Electric Conversion for 356

For those who couldn't care less how their 356 left the factory!
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James Davies
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#16 Post by James Davies »

Dennis, I don't know of any kits, but it has been done before. See a '53 Super coupe that was converted to an electric vehicle back in the '50s:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23146

And a Speedster replica is shown there too. Beck does some electric versions of their Speedster replicas:

http://www.beckspeedster.com/electricconversions.html
http://www.makemineelectric.com/index.html

Jim Kellogg
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#17 Post by Jim Kellogg »

Miguel,
We only got to drive it on local streets, so could not check handling. They mentioned the weight increase but I can't remember. I was interested but quickly became uninterested. I can get you the contact inf if you wish to pursue.

Miguel Antonetti
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#18 Post by Miguel Antonetti »

No Jim, thanks!

I was just curious of that mod... really don't believe all the goods from electric cars because at the end of the day the sources of electricity is basically common... so, where is the advantage - nowadays obviously the search must continue for our grandkids to deal with... m2c

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Adam Wright
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#19 Post by Adam Wright »

I have a customer who restored a B Cab and made it fully electric, he likes it and drives it around FL.
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David Baugh
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#20 Post by David Baugh »

Thanx for the warning, Adam.

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Brad Ripley
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#21 Post by Brad Ripley »

Call Tony Mazzagatti at http://www.900seriesm.com/about/ aka Carl's Place -- he has extensive experience in electric conversion of a 356 and a 914.

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Glen Hamner, Jr
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#22 Post by Glen Hamner, Jr »

Hi Dennis,

I've an update on the 912 electric Porsche I previously provided photos of. The current owner of that electric 912 wrote me last week to ask if the the original engine was still available or if I knew where it might be. He says the Porsche electrics are now history as a later model 911 engine now resides in the engine bay and that he intends returning it all to its original 912 roots.

I was sorry to tell him that the engine was not available as it is serving as my outlaw project's torque busting power source that for years to come will be straightening the local curves here in the Texas hill country. I did not slam the door in his face, but I've invested too much in that engine to let go of it before I've had my way with it for the foreseeable future.

That was certainly a mighty short life for an electric Porsche. I know the previous owner pored allot of his love and resources into that all electric drive project.

Change, it does a body good. I suspect that until our battery storage technology receives a ten fold increase in utility, storage capacity, and reliability, the road to electric powered transportation and other off the grid storage demands will remain a bit of wishful thinking.

Although I see where Porsche is moving the automotive envelope in that direction, its going to take a lot of tried and tested improvements to electric drive technology before I'll even consider such a mode of transportation. Its coming, but its been a slow road to nowhere from my perspective; I still prefer driving things mechanical that growl sweet sounds when moving up and down through the gears.

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John Brooks
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#23 Post by John Brooks »

I saw a bent window coupe for sale in the north east several years ago that was converted to electric back in the late 50s. The EMD was bolted to the trans. The car was packed full of 6v batteries. It's was a while back, it had been in the barn for 20 years but looked complete less motor. I remember it was listed on e-bay twice before it sold, and for under $2K. Probably worth that now for just the copper cables.
John Brooks

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C J Murray
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#24 Post by C J Murray »

Electric cars are very dirty, polluting, heavy, impractical, costly(unless the government takes money from others to give to you to buy an electric car). I just don't get it, especially as applied to a lightweight sports car. Indoor use factory utility vehicles seem to be the best use for electric.
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Martin Benade
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#25 Post by Martin Benade »

The pollution doesn't matter because it happens somewhere else.
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#26 Post by Dan Epperly »

C J Murray wrote:Electric cars are very dirty, polluting, heavy, impractical, costly(unless the government takes money from others to give to you to buy an electric car). I just don't get it, especially as applied to a lightweight sports car. Indoor use factory utility vehicles seem to be the best use for electric.
Not really true, depends on what is generating the electricity and what sort of batteries they are using. Practicality depends on what you are using it for. If you have a short daily commute they likely make a decent second car. The big issue to me is the costs, even with tax breaks etc the upfront costs offsets any savings in fuel costs.
There is a guy on the Samba who made his own 23 window bus out of a panel van and made it electric. Anyone considering dong something similar might want to check out his build thread.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... ouble+door

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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#27 Post by Kevin Ferris »

Back in the mid 70's, living in the central part of Pa., my used 1970 914-6 broke down. I was hitch-hiking home from work one day and an old VW bus stopped to give me a lift. Upon getting in, I noticed a large 'throw switch' mounted to the dash (like out of an old Frankenstein movie). When I inquired, he told me to turn around. All you could see were car batteries. He proceeded to explain the elevator motor conversion and that he had to start out in 2nd gear because the endless rpm's of the motor burned out 1st gear. That bugger would snap your head back when he threw the power switch!
Kevin Ferris in NY
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C J Murray
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#28 Post by C J Murray »

Dan Epperly wrote:Not really true, depends on what is generating the electricity
Very little electric is "clean" and some of the "clean" electric isn't clean.
Dan Epperly wrote:and what sort of batteries they are using
There are batteries that are not an environmental hazard?
Dan Epperly wrote:even with tax breaks
Money confiscated from others.

It seems like things haven't sufficiently improved since Dr Porsche was designing electric cars in the 1890s.

I just attended the Polaris dealer show where they introduced their new 2016 Lithium-Ion electric utility vehicle. Other than the high tech batteries it is the same as the other electric UTV they have been selling. The battery upgrade is more than $11,000 which doubles the price from the standard electric UTV from $11,299 to $22,999. It's not cheap to be green.
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Martin Benade
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#29 Post by Martin Benade »

I hope it has distinctive styling so people will recognize the expense and the greenness compared to the $11000 version.
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C J Murray
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Re: Electric Conversion for 356

#30 Post by C J Murray »

Just saw that Honda has determined that advances in efficiency of gasoline engines has prompted them to stop producing compressed natural gas cars and all but one hybrid model. Nobody wanted them.
'57 Speedster
'59 Sunroof
'60 Devin D Porsche Race Car
'63 Cabriolet "Norm"
'67 911 S Original Owner
'03 Ferrari 575M
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