# Installed my Wilderness EV motor... is this right?



## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

wow that does seem way too close to the rear... is that adapter supposed to be that thick? I'd send that pic to Wilderness and verify... trust, but verify!


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

Hey Atomic
It appears you are installing that motor in the engine compartment of a Volkswagen Beetle. I have also done this installation. 
First of all remove the rubber seal. Now that your ICE and its attendant tin are gone you no longer need the seal. The ES-31B motor you are installing will fit. If after removing the rubber seal it still makes contact with the apron, you can bend the apron out about a 1/4 inch or so without losing the contact with the old engine compartment lid.
I have the same motor and it clears the apron by about 1/4 inch.
No problem.
Roy


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## AtomicCEO (Sep 1, 2008)

Voltswagen said:


> Hey Atomic
> It appears you are installing that motor in the engine compartment of a Volkswagen Beetle. I have also done this installation.
> First of all remove the rubber seal. Now that your ICE and its attendant tin are gone you no longer need the seal. The ES-31B motor you are installing will fit. If after removing the rubber seal it still makes contact with the apron, you can bend the apron out about a 1/4 inch or so without losing the contact with the old engine compartment lid.
> I have the same motor and it clears the apron by about 1/4 inch.
> ...


Thank you very much. 

Yeah, right now it clears by about a 1/4 in. Their documentation shows a B&B motor which is significantly shorter, and I started to worry that maybe this motor wasn't intended for the VW Bug.

I'm almost there now!


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## TX_Dj (Jul 25, 2008)

That seems awfully deep for the adapter. Even with the clutch, I'd expect it to be nearly flat up against the bell housing.

The good news is the VW transaxle doesn't move (it's hard mounted to the pan) and is designed to support all the engine/motor weight. There should be little more than a tiny bit of flexion at the end of the motor, but it does seem a little deep. double check to ensure that all your measurements are correct, you don't want to risk having a partial engagement of the splines on the input shaft.


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

Here are two pictures: One of my adaptor & coupler (the coupler is quite long more than 6 inches) and a pic of my bare motor & adaptor installed.


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## AtomicCEO (Sep 1, 2008)

TX_Dj said:


> That seems awfully deep for the adapter. Even with the clutch, I'd expect it to be nearly flat up against the bell housing.


I'm not sure what you mean by this... You think the motor is too close to the transaxle? Not close enough?

This is a clutchless system, so the electric motor couples directly to the shaft. inside the gap between the adapter plate and bell housing.


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## mpbug (Feb 11, 2008)

I have the same set up and it works well. One piece of advice-put a spacer on the transmission shaft so that the coupler can't slide toward the transmission. No matter how tight you get the set screw on the motor shaft, it will slide toward the tranny. I got the first coupler repaired by Wildy ev, the second one cost $365. They both slid up and sheared the splines within a month. Mark


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## Matt (Dec 29, 2008)

I just did one from them and it looks the same, pain in the a## to install, but good once in.

By the way, I noticed mine says 120volt on the motor and the kit was a 144volt. I see the ES-31b listed both ways. Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks

Matt


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## DavidDymaxion (Dec 1, 2008)

My Porsche is similar to the VW. My adapter is about 3 and 1/2 inches deep, I custom designed it myself. I kept the clutch.

My flywheel is dished into the motor, unlike many cars that have a flat flywheel, so the adapter tends to be deeper.


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2009)

Motors in VW's are a close fit. Mine is a close fit and I got it in without cutting. Yes ditch the seal. No longer needed. No it won't burn. If it got that hot then the motor would be dead. 

Mine is just about a net fit. I do have a squeeze of room left but just a squeeze.

http://inertext.homeunix.com/electricvw/Electric_VW/The_Albums/Pages/Motor_Compartment.html



AtomicCEO said:


> I mounted the motor this past weekend, and it just barely fits in the boot of the car. If I didn't cut away the rubber sheathing, it would be resting right on it.
> 
> If anyone else has done a Wilderness/Evolks conversion... is this right?
> 
> Am I going to have problems with the motor that close to the back? Will it bump if I go over a speedbump? Will it burn the close rubber?


