# Planning 84 Toyota Hilux conversion



## gjd1200 (Aug 15, 2016)

Hi guy, 

A newb to EV's. Looking to build a runabout. In Australia.

I have built a few Cars and bike in past, nothing electric, nothing to flash. but have reasonable mechanical skill and are a fabricator by trade.

I would like to be able to drive to work, 40Km (25Mile) and back along the freeway at 110KM/h (68mph) if possible.

I would like to build it on a minimal budget over time with my two sons.

I have had a bit of a look and have found a few 48volt forklift motors varying from 2Kw to 11Kw for sale. Thats as far as i have got thus far.

I'm planning to take off the tub and built a very light tray, just strong enough to carry a couple of push bikes on. It weights about 1500kg (3300lb) standard not shore how much I will gain once tub is removed.

Lots of help required in regard to motor, batterys and electrical side. Thanks in advance.

Regards
Gary


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

Howdy-

1) an 84 toyota hilux, while not the most aero vehicle in the world, is a good conversion candidate in terms of mechanical and electrical simplicity and space for batteries.

2) Keep the bed, and consider adding a canopy. better aerodynamics will trump weight at highway speed unless you have a lot of hills. Under the bed, or in bed tool box, is a good place for the batteries.

3) If going with a DC system, a forklift motor (9" diameter; dont use anything smaller) is certainly usable if you find the right one. Read the extensive discussions on other forum threads about this. However you shouldn't go less than 120v system, ideally 156v minimum. You won't be able to attain highway speed on 48v. (30mph would be about tops on a 48v system in a full sized car) You are going to need about 20kw to maintain 60mph straight and level just to overcome rolling resistance and wind drag. You will want at least 80kw in peak power, minimum, or about 100hp.

4) Not sure what availability is like down under, but in USA wrecked low mileage nissan leafs are the best source of a battery for conversions these days in terms of $/Kwh. An 80km/50 mile range at 60mph should be doable with a nissan leaf battery pack rewired (originallly 360v @ 66ah) 3p (3 parallel) for about 120v/200ah. You would need to buy a second pack, or fraction thereof, to get more cells to go to higher voltage given the AH you need. Note the original leaf under ideal conditions would have gone 80 or 90 miles on that same pack. The difference is the aerodynamics mostly.

If you are near any large urban area see if there is an EV enthusiast group (similar to EAA in the US) and attend and ask questions. Look in the 'garage' section here and austinev evalbum (google it) for ideas.

Good luck


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## gjd1200 (Aug 15, 2016)

Thanks madderscience,

Hills are an issue. I was think of a very light flat tray. but for the highway use I will make a light frame and mount a wedge shape canvas canopy that i would use in winter anyway.

Yes I was hoping for a budget DC system, but the more I look the more I think it is going to cost me. Not much available second hand that I can find in the way of motors except the v48 ones. So I think I may have to buy on new. Quit a few chooses buying new. And Batteries there is less again available secondhand. Only a small market of production electric car as best as I can tell. Have not seen any second hand electric car battery set for sale. Maybe possible to get a set for a forklift, but I would think most of them are at the end of there life. So the only budget option would be lead acid batteries.  Will look into cost to met requirements, the life of the batteries v's the cost concerns me.

So at this stage I will just be trying to learn more and like you said try and find some groups locally who have a better idea of whats available. 

Thanks for your comments.
Gary


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

Keep in mind it is a common practice to run DC series motors at higher battery voltage than the motor voltage rating. As long as the motor is a good one, you look at advancing the brush timing if needed, and you don't exceed the motor's current or RPM rating (without taking steps to improve them anyway) you might be able to run a 48V motor from a 120v or 156v battery pack. Again, look at the lengthy threads on that topic.

Yes, if you've got hills weight can quickly become a bigger factor, but unless so steep you have to ride the brakes coming back down, they cancel out in the long run. If you do have to ride the brakes (test it by just putting the truck in neutral and trying to coast down) then you should be looking at an AC system to get the regenerative braking.

Don't bother with lead acid. lead is dead insofar as the EV world goes. If nissan leafs or other mass market EVs (volt/ampera, mitsubishi, etc,etc) aren't available via wrecking yards in your region you can buy lithium batteries from various chinese manufacturers (GBS, sky energy) that are reasonably well regarded, but it will cost 2-3x more than the surplus OEM EV pack would. A healthy surplus nissan leaf pack at least in the US is CHEAPER than a new lead pack by a significant margin and will last MUCH longer in a well designed car. I've got about 30K miles on my GBS chinese lithium pack (originally paid about $12k 3+ years ago) but its going strong. I would be on my 4th lead acid pack, by now based on my prior experience with such, to get to the same mileage, and would have spent just as much overall. this doesn't even consider the 4-5x performance improvement (weight per range) of lithium vs. lead.

Good luck.


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