Bunky the eBug: A 30 Day EV Conversion

[Gregski]

I was walking down the street minding my own business the other day,
when I saw a guy locking up a 7 Eleven convenience store,
hey buddy what do you think you're doing I asked.
Locking up! the man exclaimed
But the sign says Open 24 Hours.
Yeah, but not in a row, he retorted

Hmmm, that got me to thinkin', could I do an EV conversion in [ahem] 30 days?

So here are the RULES so far for the EV Conversion (and we get to make these up as we go along):

• Rule # 1. Keep it Simple!
• Rule # 2. When in doubt, refer to Rule # 1.

BUDGET: under $3,000 dollars (not including purchase price of the vehicle, or maybe even including it)
$1,200 - Battery Pack
$450 - Zombieverter VCU
$250 - Motor
$200 - Charger/DC-DC Converter
$100 - misc, fuses, relays, hoses, terminals
$90 - Inverter
$80 - GPS Speedometer
$80 - Single Din WiFi Radio Dispaly
$50 - partial Inverter Wire Harness
$30 - Throttle Pedal
$30 - Coolant Pump
$25 - partial Resolver Wire Harness
??? - ?????
====================
$2,585 - TOTAL

COMPONENTS

• Motor: the air cooled 70 hp 2009 Toyota Highlander AWD rear motor MGR

• Battery: BMW 530e hybrid 12 kWh Info on BMW hybrid battery packs?

• Contactor Box: OEM BMW Safety Box aka sBox again to start, then maybe roll my own DIY box if the sBox can't handle a higher voltage

• Inverter: Toyota Camry or Gen 3 Prius with the OEM internal logic board

• Charger:Mitsubishi Outlander DCDC OBC at least to start, then maybe upgrade to the Ding Dong 550 volt one, more on that later

TIME: 30 days or less (in EV Conversion Math, EVCM)

VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Must be my birth year.
2. Can't be red, I hate red cars! (a shiet !)
3. Should have IRS

GOALS / EXPECTATIONS / & PIPE DREAMS

1. Less Means More - would love to use a single box All-In-One solution, Gen3 Prius Inverter, Controller (via internal logic board swap), DC-DC Converter, and even have it act as a charger [emphasis on Pipe Dream]
2. Even Less Means Even More - no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, no heater, no problems
3. Range: 50 miles
4. Tope Speed: [think captain slow] 60 MPH if that, this will be a city putt around car
5. come up with a no welding required bolt in kit, fully reversible conversion (for that first human in history to actually attempt to reverse an EV
   Conversion)
6. air cooled components in an air cooled people's car

[Gregski]

so let's meet Bunky...

[Gregski]

I pinky promise I will not liter this thread with non EV related updates as I tackle all the mundane restoration tasks on this magnificent automobile (and when I say restoration, I take that term very loosely) if you would like to keep up with those shenanigans please take a peak at my Bunky the eBug: A 30 Day EV Conversion thread on the VWVortex forum, please and thank you


having said that, I just have to share this pic of her and her new shoes, how can you not love this sexy beast?

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Damn, you're going to beat me to it! I've been thinking about and collecting parts for a similar low buck idea for a while, but keep letting other things get in the way. Excited to see how this goes!

[Gregski]

Damn, you're going to beat me to it! I've been thinking about and collecting parts for a similar low buck idea for a while, but keep letting other things get in the way. Excited to see how this goes!

Oooh questions: What vehicle would you be converting? and I wonder if you have done any research to confirm if the following MGR source vehicles actually have the same motor specs:

• Toyota Highlander

• Lexus RX400h

• Lexus RX450h

cause I know at least the Lexus RX400h rear track is narrower than the Toyota Highlander one, and may have different diameter CV axles and suspension linkage, which may matter to some, and I have not seen the RX450h in the Pick N Pull yards yet but I would love to get my hands on one of them as well, and then there's the elusive (in the State's anyways) Mitsubishi Outlander Rear Drive Unit

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

I'm out of touch. I thought the MGR was no bueno because of... I forget why. Maybe people couldn't squeeze enough power out of it unless they had 600v? Then everyone jumped ship from Highlander to Outlander.

Haven't you done this "Conversion using X amount of time" thing before? I could've sworn it was the Rabbit but I just re-read some of that and, no, wasn't that.

What's Rule #1 of doing an EV Conversion?: Never do a restoration and a conversion at the same time.

And no one knows this better than you, someone who's done it twice before

Last time you started a build I said I'd be embarrassed if you got yours rolling before my 5-year project was. Cue embarrassment. Still not rolling, because I bought another car.

This time on only a 30 day deadline... okay fine. I'll throw my hat into the ring. I'm not doing a restoration and a conversion at the same time, I'm just doing a restoration OF a 46-year old EV conversion, that I haven't work on since July. In order to roll, it just needs brakes rebuilt. Temp battery and temp controller will get it rolling.

Bonus, it's also a VW Beetle (underneath):

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Oooh questions: What vehicle would you be converting? and I wonder if you have done any research to confirm if the following MGR source vehicles actually have the same motor specs:

Well I meant similar in the sense of limited budget, done quickly. I've been inspired by Casey's Customs on Youtube, where he's done a bunch of 'building a hot rod ______ for $_____" type builds. I picked up a Model 3 drive unit for $100 off of marketplace in the fall, and will probably use that, but I did just see that the local pick-a-part has a hybrid Yukon, and I've wanted to play with the 2ML70 (read: GM's 2 motor hybrid transmission from 2008-2013 Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade/Sierra/Silverado) so I might have to go grab that.