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

I was just looking at the Rebirth Auto's conversion of a Beetle, and it looks like they cut the rear end off their Beetle and made it detachable? It sure makes working back there look easier. Here's a link to the pics, I'd love to know what fellow beetle convertors think:

http://www.RebirthAuto.com/assemblypictures.html


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
Attached is a pic of the apron on my 77 Beetle. I just cut the middle section and will later install door guard on the two cuts after I paint the car. This will give it a finished look. 
Rebirth entirely removed their apron which is welded at the left & right seams, not sure how they reattached it but I'll bet they had to weld either the apron back on or weld some tabs to screw it onto.

If you don't weld or don't want to pay someone to do it for you, you can drop the transaxle, mount the motor and reinstall the whole assembly.
This would involve unbolting the CV joints at the trans, unbolting the shift coupler under the tunnel plate under the back seat and then the two large bolts which hold the trans to the two frame horns. It's your choice.
Also remove the old engine tin seal for clearence. I have about 3/8 inch clearence between the back of the ES-31B motor and the apron.
Roy


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2009)

cdbldr said:


> I was just looking at the Rebirth Auto's conversion of a Beetle, and it looks like they cut the rear end off their Beetle and made it detachable? It sure makes working back there look easier. Here's a link to the pics, I'd love to know what fellow beetle convertors think:
> 
> http://www.RebirthAuto.com/assemblypictures.html



With the Beetle you can remove that rear section by drilling out the spot welds that hold that center section and then replace it by welding some tabs to bolt it back in place and that way you will have a removable section when ever you desire to do some work that requires you to remove the motor or some piece than could use some extra space. I would not just cut like the above. I'd do it right or do what was suggested. Disconnect the shift rod, remove the frame horn bolts and just drop the tranny and motor as a unit enough to remove the motor. When you reinstall you will have clearance and you will know you did not ruin your nice valuable VW. I would not cut unless that area was totally damaged and needed repair. The value of the VW is only going up and if ever it were to be put back into service as a gas VW for full restoration and show then I would not cut period. Drilling some holes is bad enough. The more original you can keep it the better. looks better too. I did not cut my Ghia. I did however need to drill some holes for running cable. Very minor but this Ghia will never be a show car anyway. 

Best not to cut. If done well, you will rarly ever need to remove the motor.


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

Pete
I didn't ruin my VW. A replacement apron is only $49.95 which I would do if I wanted to make it look like my show beetle and trust me I could make it look like this:


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

I like the idea of the removable panel just because it makes access so much easier--I'm sure rebirth had a much easier time getting that diamond-plate shelf in there because of it. I like how they could use it as a mount for the electronics... 

That said, you guys are making the whole engine/tranny removal sound really easy. Is it that easy? I'm worried I'll end up with lots of parts and no idea of how to get it all back together! My auto-repair experience is pretty much limited to tune-ups back when you could do that on cars, and I don't have any special tools. Can a regular guy drop and replace a transaxle without major brain damage?


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
I wouldn't say removal and reinstallation of the transaxle is simple. It might be for me having done it so many times but for a newbie you might need a guide.
If you don't already own one I always suggest a Beetle owner purchase a copy of John Muir's "How to keep your Volkswagen alive".
Also high on my list is Robert Bently's "Official Service Manual". Over the years these have proven invaluable to me. Between the two they detail every possible install and removal one could perform on a Beetle.

I'm guessing that you don't weld as you are asking the transaxle removal questions. 
Roy


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

nah, i have no welding experience or equipment. But I was thinking of taking off the apron with my sawzall--hopefully making a nice clean cut--and then having a body shop turn the apron into a removable piece held on by a couple of bolts on each side. Odds are I'll make a huge mess out of it...


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
If you absolutely want to remove the entire apron: Drill out the spot welds on both the left & right side as Pete suggested. (4) I think. Then unbolt the apron from the rear fenders ( 3 bolts on each side). You could then reinstall it using self tapping sheet metal screws where the spot welds were and reinstall the fender bolts. A little involved but cleaner than cutting it.
Have you removed the engine yet?
Roy


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2009)

The rear apron can be removed without cutting. Don't cut unless the part is toast. If you want a removable apron do it right. For integrity and best over all looks. Many have removable aprons and done right looks just fine and no one would know.


