# C5 Corvette EV Conversion Daily Driver



## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

Hi DIY EV Community, Just thought i would finally get around to creating a build thread on my project. As many may know a converted EV project is never done, but my project is far enough along that most of the issues have been worked out and it is daily driveable. If you are wanting to start on a EV conversion of your own, please consider the very real dangers involved not in just building these projects, but responsibly driving them amongst the public - which is legal. These project aren't for the faint of heart. 
As for the details of my project, I've been able to construct and assemble this conversion in my own garage over the course of 1.5 years. I used a Tesla Base LDU powered by 192 cells/30kwh-ish LG CHEM battery pack. Motor is controlled by an 057 module, Chevy Volt DC/DC, Older Orion BMS and Thunderstruck charger & DC/DC controller. Everything is basically off the shelf - nothing too high tech with these components, but the work quite well. I recently installed a AEM CD7 screen to display both Orion data and the 057 - and am willing to share the screen I created for it if you ask nicely....
Finally, I will try to link a very boring but maybe informative build video with a bunch of pics if the link works...
Video


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)




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## BruceL (Mar 15, 2020)

Great job Dan! How much weight did the car gain with this conversion?


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Looks good.

Did the ABS wind up still working?

What about power steering - what did you do there?

How exactly did you mod the halfshafts?


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

Great work Dan. I liked your methodical approach.

I wonder who's project this abandoned was and if they were a member here.

It's especially nice to see you follow through on everything right up to and including a VCU.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Now that I'm thinking about it, you might want to have a first responder indicator that the car is electric...


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

BruceL said:


> Great job Dan! How much weight did the car gain with this conversion?


Thank you Sir. The weight gain was probably offset by what was removed, but having a little more weight to the rear made me have to upgrade to a Z06 rear spring and crank the ride height adjusters to the max to get the right ride height. I havent weighed it but the batteries weigh about 500, Tesla LDU about 250 ish so pretty much what a regular C5 weighs more or less.


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

remy_martian said:


> Looks good.
> 
> Did the ABS wind up still working?
> 
> ...


No ABS but the brake feel with the Bosch master cylinder is pretty much awesome. Feels just like a regular brake system and even though I don't use the brake pedal much at all in normal traffic, I haven't locked up the brakes while trying to do some real fast stops because it stops that good. 
For the rear halfshafts, I took apart the tesla inners and corvette outers and sent them to a company called The Driveshaft Shop and they custom made them to fit. One is much longer than the other due to the position of the gearbox.


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

DANTM said:


> No ABS but the brake feel with the Bosch master cylinder is pretty much awesome. Feels just like a regular brake system and even though I don't use the brake pedal much at all in normal traffic, I haven't locked up the brakes while trying to do some real fast stops because it stops that good.
> For the rear halfshafts, I took apart the tesla inners and corvette outers and sent them to a company called The Driveshaft Shop and they custom made them to fit. One is much longer than the other due to the position of the gearbox.


For power steering I have an electric hydraulic unit that powers the stock rack. It works but I dont quite like the feel and am planning the standard EPS at the column inside the car using the GM Vue EPS and "bruno" cheap controller.


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

remy_martian said:


> Now that I'm thinking about it, you might want to have a first responder indicator that the car is electric...


As far as safety, I did include a inertial interrupt on my main ignition.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Were you able to buy the 057 module itself, or did you have to get the LDU, also?


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## BruceL (Mar 15, 2020)

How about some 0 to 60 testing???


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## DANTM (Feb 4, 2019)

remy_martian said:


> Were you able to buy the 057 module itself, or did you have to get the LDU, also?


I purchased a spare one from Matt Hauber at Stealth EV here locally. We fit the board to my LDU and it worked. This isn't recommended. The 057 controller works well but support is a bit hard to come by.


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## Murphree (Apr 17, 2018)

I have started planning a C5 conversion and it's nothing like this (different application and different components already laying on garage floor). It's amazing to see different ways people solve problems and build out EV conversions.


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## norami9 (Feb 19, 2021)

DANTM said:


> Hi DIY EV Community, Just thought i would finally get around to creating a build thread on my project. As many may know a converted EV project is never done, but my project is far enough along that most of the issues have been worked out and it is daily driveable. If you are wanting to start on a EV conversion of your own, please consider the very real dangers involved not in just building these projects, but responsibly driving them amongst the public - which is legal. These project aren't for the faint of heart.
> As for the details of my project, I've been able to construct and assemble this conversion in my own garage over the course of 1.5 years. I used a Tesla Base LDU powered by 192 cells/30kwh-ish LG CHEM battery pack. Motor is controlled by an 057 module, Chevy Volt DC/DC, Older Orion BMS and Thunderstruck charger & DC/DC controller. Everything is basically off the shelf - nothing too high tech with these components, but the work quite well. I recently installed a AEM CD7 screen to display both Orion data and the 057 - and am willing to share the screen I created for it if you ask nicely....
> Finally, I will try to link a very boring but maybe informative build video with a bunch of pics if the link works...
> Video


Thanks for taking the time to video and photograph your project. You showed several unique solutions. Continue letting us know how the project progresses.


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## dlud (Jul 19, 2021)

I'm working on a build using the C5 suspension. I appreciate your solution to fitting the drive unit into your C5. I see some of the dimensions on the inverter cover you made. Would you be willing to share the details so I could replicate that cover if necessary?


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

dlud said:


> I'm working on a build using the C5 suspension. I appreciate your solution to fitting the drive unit into your C5.


You would presumably also be interested in the *Tesla powered Mercedes Vito*; it uses the C5 suspension, but not the Corvette's subframe.

A small drive unit (rather than the large drive unit which Dan used) might fit without relocating the inverter - if you haven't finalized your drive unit selection yet, it might be worthwhile to check dimensions.


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## dlud (Jul 19, 2021)

brian_ said:


> You would presumably also be interested in the *Tesla powered Mercedes Vito*; it uses the C5 suspension, but not the Corvette's subframe.
> 
> A small drive unit (rather than the large drive unit which Dan used) might fit without relocating the inverter - if you haven't finalized your drive unit selection yet, it might be worthwhile to check dimensions.


I did look at the Tesla powered Mercedes Vito and that is interesting. The current plan is to use the entire rear suspension from a C5 including the cradle. The smaller Tesla drive unit doesn't produce the necessary power so pulling off the inverter from the large drive seems a pretty good solution to get it to play with the C5 cradle. It's either that or using the Tesla rear suspension which is still an option since I am scratch building the chassis.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

dlud said:


> The smaller Tesla drive unit doesn't produce the necessary power so pulling off the inverter from the large drive seems a pretty good solution to get it to play with the C5 cradle. It's either that or using the Tesla rear suspension which is still an option since I am scratch building the chassis.


You could also consider the Tesla Model 3 rear drive unit, which is more compact than a Model S/X large drive unit and likely more powerful than a Model S/X small drive unit. Even a Leaf motor can put out a lot of power with a controller change. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with relocating the inverter of a large drive unit, just that it might not be the only option.


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