# Ih Scout 80 EV conversion?



## pdbeyer (Jan 16, 2013)

Here is a Link to a German Landrover conversion that would work...
http://www.evalbum.com/4489


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

You will need a lot of battery to get 100 miles of range in a brick shaped, relatively heavy 4x4 vehicle (not saying that as any kind of a downer, but its the truth; I've got a 62 IIA land rover) The link to the german one sounds about right insofar as quantity and type of batteries needed for 100 miles of range at freeway speeds (55-60mph)

The old rule of thumb with lead acid (I don't know if anybody else used it, but I did) seemed to be that with 144v or so of 6v golf batteries and everything done right, range as an EV would be at most about the same as the range on 2 gallons of gas before conversion. If we use my IIA as an example which gets about 16mpg at 55mph, then with 1400lbs of battery on board for a net gain of say 1000 lbs, it might have been able to do around 30 miles. 

With LiFePO4, you get about a 4x increase in usable energy for unit weight vs lead, so 1400lbs of lithium might get you 120 miles. but due the difference in energy density by volume vs. by mass, you probably could not get 1400lbs of lithium into a scout without taking up every bit of space except for the driver's seat. So say 600-800lbs instead which works out to about 100 100ah cells or 80 or so 160ah cells, the latter being what the german IIA has. I'd expect at freeway speeds he has about 70 miles of range. At lower speeds (35-45) he probably has no problem exceeding 100 miles of range though. All in the aerodynamics and the horrible CdA (drag coefficient multiplied by frontal surface area) of a land rover. 

I'm guessing the calculus for you would be similar.

If you want to go the hybrid route, you might seriously consider investigating a toyota highlander hybrid with the intent of swapping in the entire engine and drivetrain. From what I understand, they are 4wd but the rear axle is completely electric, it is not mechanically connected to the engine at all. You could go the plug in hybrid route by providing a much larger kicker battery that keeps the hybrid battery charged, and you would still have an engine for the longer trips. Such a project will certainly keep you busy for a few dark and stormy nights.


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