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Haven't removed the motor yet, and I'm planning on doing that myself mostly as a way to get more familiar with the mechanics of the car--unless you tell me it's too hard, in which case the local VW guy said he'd pull it for 150 bucks. This is my first VW and my first EV project. It looks like there would be no room to work on removing the apron until the motor is out, so I think I'll pull the motor, remove the apron the way you both have suggested, then work on installing all the EV gear. I haven't received any of my EV parts yet so i'm taking this time to enjoy driving the Beetle before I tear into it.


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Just to finish off this apron issue: I googled around and found this set of instructions:

http://www.vw-resource.com/rear_apron.html

Sounds more involved than I want, especially since once my E motor is in I hope to not spend much time back there. After looking at all the pics it seems like the apron is probably structurally important, so I'll either have to wiggle the motor in somehow (lots of skinned knuckles, i'm sure), cut the apron like Roy did, or drop the tranny and put it all back in as a unit. We'll see how it goes....the local VW guru has a shop about a mile away so in case of disaster I can always just haul it down to him and write a check.


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
The more I think about this, you may be able to drop the tansaxle a few inches without removing the cv joints. I've never done it that way but it might work. So you will still unbolt the shift coupler under the plate under the back seat and then after the engine is removed there will be two large bolts holding the trans bracket onto the rear frame horns. Remove those with a floor jack under the trans and tilt the bellhousing downward. This might give you enough room to slide the motor, coupler & adaptor onto the bell housing from underneath. Once the assembly is bolted to the bell housing your motor will clear the rear apron when you raise it back into position.
Try it before you go cutting.
Roy


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2009)

cdbldr said:


> Just to finish off this apron issue: I googled around and found this set of instructions:
> 
> http://www.vw-resource.com/rear_apron.html
> 
> Sounds more involved than I want, especially since once my E motor is in I hope to not spend much time back there. After looking at all the pics it seems like the apron is probably structurally important, so I'll either have to wiggle the motor in somehow (lots of skinned knuckles, i'm sure), cut the apron like Roy did, or drop the tranny and put it all back in as a unit. We'll see how it goes....the local VW guru has a shop about a mile away so in case of disaster I can always just haul it down to him and write a check.


Drop the tranny to get your motor in place. Unhook the shift coupling and back it off and then support the trans and undo the two large tranny support bolts. Drop the tranny down and install the motor. Put put it back in place. It works well and leaves your rear apron intact. It will work. I have done it with the Ghia. It will fit and you need to remove that rubber seal. It is the easiest way and is not actually as hard as it seems. Easy to remove if needed too. Just a few extra steps and you have a clean install. 

Pete : )


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## mpbug (Feb 11, 2008)

I've got the same situation. All you really have to do is put a jack under the apron and raise it slightly. If you cut the shaft coming out of the tranny a little it will be easier to get the shaft coupler on and off. Also put a spacer (a piece of black pipe cut to about 3/4" fit perfect)on the tranny output shaft so that the coupler can't slide toward the tranny. If you don't, it WILL loosen, slide and chew up the splines. Happened twice to me until I figured it out.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2009)

mpbug said:


> I've got the same situation. All you really have to do is put a jack under the apron and raise it slightly. If you cut the shaft coming out of the tranny a little it will be easier to get the shaft coupler on and off. Also put a spacer (a piece of black pipe cut to about 3/4" fit perfect)on the tranny output shaft so that the coupler can't slide toward the tranny. If you don't, it WILL loosen, slide and chew up the splines. Happened twice to me until I figured it out.


Not cutting is the preferred method for the older VW's. If you are using the stock flywheel and clutch setup it would be best to drop the tranny so not to put undue strain on the trans shaft. If you use the clutch you do not want to cut the tranny shaft. Cutting will render that unit unfit for ICE duty or clutch duty if you decide later and that will make you pay for another tranny if you you needed to or wanted to use the clutch. Best method, do not cut anything. 

There is no need. Since there is no need I would consider it lazy if one did. I know others have but some may have never figured out that dropping the tranny is an easy way around cutting. I thought for awhile I may have to cut too. No need. Sweet. 

