# 1984 Porsche 944 Conversion



## biscuitWizard (May 6, 2012)

Hello Everyone!

I have to say that honestly I am completely and totally in this project for my #1 reason above all else. My number one reason is as such: To have fun. I love messing with electronics, and sometimes I will get distracted with taking the more complicated route because of a simple reason: It's challenging, and it's fun.  I suppose many people here wouldn't have done a conversion if they weren't motivated similarly, as anyone could go out and /buy/ a Volt or a Tesla.

As such, criticism to improve efficiency is super welcome! 

My budget so far is 4,000 USD including the cost of the car. So far I have accomplished one thing: Today I have purchased a car.

The model I ended up purchasing is a 1984 Porsche 944 with a cracked head. The deal went down, hammers struck, and a deal forged. The final cost came to 1,100 USD, meaning my budget now has 2,900 dollars left for the computer, DC controller, Power board, battery pack, motor, and misc parts or tools.

After some extensive research, I've come to the conclusion that the best battery option will likely be 6x Trojan J185E-ACs. Which are 12v floodies at 175ah capacity. They cost 219.95 each. My configuration would be three sets of two parallel and then series for a total power pack of 36v and 350ah.

The motor I am assuming will come from a forklift. I believe I will be dropping the clutch from the car entirely and attaching the motor directly to the drive shaft (as the transmission in 944s are in the back if I remember correctly! They are unusual. But I may just be making a fool of myself)

I'd like to use the Cougar 1000 or 500 for powerboard and DC controller, as they're both open sourced and I am handy with a soldering iron.

By trade I am an IT technician (Begrudgingly), I have some small experience with mechanical work, but I am in no way a mechanic. I am /not/ scared of taking things apart, however. In fact, I /love/ taking things apart. So this project shall be entertaining...

Inherently, I'd like to attempt to drive this car North to Canada and back. I don't expect to do that in one hop! But distance takes a higher priority than speed. At top, 75MPH speed, sustained would be ideal. 100+ Mile range would also be ideal. I have been considering water cooling as a viable vehicle for improving brush efficiency (or perhaps going entirely brushless)

I have an unprecedented amount of spare parts laying around from various ... things.. Due to my IT background. :|

I don't think my goals will be met, but I will attempt anyways until I find a solution that works. As such, I haven't really spent money on electronic parts, yet. Work will begin on the car immediately, as I tear down the motor and begin dropping parts to inspect my resources. Pictures will ensue soon.


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## drgrieve (Apr 14, 2011)

biscuitWizard said:


> Hello Everyone!
> 
> At top, 75MPH speed, sustained would be ideal. 100+ Mile range would also be ideal.


Welcome to the site, like your enthusiasm but I think your calculations are just a little off.

I calculated that you'll barely make 10 or 15 miles and after accelerating for a minute might get to 50mph. Downhill that is.

No idea why you think you want to parallel, 36 volts wouldn't get you anywhere at a usable speed. 72 volts would be a bare minimum. 

I suggest reading the wiki pages on this site and understand some of the basic concepts before spending any more of your budget.

No doubt there is a lot you can do with the car before spending more money whilst getting your knowledge base up to speed. Selling some parts you remove can raise some project cash.

Perhaps your first task would be to source a usable forklift motor. There is a large thread in the motor section which will help you in this task.


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## somanywelps (Jan 25, 2012)

biscuitWizard said:


> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I have to say that honestly I am completely and totally in this project for my #1 reason above all else. My number one reason is as such: To have fun. I love messing with electronics, and sometimes I will get distracted with taking the more complicated route because of a simple reason: It's challenging, and it's fun.  I suppose many people here wouldn't have done a conversion if they weren't motivated similarly, as anyone could go out and /buy/ a Volt or a Tesla.
> 
> ...


100+ mile range @75mph is looking at 36kwh of lithium (~1000lbs and $12k-15k)


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## rwaudio (May 22, 2008)

Welcome,

944's are great, transmission in the back as you said and not too hard if you ditch the clutch and attach the motor to the torque tube. You may be able to get the car moving on $2900 but you won't meet your other goals.

I'm going for 50-60 mile range using a few times your budget just in lithium batteries. Keep reading, you'll learn fast.


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## biscuitWizard (May 6, 2012)

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, I really figured that the project goals were unrealistic, and thus my hunt for knowledge continues. I had a feeling that 36 volts would not be enough. 

Iirc, Volts = Speed and Amps = Power (Also heat). 

I've been looking at lithium cells. It's too bad Li-air cells aren't available yet! 

Would it be possible at any rate to find used LiPo cells? Any way to reduce project costs would be ideal.

I also think repairing the ICE and reselling it may be ideal. I will do more research for that on the side.

Thank you again for all the replies! I know I have that green-EV converter mechanic thing going on, but I'm still interested in this even if my project goals will not be met. 

The budget can also be increased depending on external circumstances, so we'll see what's going on as time passes. Right now I'm looking around for decommissioned forklifts. Wish me luck!


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