I don't have a car for it yet (though there is a '51 Jeep I bought for $100 years ago languishing in my parents' yard in NY. But honestly that's more of a pile of rust purporting to be a Jeep.) I was similarly thinking of something that already has independent suspension, and given my unmet penchant for Poncho power, I was looking around for a Fiero, or '61 Tempest, or '09-'10 Vibe.

cause I know at least the Lexus RX400h rear track is narrower than the Toyota Highlander one, and may have different diameter CV axles and suspension linkage, which may matter to some, and I have not seen the RX450h in the Pick N Pull yards yet but I would love to get my hands on one of them as well,

I think that I saw a RX400 or 450 in a local yard here, I'll have to check on that.

[Gregski]

here's the proposed Bunky Build Schedule once we get started, which I hope will be in March, aka March Madness 2026, and I know some of the tasks won't take an entire weekend so they include some buffer time as well, also realistically I doubt I will be able to wrench on Bunky for 12 consecutive weekends, lemme know if you wanna come down and help, ha ha (cold tacos and warm beer shall be served)

2.5 days means start after work on Friday hence the half day, then all day Saturday and all day Sunday type of pace

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

lemme know if you wanna come down and help, ha ha (colt tacos and warm beer shall be served)

If I wasn't on the other side of the continent, I'd take you up on that offer.

[Gregski]

fits like a glove

plenty of room in front (or behind the motor) depending how you look at it, for the inverter and charger

[Gregski]

Stringanometry

[Gregski]

Front Plate: this aint our only option, but we're going for simple first, hoping we can come up with a bolt on kit, no welding required


here, I'm using the stock OEM transmission bellhousing bracket as a template for the holes

please ignore that diagonal red line, it's from a prior project

[Bratitude]

I hope you dont cut and splice axles, as a simple adapter flange is all you need to keep stock vw axles!

[Gregski]

I hope you dont cut and splice axles, as a simple adapter flange is all you need to keep stock vw axles!

[Gregski]

swung by my favorite mom n pop steel place today, may be the last one of it's kind, North of the Mmiissiissiippii

I love it cause they sell remnants, and let you wonder around their yard and warehouse aimlessly, so this is what $20 bones buys you these days, not too shabby at all, 3/16th" flat and angle, and 1/8th" rectangular tubing (gloves not included)

[Gregski]

today we focus on the front motor bracket, and since it needs an odd offset and slant at an angle (all to be explained in the coming soon video) we opted to use the much cheaper and bugger welder friendly steel

and then it was off to Send Hack Send...

for the love of God, can somebody please move that annoying green broom stick!

we don't just cut corners here at the Good Enuff Garage, we round them !

I had the toughest time finding the right 10mm pitch nuts for these two studs

here I'm using my super duper favorite and best nut identifier thingie, I absolutely love this thing, so I used it here to narrow it down to an M10 but as it turned out it was the 1.50 thread

[Gregski]

the vertical piece was next, but we'll have to wait till tomorrow for the finished product, wonder why ?

I swear, never fails !!!

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

here's the proposed Bunky Build Schedule ... I doubt I will be able to wrench on Bunky for 12 consecutive weekends

Wait, hol up. Is that how we're counting days now for this "30-day build"? As if they're billable hours on a law firm, and the time elapsed is just on retainer?

And people think this is a legitimate way of describing automotive projects?

*wipes forehead*

Whew. This makes my 7 year long conversion more like a 2 month conversion. Easy peasey. Heck, at 2 months it technically still qualifies as a "summer project"!

I've had it all wrong. I've been using spouse-days to measure my (lack of) progress. Spouse-days of course being how long this unfinished, torn apart, POS vehicle has been sitting on the lawn/driveway/garage, being an eyesore and taking up space and not fulfilling its role as an object that benefits their lives and accomplishes things like transporting people and products.

Neither I nor you currently have a spouse, so, your argument is very convincing to me at the moment. Derelict vehicles? No. I'm surrounded by treasures of my own choosing.

[Gregski]

then it was time to work on the piece that would attach to the front of the little MGR

a chunk of 3" angle iron 3/16ths thick

we round the edges cause we're not Barbarians!

we needed some shorter M12 x 1.25 bolts

[Gregski]

all welded up this pretty little thing had no idea what was coming...

death by a thousand cuts !

yes that cut was crooked, I aligned the straight edge with the cab, silly me! (I corrected it with a speed square later)

[Jack Bauer]

Greg, you have a truck. What in the sam hill are you doing pushing a car up a hill

[Gregski]

Greg, you have a truck. What in the sam hill are you doing pushing a car up a hill

LoL, obviously working harder not smarter!

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Greg, you have a truck. What in the sam hill are you doing pushing a car up a hill

Haven't you heard? His truck is an EV.

... doesn't have the range...

[Alibro]

Subbed
If this crazy idiot is mad enough to 1, start a third EV project and 2, attempt to complete it (get it driving as nobody ever completes an EV project) in 30 days then the least I can do is be here to mock/deride/hurl abuse//praise/criticize etc

[Alibro]

Subbed
If this crazy idiot is mad enough to 1, start a third EV project and 2, attempt to complete it (get it driving as nobody ever completes an EV project) in 30 days then the least I can do is be here to mock/deride/hurl abuse//praise (never gonna happen) as required