Pete : )


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## ZenDaddy (Jul 22, 2008)

gottdi said:


> Drop the tranny to get your motor in place. Unhook the shift coupling and back it off and then support the trans and undo the two large tranny support bolts. Drop the tranny down and install the motor. Put put it back in place. It works well and leaves your rear apron intact. It will work. I have done it with the Ghia. It will fit and you need to remove that rubber seal. It is the easiest way and is not actually as hard as it seems. Easy to remove if needed too. Just a few extra steps and you have a clean install.
> 
> Pete : )


Pete is right. Drop it all. Once you start you will find that working on the VW drivetrain is about as hard as working on Lincoln Logs. Don't be intimidated by it.

You will have a much better install if you are able to assemble and test it on the ground.

ZD


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Update: 
So I have been struggling all day to get my motor on. Raising the apron with a jack did not give me enough clearance and started to bend the apron. So then I tried the idea of dropping the rear of the transaxle down by undoing those two bolts. That worked and the motor is pretty much on. 

Now I CAN'T get it back together! There's this bar/brace thing, about a foot long, that runs under the trans and attaches at those same two bolts. Now it's like that bar is suddenly about 1/4 inch too long and won't fit. I and two friends jacked with it for 3 hours today trying to get it to fit. It seems like I have to spread those two frame horns where the bolts go farther apart to make the bar fit. I got close using a bottle jack to force the frame things apart, but then it turns out I stripped the bolt a little trying to hard to get it in and so then we called it a day.

So, opinions on what the heck i'm doing wrong?

Also, I talked to a pro installer, and if I understand what he meant, he said that when the motor is hooked up right it should spin fairly easily by turning the tires by hand. He said if it doesn't, that means the motor is mis-aligned on the shaft and will ruin itself when i try to drive. Before I put the motor on, the tires spun pretty freely, and you could see the splined trans shaft turning. Now the motor is on and it is hard to turn a tire.

I was an idiot and didn't even try out the coupler to see if it fit the trans shaft before I installed it, and the motor certainly didn't slide on easily--I had to use the mounting bolts to pull the adapter towards the trans, which pulled the coupler onto the trans shaft. Now I'm worried that the whole thing is tweaked in some way. It's really hard to feel whats going on when you are struggling just to maneuver that heavy motor. I guess you guys must have figured it out--any hints or opinions?


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2009)

cdbldr said:


> Update:
> So I have been struggling all day to get my motor on. Raising the apron with a jack did not give me enough clearance and started to bend the apron. So then I tried the idea of dropping the rear of the transaxle down by undoing those two bolts. That worked and the motor is pretty much on.
> 
> Now I CAN'T get it back together! There's this bar/brace thing, about a foot long, that runs under the trans and attaches at those same two bolts. Now it's like that bar is suddenly about 1/4 inch too long and won't fit. I and two friends jacked with it for 3 hours today trying to get it to fit. It seems like I have to spread those two frame horns where the bolts go farther apart to make the bar fit. I got close using a bottle jack to force the frame things apart, but then it turns out I stripped the bolt a little trying to hard to get it in and so then we called it a day.
> ...



Sit back and relax is the first thing. You should have tried to test fit first. I had to check my fit because the flywheel hit the insides of my tranny and I had to grid away a tad before it went on smoothly and spun easy. The trans mounts attach to that bar and the transmission. Pulling out the two bit bolts and slowly dropping the trans should be all you need. Putting it back in you'd need to go slow and be sure it is all lined up squarely. Go Slow! Do not put any thing between the frame horns to move them apart. There is no reason you'd need to do something like that. Take your motor off and check to see if your flywheel is hitting some place on the trans. If it is you will need to grind the spot enough to allow it to fit cleanly. Then before you install your motor again try to get your tranny back up and in before you reattach your motor. You really need to be very careful because you do not want to strip out that big bolt or the threads in the horn. Those are the main holding bolts for the transmission and motor. Once you can get that transmission on then and only then install your motor and move it into place. 

How much experience do you have working with VW's? 

Pete : )

PM me off line please.


