully . Next step putting it back in the car :s eurk lol ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

finally got to the dreaded reinstallation of the heater core ... did all my teste out of the car and in the car finished before closing it all ... heats like a charm .... 2 x 1500 watt cermic heaters  ....


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Been a while since i posted ipdates as all my time hss been going to finishing up my emw charger ... I was complet but high voltage testing blew some parts so i ordered new parts and others to help prevent this again ... Anyway got some time tonight to mount the front control and power box that i wasnt fully sure i wanted but decided to at last lol ... 























The box will be held in place with 2 90 degree angles on each side to the new crossmember beam . A battery box underneath will still have 14 inches of clearance before it begins being a problem getting lower than the front driving gear  which hopefully will be plenty when the hood closes i have 1 inch everywhere clearing the box since its at an angle  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

My complet emw 12 kilowatt charger  ....


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Aux batterie finalised in its place  ... 

Ive got all the control wiring passed everywhere know its just a matter of hooking everything up  ... Still waiting on canev to order my sinopoly batteries and while there on there way ill make the battery boxes . After that it will just be doing bodywork to make the car not just drive amazing but look it lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Im still wondering if i just parallel the batterie with the dcdc converter ?? ... Or there meeds to be something in between somewhere ... Also i shouldnt have yo have a tiny charger for it when i charge my batteries because it should be full when i park it since the dcdc will have kept the voltage at 13.8 ? ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

control box


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

It's looking great!


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

crackerjackz said:


> Im still wondering if i just parallel the batterie with the dcdc converter ?? ... Or there meeds to be something in between somewhere ...


Depends on the DC-DC converter... some of them (particularly re-purposed commercial switching power supplies) will constantly draw current from the output terminals (ie - the 12V battery). One workaround for this is to wire a high current 12V relay in between the DC-DC output and the battery that is only energized when the ignition switch is on.



crackerjackz said:


> Also i shouldnt have yo have a tiny charger for it when i charge my batteries because it should be full when i park it since the dcdc will have kept the voltage at 13.8 ? ...


If you anticipate not driving the car for a week or more at a time then, yes, you might want to wire a small float charger to come on whenever the car is plugged into AC power (but note that these chargers will almost certainly operate on either 120VAC or 240VAC, but not both, so be careful if your AC connection for the main traction battery charger is capable of handling either voltage!).


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Thanks dc dc is a chennic 480 watt ... It has a key on input wire so im guessing it has an internal contactor . I guess time will tell . I might add a contactor as you mentioned for added security  better safe than sorry . 

As for trick´e charging i figured right . The car will be a daily driver and has the emw charger so it can take 120 or 240 volt inputs so rigging a trickle charger is more complicated than actually necessary ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Making the new dash mounted pod holder for the curtis gauge and jld404 ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

As for the build ... Ive been qaiting on evwest to send me a final quote for 48x 130 ah calb se cells ... Measurements are all done and as soon as theyed be payed and order the aluminium boxes would be in the works ... Besides that things are moving along good i should be good to get this thing done in june as expected  ... Maybe late june but june nonetheless lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

While waiting for my cells to arrive from evwest im getting the car finalized ...

Finishing the j1772 setup in the old fuel port


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

I love that fiberglass stranded stuff. It is a little tougher to sand, but nice for fine tuning a fiberglass project. Nice work!


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## evmetro (Apr 9, 2012)

A note on the jld404... I have one of those in one of my conversions and the display is incredibly bright, with no dimmer. It is ok during the daytime while driving, but not at night. I would try to locate it where you won't get blinded by it at night, and/or wire an on off switch to it that you can reach if you plan to drive with it on. I have an on-off-on switch on mine. When I flip the switch up, the JLD comes on and off with my ignition switch. Middle position is off, and down turns it on with the aux battery so that I can use it during charging if I want with the key turned off.


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## favguy (May 2, 2008)

A little tip for the JLD brightness, you can unclip the case to expose the display, then stick on a piece of self adhesive limo black window tint film over said display, this reduces the level of brightness and is much better at night, but still shows up fine in daylight. 

A secondary benefit is when it's turned off, the display is more professional looking and just black instead of you seeing the 8.8.8.8. of the unlit display showing through.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Thanks for the jld404 tips ... Ill consider both options ... I like the 3 poistion switch for charging purposes ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

j1772 finished  .... Anly the heating controls left to do and the batteries to install  .... 

Bodywork in progress for painting  ..... The end is near ....... ...... .....


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Front battery box ready to be installed


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

This will be gorgeous! Let me know how it goes- you're ahead of me, using much of the same stuff but a MUCH nicer and less destroyed car, and I want to learn from you!

