1958 VW Bug Powered by Tesla Batteries

wow, that's cool. people are amazing

who's the guy to the right of nye, looks familiar.

says no donation necessary to enter, but i can't find it

 

I don't know why people get all excited about a car like this.
It isn't as safe in a crash as a Tesla.
You'll never be able to get any real maintenance done on it...except tires and wipers.

I'll probably get banned from the forum...but I never like the VW bugs.

Mike

 

LOL, you don't get maintenance done on those. You do it yourself. It feeds on the blood shed from your knuckles as you rebuild it daily.

Fun and mildly dangerous

 

'don't want you to read'

 

I need more pictures of this. This is awesome!

 

Zelectric has other classic VWs and Porsches that they are converting.
ZELECTRIC MOTORS — available
This company has a lovely Bronco conversion.
Zero Labs Automotive | Gallery — Zero Labs Automotive | Premium Classic Electric Vehicles

What other maintenance is there? Inverter coolant?
There really isn't anything in an electric drive train to 'maintain' in the manor of an engine and transmission.
They do use the original manual transmission. So the clutch might need to be placed, but you also don't need to shift it to drive it. With an electric motor, there is enough torque to start in fourth.
The cars have regen braking, so brake pads will last longer.
When, or if, you need to replace brakes or clutch plates, the Superbeetle was in production up to 2003 in Mexico. Front disc brakes were even standard since 1995. So parts are readily available, and any basic mechanic can do the work if you don't want to.

 

• Pumping up the spare tire; it provides the pressure for the windshield washer system. A step valve cuts the flow at a predetermined point to keep you from running the spare flat but you still have to charge up the tire pretty often.
• Wheel bearing repack was every 30k miles on those, iirc.
• King-pin type front axle will have many lube points. Even if it were updated to the new type it would still have a few.
• All brake shoes were manually adjusted in those, and single-system hydraulics means you want to get them checked often.

(I had a '59 that tried to kill me dead a lot)

 

That's one way of ensuring the spare is ready in case needed.
The one '65 at their site with build photos showing the brakes had the front discs; I'm guessing this is a common up grade for classic Beetles still rolling. Regen braking is going to be on the rear axle.
I've repacked wheel bearings on a 2000 Ranger. Getting to the adjusting screw on drum brakes can be tricky.

It may be messy and require patience, but none of those maintenance items require advanced knowledge or skill. Cars of that era were expected to require regular work on them, and they were designed with that in mind. Replacing the engine with a modern motor(Zelectric uses Tesla ones in the Porsches) eliminates most of the 'harder' maintenance.

PS: No one tell @bwilson4web they do VW Bus conversions.

 

there's poly no longer a spare.

my brothers porsche had the spare tire ww washer configuration. proof that germans don't need a reason why, just if they can

 

Fair guess, but wrong.

No more cargo space though.
But it is a classic car with maybe 100 miles of range.

Sounds like the company upgrades a fair bit of the car beyond the drive train; brakes, suspension, electrical, etc. They don't touch the chassis, except for a couple holes for cables, so the car could be returned to original if desired. It is also still air cooled, so no inverter coolant.
It’s Zelectric: Why This Volkswagen Beetle Could Be The Perfect EV Classic • Petrolicious

 

toyota, take note.

 

.... yea ... because it won't need any

.

 

maybe you have to be over a certain age to appreciate it...