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
First tell me if you are keeping the clutch or going clutchless.
It matters.
Roy


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2009)

Voltswagen said:


> cdbldr
> First tell me if you are keeping the clutch or going clutchless.
> It matters.
> Roy


I did not think about that but I assume because it is from Wilderness EV that it will be a clutchless system. No issues with a fly wheel with that set up. Assuming no flywheel is used. Regardless, the motor should fit smoothly into place. Then lift and bolt up smoothly too. 


Pete : )


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

So it turns out you were ALL right. I finally got my motor/trans all together. I could not get the adapter to slide on the whole way, and as I mentioned the motor was hard to turn. So I took the whole thing apart again. Everything fit great until I tried to put it all together. Turns out my trans shaft was too long for the adapter--I guess some are and some aren't. It's the one thing I didn't measure! I cut off an inch of it (it's not splined, so it's not being used by the new motor) and just like that everything fit perfectly. Added bonus was that the motor was easier to get on without that extra inch--it made all the difference in clearance. So the process that worked: Cut trans shaft. Remove two bolts and drop rear of trans. Install motor. It took all of an hour when I did it right! And thanks to all of you for your advice!

Now come the batteries...


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2009)

cdbldr said:


> So it turns out you were ALL right. I finally got my motor/trans all together. I could not get the adapter to slide on the whole way, and as I mentioned the motor was hard to turn. So I took the whole thing apart again. Everything fit great until I tried to put it all together. Turns out my trans shaft was too long for the adapter--I guess some are and some aren't. It's the one thing I didn't measure! I cut off an inch of it (it's not splined, so it's not being used by the new motor) and just like that everything fit perfectly. Added bonus was that the motor was easier to get on without that extra inch--it made all the difference in clearance. So the process that worked: Cut trans shaft. Remove two bolts and drop rear of trans. Install motor. It took all of an hour when I did it right! And thanks to all of you for your advice!
> 
> Now come the batteries...



Excellent news. Glad you figured it out. When things are right things go smoothly. Nice trick dropping that transmission! Makes all the difference in fitting everything in place with no cutting. Batteries? You mean you can't just suck the energy out of the air! Just kidding. I have 8 in my back seat area and 4 up front. I have room for at least 5 more in the storage area behind the rear seat and I could stuff one or two in the motor compartment if needed. I am only going to go with 4 more in the storage area when I upgrade. You may get more than 4 batteries up front with a beetle but not a Ghia. 

Once you get the batteries in will you be able to take it for a test run? Get video of your run. 

Pete : )


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## Harold in CR (Sep 8, 2008)

Got a concern
You mentioned pulling the motor trans together with the bolts ??? How much pressure was applied to the bolts ?? I'm thinking you could have damaged the rear shaft bearing and end plate, if you put too much torque on those bolts ???

An inch is a LOT of shaft to try to shove into a motor ?? Just concerned that you might not have thought of this.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2009)

Harold in CR said:


> Got a concern
> You mentioned pulling the motor trans together with the bolts ??? How much pressure was applied to the bolts ?? I'm thinking you could have damaged the rear shaft bearing and end plate, if you put too much torque on those bolts ???
> 
> An inch is a LOT of shaft to try to shove into a motor ?? Just concerned that you might not have thought of this.


I'd say he's just fine. Those big bolts are just the mount bolts and not the bolts to hold the motor to the trans. If you know VW's you know what I am talking about. VW's are so simple, that is why folks use them for just about any kind of conversion. 

Pete : )


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## Harold in CR (Sep 8, 2008)

gottdi said:


> I'd say he's just fine. Those big bolts are just the mount bolts and not the bolts to hold the motor to the trans. If you know VW's you know what I am talking about. VW's are so simple, that is why folks use them for just about any kind of conversion.
> 
> Pete : )





> the motor certainly didn't slide on easily--I had to use the mounting bolts to pull the adapter towards the trans, which pulled the coupler onto the trans shaft. Now I'm worried that the whole thing is tweaked in some way.


 Pete, here is what I am concerned about.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2009)

Harold in CR said:


> Pete, here is what I am concerned about.


