Say what!?

The trees are dying, the water is polluted, the ice is melting, global warming accelerates and I have too much time on my hands not to act on it. I've always had a thing for mechanics and electronics and I love nature. During the last year I've converted my riding mower from I.C.E, Internal Combustion Engine, to electricity and my boat is now sporting a hybrid drive line designed and installed by me.

Everything started a few years ago after I sold an El Camino that I restored. I was so disappointed of the I.C.E's efficiency and wanted to do something that would have an impact on the foot print left by me in this world.

So let's cut to the chase! I'm converting a Fiat 500 R from 1973 from I.C.E to electricity. Why the 500? Well, first of all, it's the most beautiful car in the world. It's also a light car with very low drag coefficient drag coefficient.

Here's some data taken from wiki:

Manufacturer	Fiat
Production	1957-1975
Assembly	Turin, Italy
Predecessor	Fiat 500 "Topolino"
Successor	Fiat 126
Class	City car
Body style	2-door sedan 3-door estate
Layout	RR layout
Engine	479 cc I2 499 cc I2 594 cc I2
Transmission	4-speed manual
Wheelbase	1.84 m (72.4 in)
Length	2.97 m (116.9 in)
Width	1.32 m (52.0 in)
Height	1.32 m (52.0 in)
Curb weight	499 kg (1,100 lb)
Related	Autobianchi Bianchina
Designer	Dante Giacosa

We are talking about 500 kg's of steel driven by an air cooled I.C.E producing a maximum of 22 hp. It supposed to be a four seater, but I don’t know about that.

The picture shows the convertible but I have got my hands on the one with the sun roof. As you can see the car is a rear wheel with gearbox, engine, differentials and driveshaft all built into one unit mounted in the back of the car. The fuel tank is located in the trunk in front of the driver there is not really any space for luggage.

After a year of looking through car magazines and adds on the net i found a 1973 fiat 500 R in the outskirts of Stockholm. I went to see it and to my surprise the car was in great shape. The body had been restored, new floor pans, new doors, new hood and so on. The drive train was of unknown state but a working engine + gearbox was included in the buy.

So I ended up buying a grown man's LEGO. Thousand parts to play with. Perfect!

Love at first sight

Room for inspiration

Smelly!

The first thing that needed to be done was to remove the engine and to start to work underneath the car. Suspension arms, springs, breaks and shocks, everything had to be overhauled.

As you can see there was still some rust and dirt left underneath the car.



Fresh!



Turns out the engine had been overheated and it did not turn.



New adjustable shocks and some paint job. Looks as good as new.

I had a couple of hours left of my spare time so decided to restore the I.C.E just for fun. It's a shame it's such a polluter because it’s a nice little machine. The engine block fits inside a standard stove, but don’t tell Lisa about that.

Engine and gearbox ready to be fitted in the car

Lights installed. All light bulbs except head lights are LED's

Sun roof in place

Drivetrain in place

Work is easier when there is no rust

Test drive

So the drive train is in place and everything seems to be working, but wasn't this supposed to be a story about a conversion? That's right! The main reason for installing the original drivetrain was to get all the measurements correct.

The plan is to keep the gear box and the clutch but replace the I.C.E with an electric motor. I will keep the clutch and the flywheel.

The flywheel is situated 99mm from the gearbox. The adaptor plate between the electric motor and the gearbox needs to be designed so that this measurement is not altered.