# 1977 TR7 EV conversion



## dhewitt (Jun 30, 2016)

Hi, 

I am interested in converting my 1977 TR7 (manual transmission) into an EV. Has anyone converted this type of vehicle into an EV? Is there a company where I can buy a conversion kit? Where should I start? I will follow up with more questions once these have been answered. 

Thanks, 

Drew


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

60's and 70's british sports cars (mostly MGB's) are fairly common conversions.

I don't think you will find a kit specific to the car, but odds are reasonably good that one of the more reputable EV parts sellers will have a design on file for an adapter plate for the transmission. 

You can buy kits that aren't specific to a car model, but are intended for certain weight and performance ranges. Such a kit will generally get you all the major components except adapter plate, battery, and battery boxes.

Another technique might be to get the transmission out of a datsun or toyota (pick a commonly swapped model to british vehicles) and find an EV adapter plate for that. You will get a more reliable transmission at the same time. With a big enough motor you could lose the tranny altogether and go direct drive, but that makes the conversion more expensive and limits your options a bit.

Look in the garage section and the austinev "evalbum" (google it) for various examples. I haven't bought a lot of EV parts lately so I can't speak to who the best resellers are for parts. Most of the places I have worked with in the past no longer exist.

As for battery, the best way to go these days is a surplus nissan leaf battery. You will need to rewire it for half the volts and double the AH, for example if going with a 144V Curtis/HPEVS AC motor and controller, common in such conversions.


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## dhewitt (Jun 30, 2016)

Thanks for the quick reply - you have provided me with some great information to move forward with my research. As I move along, I will post more questions . Once again thanks for taking the time to post your remarks.

Drew


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## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

Go to the Garage here as well as to EVAlbum- lots of triumphs have been converted. Spitfires and GT6s and TR6s are more common than 7s or 8s but no reason it can't be done. Transmission mounting plates and hubs don't exist for sale but can be made or you can do a transmission swap to something beefier- I have a Toyota W50 in my E-Fire Spitfire.

These days your best bet is a Leaf or Volt pack from tge wreckers- will save you 1/2 to 3/4 of what I spent on prismatic LFP cells.


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