Yes but after removing the motor and cutting the input shaft all went together smoothly. Sure there may be some worry but in my experience with VW's he will be just fine. I have tweeked and bent and did all manner of ills to old VWs just to find out they were fine and ran well at speed. No vibrations or wobbles or any thing like that. He may have cut off an inch but most likely had just a tiny bit of misalignment. Far less than was originally stated. After that inch was removed it all went on smoothly. The only real problem now is that this transmission will no longer be useful for a gas car. The input shaft is now too short for stock applications. Ooooops. Well it did get the job done. What I would have liked to have seen was the parts butted up and not fitting properly. Photos tell the tale better than anything. I'd have liked to seen how much of that shaft was cut too. 

Folks, take pictures of problems so we can help trouble shoot. Get good photos and not phone photos. Photos come in real handy when taking things apart and putting them back together again too. 

Having someone's word is fine but words conjure up all sorts of images and thoughts far from the reality of the matter. So please get those photos.


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Let me give you a little more detail: I was trying to use the 4 mounting bolts that used to hold the gas engine on to pull the adapter on for the electric motor. I tightened them down quite a bit but still couldn't get it all the way on, and that's when I decided to re-check everything. I called a pro installer and he told me the same thing that I think mpbug said on here--on some Bugs the trans shaft is longer than on others. The annoying this is that once you have the adapter positioned, you can no longer see what's going on in there and are doing it all by feel, which doesn't work so well when you're wrestling a 100lb motor.

Anyway, I cut the trans shaft all the way up to where the splines start. That's about an inch or a little less. Then it all went together really easily, and the motor turned really easily. I've put some power to it and it all seems to work fine. No damage I can tell to either motor or transmission. And I'm picking up my batteries tomorrow! 

Now if I can just find a way to use some of the old ignition system wiring--I want to be able to turn the car on with the ignition key, but I can't find a wire that's still in the engine bay to re-use. Should have paid more attention when I was ripping everything apart! I've found a wire that energizes when you turn the key all the way, like to crank the gas engine, but then the key of course wants to snap back to the normal "on" position. Also found one that powers up the fuel pump--may try to use that. I hate trying to figure out wiring!


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
None of the wires in your engine compartment will be suitable for ignition to controller use. They are too thin 16/18 gauge and their age results in increased resistance. The larger wire you found which is energized at the start position on the ignition key is the solenoid power supply and yes it cuts off when the key is released. So you can't use that one.
Beetles and Ghias all have different fuse arrangements depending on year and model. Convetibles are different than sedans. All Beetles use 8 amp (white) and 16 amp (red) fuses.
What I did on my 77 Convertible was to run new 12 gauge wire from my controller to the #7 bay on my fuse panel counting from left to right.
This circuit is ignition energized and I installed a 3amp fuse.
If this doesn't work for you, try to find an unused fuse bay which is ignition energized and use that one. I'm using a Kelly KDH12600B controller. If you are using a Curtis or Altrax check their requirements for the fuse size. 
Roy


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Honestly, if it wasn't for this site I would have probably dragged this car out to a vacant lot and set it on fire. Thanks for all your help! I'm building the battery boxes right now. I'm putting three up front, which I'm thinking is the most I want on the stock suspension and it's the most that will fit where the old gas tank was. 11 where the back seat was. One is for the 12v system. That all should keep me right about at GVWR, but I'm open to maybe beefing up the suspension. I hoping to turn the power on Tuesday, since I need to buy some parts on Monday. Home Depot has been seeing alot of me lately! It's all coming together pretty well, but now I'm all nervous that I'll turn the switch and NOTHING...


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## PatricioIN (Jun 13, 2008)

cdbldr said:


> Honestly, if it wasn't for this site I would have probably dragged this car out to a vacant lot and set it on fire. Thanks for all your help! I'm building the battery boxes right now. I'm putting three up front, which I'm thinking is the most I want on the stock suspension and it's the most that will fit where the old gas tank was. 11 where the back seat was. One is for the 12v system. That all should keep me right about at GVWR, but I'm open to maybe beefing up the suspension. I hoping to turn the power on Tuesday, since I need to buy some parts on Monday. Home Depot has been seeing alot of me lately! It's all coming together pretty well, but now I'm all nervous that I'll turn the switch and NOTHING...


lol, I think about everyone has that fear when doing their first conversion; I certainly did. Check, double check and triple check all your wiring and connections and everything should be fine. I was very patient and didn't even move the car forward or back until my conversion was almost completely finsihed (only a couple of minor things left to do), and on the first drive - off she went! Only things I had problems with were extras like meters (my own mistake). Well, until recently - but that's a whole different and unrelated story!