Hmm, very perturbed about the need for liquid cooling for my Curtis controller for my AC50 setup. I will be running the car only spring through fall, but it gets HOT here in summer, and I cannot afford to fry that controller! I can Frankenstein a chill plate, pump, reservoir and cooler easily enough, but I've already bought the stupid heatsink which of course will only work right if the controller is mounted vertically with a fan mounted behind it- which sucks for layout in such a low car as my Spitfire. I think I'll try it without the chill plate first, and leave room to add the liquid cooling system later if need be- I'll put up with the fan noise to avoid the failure risks associated with liquid cooling.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

You wanna talk rust issues ?? Lol .... Im taking care of the rest for the next 2 or 3 weeks then its off to the paintshop ... Then alignment .... Then inspection lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

For thd liquid cooling i left room for it as well ... Gonna run the car without any cool first see how that goes if necessary add a fan and if absolutely needed liquid cooling but im trying to avoid it ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

tight fit but a fit nonthless lol ... Front box for 18 calb 130 se cells ... Should arrive this week or max the next week after  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Pictures are worth a thousand words  ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Two week vacation for me  .... Inspection date scheduled for July 30th  .... Fun with family first car by night lol


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

everything is going pretty good I have 28 batteries installed in the rear trunk box ... it was suppose to be 30 but for some weird reason im missing 5 mm for the last batt  .... although I don't like they idea I don't have much choice but to put two batts were the old lead acid battery was in the trunk and make a small box just for those two batts  ... fail but even if I wanted I couldn't make my box any bigger I have 2 mm of play total side to side ...


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

Oh, that must have made you pretty irritated! Oh well, you lick your wounds and move on...I had to painfully grind away some weld I put on the inside seams of my box where I couldn't get at them with the angle grinder because even though I added a slop/tolerance clearance, the welds made my cells too snug at the bottom. So I sat there with the air die grinder and then the Dremel tool...


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## Blalien777 (Jul 20, 2014)

How do you plan to add more power with the curtis controller? From my understanding it's limited to 500 or 650 Amps. With AC motors does a controller with more Voltage or Peak Amperage determine how much kw/hp you can achieve?


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

By the way, don't think we missed that beautiful bodywork and new coat of paint- you had some serious rust repair on that thing and it must have taken a lot of work to get it looking as sharp as that! You're going to be riding in style....


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

ok so officially as of last Thursday august 21 the car is 100 percent legal on the road !! already put 100 ev km on the thing lol ... Absolutely love it !! 

even let the wifey drive it and she smiled the whole time lol ... 

everything works like its suppose too  ... except for my damn 12 kilowatt emw charger which is complete crap in soooooo many ways ...... been waiting on parts forever on the damn thing... finally got them .... wrongly put together sent them back ... they lost them ... just complete nonsense for a company ... 


besides that had issues with evwest for the lithium cells because of the freight company screwing up ... but evwest is SOOO damn professional and a good company I recommend them to anyone. they fixed me up real quick and even got me a rebate on the cell delivery because the freight company screwed up ... pics of the car complete to come soon or go on my facebook page  ... I have the official ev green quebec license plate  !!



https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phil-Electrik/209154002608648?ref=hl


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

That's awesome! We need pictures of the finished product!


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

The Facebook page has some nice pics of the intermediate steps- but we need more! Like a couple pics of the final wiring, the final dash layout etc! 

Great job! Keep us apprised of your driving experience with this car! 

Ps: lucky you're in PQ- they won't give you the green license plates here in Ontario for a conversion- only for a factory electric. No HOV lane use for me...


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

crackerjackz said:


> ok so officially as of last Thursday august 21 the car is 100 percent legal on the road !!


Congratulation! You have done what only few people have accomplished in Québec... plated an electric conversion by respecting the laws of the SAAQ. Well done.
You are now a rare reference for all others dreamers who would like to legally convert a car.

Let us know if you have advice about the SAAQ and enjoy your car.


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

trust me more pics to come  ... im having cellphone issues with apple lol ... I hate uploading pics out of tapatalk ... 

im sorta stalled right know on pics ect ... because im getting married on the 30th of august ... but I guarentee many pics after my honeymoon lol ... the beamer will be the wedding carrousel  ... silent burnout in front of the church would be a nice picture lol ... 


I presently have 150 ev km on the car ... amazing  I have a few questions about my cells which I asked in the battery section though ...


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## dedlast (Aug 17, 2013)

crackerjackz said:


> im sorta stalled right know on pics ect ... because im getting married on the 30th of august ... but I guarentee many pics after my honeymoon lol ... the beamer will be the wedding carrousel  ... silent burnout in front of the church would be a nice picture lol ...


Let me be the first to congratulate you. We just had our 6th anniversary on the 23rd.

Bill


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

Wow, felicitations et bonne chance!

Lucky you found a supportive lady! Mine is not so supportive, but I had the car before we met...! Married 15 yrs, mostly very happy, but she tolerates the car at best and outright hates it other times...


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## Alphagrey (Jan 9, 2015)

I have a 1998 318i and I would like to convert it to Electric. I first saw the idea in action by watching a VW Bug be converted at zelectric motors. My first question is cost. How much did you spend on your conversion?


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Electrically to convert i put in 25,000 .... Then another 4,000 on body work and a complete overhaul of suspension / bearings ect ... All work done by me .... All as in not a penny except for parts ...


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## crackerjackz (Jun 26, 2009)

Ps thats in canadian dollars so us probrebly around 22 or 25 thousand total ...


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

Hey, Crackerjackz, I didn't know you got married recently. Congratulations!  I haven't done much on the EMW chargers, but thanks for supplying what you could. I also have the other complete charger that I may dig into at some point in the near future. Dealing with cold weather and health problems ATM...


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## Alphagrey (Jan 9, 2015)

crackerjackz said:


> Ps thats in canadian dollars so us probrebly around 22 or 25 thousand total ...


Thanks! Time to start a list of components I need, and choices to be made (what size electric motor, what type of batteries, battery location,...


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