I'm sure you'll be fine. Test your contactor is working before hand, your motor spins with juice, etc... They really are just oversized RV cars!


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

cdbldr
Once you have made all your connections, you may get a spark making the last battery connection. This is normal.
I put the rear of my Beetle up on Jack Stands, put the trans in first gear, turned on the ignition key
and advanced the Pot Arm a little manually in the engine compartment. Nothing happened.....the wheels did not turn. I rechecked everything...advanced the Pot Arm a little again.....nothing. Then I got pissed off and advanced the Pot Arm fully....at about half travel....the rear wheels began to turn.
I had to adjust the Pot Arm position to fully engage the motor off the accelerator cable. I then took it for a test drive and found the acceleration jerky so I kept readjusting the cable and cable lock.
Finally in frustration, I ordered an electric accelerator from Kelly....$89.00
well spent. Nice smooth acceleration and no mechanical adjustments needed.
I know others here use the 5K mechanical Pot without headaches but I decided to eliminate it.
Roy


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## cdbldr (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks to all your help and advice on these forums, my Bug is up and running! I turned it on last night and was shocked (no pun intended) when it actually worked right off the bat! Haven't had a chance to drive it much yet, but I'm already seeing improvements needed. I'm calling it my Beta version.

Anyway, now I need operating advice. Some questions for you:

The only gauges I have are amp and volts. How can I tell when I'm at 50% or 80% etc DOD? Do i just look at the total volts on my gauge and compare that to a % of my total possible? I have a 120 volt system, for example would reading 60 volts mean I'm at 50% DOD? That doesn't sound right.

Second gear seems to top out at 30mph. How do you know when to shift? Does the motor have a max rpm limit like a gas engine? Or do you just shift up when it tops out in a certain gear? What is the most efficient RPM to keep the motor at?

For any of you VW guys (Pete and Roy!) --what kind of suspension upgrades did you use? I think I'm pretty evenly weighed down with 3 batteries up from and 8 (one 12v) where the back seat used to be, but the whole car is riding pretty low. And it sure isn't handling very well--you can really feel all that weight. 

As usual, your advice is invaluable...

Thanks!


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2009)

I did no modifications to my Ghia but plan on putting in air bags. I also plan on putting in a real heavy duty Anti Roll bar up front and a swing axel torsion anti roll springs. Those help prevent wheel tuck on swing axel VW's. I may also install heavier rear torsion bars used for off road Buggies. I do plan on an adjustable front beam until I get the air bags in. I also plan on swept back head lights for my Ghia. Not exactly suspension upgrades but none the less an upgrade. The VW platform can handle quite a bit. I'd say more than most vehicles and for sure more than any it's size with out any modifications. Disc brakes should be part of your conversion for the VW. I will be doing that too. All these upgrades will take time and will increase the cost of my conversion but I will be doing much with good used parts to keep the cost down. : )

Pete : )


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## Voltswagen (Nov 13, 2008)

I installed Coil Over Shocks (adjustable) and front Disc Brakes.
Both are available at: www.mamotorworks.com

As for when to shift....it's similar to a stock beetle. I don't max out the RPM's in any gear....just wind it up a little and shift. I use all 4 gears when
going over 40 - 45 mph. Around town ...just 2nd and occasionally 3rd.
The Lovejoy Tube from Wilderness is Mig Welded to the hub and that is not the strongest weld so don't floor the accelerator in 1st gear especially with passengers in the car (added weight) . I did and broke the weld and then had to Stick Weld a new hub to the tube.

Also if you don't already own one I would suggest a Kill-A-Watt Meter (bout $30.00 at Harbor Freight).
This meter is digital and programmable. You can set your Utility Rate cost per KWH and measure how many KWH to charge the car and also keep track of the cost. The cost per charge is additive, so you can gauge how much per month it costs to operate the vehicle. I reset mine monthly.
Good Luck and congrats on your build -
Roy


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