The X1/9e. Conversion of a 1983 X1/9 - my own since 1993 - to electric

X19e

X19e

Daily Driver
Since more than seven years we've got electric cars in our family. Smart fortwo, Renault Zoe and Tesla Model 3. You can be sure that all of these cars are fun, maybe one of them a bit more ;) The FIAT 500e and maybe the fortwo are available with sunroofs afaik. But no Roadsters or anything similar. Since a couple of years the X is our only ICE and I've always wondered how long this will last. No, not because he's falling apart, but finding time and budget to convert him with batteries and an electric motor. Until today, you don't find any Convertibles or even a Targa on the EV market.
Finally I've started, bought 5 Tesla Model S battery modules and began to dismantle the ICE and all peripheral components. Inspired by the DIYelectriccar Forum, companies like EvWest, ElectricClassicCars and several other convertions I found on Youtube, the X will be powered by a Hyper9 Netgain motor with about 85 kW. For sure I want to drive it legal on the road and it should be TUEV approved.
Let me know If you want to hear more about my project.
 
X19e said:
Since more than seven years we've got electric cars in our family. Smart fortwo, Renault Zoe and Tesla Model 3. You can be sure that all of these cars are fun, maybe one of them a bit more ;) The FIAT 500e and maybe the fortwo are available with sunroofs afaik. But no Roadsters or anything similar. Since a couple of years the X is our only ICE and I've always wondered how long this will last. No, not because he's falling apart, but finding time and budget to convert him with batteries and an electric motor. Until today, you don't find any Convertibles or even a Targa on the EV market.
Finally I've started, bought 5 Tesla Model S battery modules and began to dismantle the ICE and all peripheral components. Inspired by the DIYelectriccar Forum, companies like EvWest, ElectricClassicCars and several other convertions I found on Youtube, the X will be powered by a Hyper9 Netgain motor with about 85 kW. For sure I want to drive it legal on the road and it should be TUEV approved.
Let me know If you want to hear more about my project.
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Yes we do. There are a number of X’s which have been modified, at least one is a part of this forum. I know of a few in the SF Bay Area.

Definitely interested in how you go about it and love to see progress.
 
Thank's for your interest! I'm always cautious, because for some people a conversion to electric seems to hurt their feelings.
Weight and distribution, my passion ;) German TUEV will have a problem if I increase the total weight of the car. In this case they would simply reduce the number of allowed passengers 😭.
Until today I've removed more than 217 kg out of the car. I will add a bit more than 245 kg in total. Due to bad circumstances I could not weight the car before I started this, but I hope that the formaly removed AC will cover the rest. The front will gain 67 kg and the rear will loose 40 kg. The reason for that is, that I want to place three Tesla modules in the front and two in the back above the motor. Each battery pack has to be hermetically sealed and protect the modules from mechanical harm. This sketch shows the position of the packs.
I would be a win if the weight of the empty car is around 1000 kg. They calculate 75 kg per passenger and some additional luggage. Because the front trunk is reduced / occupied, that shouldn't be too much. The final result for total weight has to be not more than 1200 kg, as it is written in the documents of the car.
sideview_battery.png
 
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I’m very interested. My X was an EV project that got started, and I’m hoping to move it forward.

I’m extremely interested to see your approach, especially with the added rigor of TUEV.
 
German TUEV provides a fact sheet for the individual approval procedure specially for a conversion to electric. The newest version even covers fuel cell systems ;). It is based on UN-ECE regulation no. 100 and other rules. It is my hope that even the TUEV service in my small town will perform the acceptance test based on this paper. Therefor I follow it very closely and my project documentation will answer all the requirements. I've red about other countries, i.e. France, that have the same regulations but you won't find any official site that does the approval.
In general I do not think that the requirements are oversized. They do give me a good feeling that every aspect of the conversion is done with care and every aspect is covered. I don't want a car that is less safe or reliable than it was before, even or especially when I'm the one who is doing the conversion on my own for the first time. In fact the experience with my other electric cars are much better than with any ICE I've owned, so it is my claim to achieve the same standard. My background: I'm an electrotechnician with a degree in industrial engineering. I've started with special equipment and system design and ended my career as a project lead for functional software engineering.
 
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X19e said:
Thank's for your interest! I'm always cautious, because for some people a conversion to electric seems to hurt their feelings.
Weight and distribution, my passion ;) German TUEV will have a problem if I increase the total weight of the car. In this case they would simply reduce the number of allowed passengers 😭.
Until today I've removed more than 217 kg out of the car. I will add a bit more than 245 kg in total. Due to bad circumstances I could not weight the car before I started this, but I hope that the formaly removed AC will cover the rest. The front will gain 67 kg and the rear will loose 40 kg. The reason for that is, that I want to place three Tesla modules in the front and two in the back above the motor. Each battery pack has to be hermetically sealed and protect the modules from mechanical harm. This sketch shows the position of the packs.
I would be a win if the weight of the empty car is around 1000 kg. They calculate 75 kg per passenger and some additional luggage. Because the front trunk is reduced / occupied, that shouldn't be too much. The final result for total weight has to be not more than 1200 kg, as it is written in the documents of the car.
View attachment 64246
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Could you speak more about how you achieved the 217kg weight reduction? [Corrected from "17 kg"]
 
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Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
Could you speak more about how you achieved the 17kg weight reduction?
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You wanted to say 217 kg? These are the components I've really weighted or calculated.
5 L oil​
-5​
spare wheel​
-14​
Gas tank with 42 Liter gas = 33 kg + Tank 7 kg​
-40​
engine​
-85​
generator, starter, air flow meter and some more​
-25​
exhaust system (standard)​
-15​
Cooling fluid
-7​
radiator with two fans and the tubes under the car
-14​
Battery -13.5 +1.5, replacement of 40 Ah lead against 10 Ah LiFePo4
-12​
new ideas if that is not enough: flywheel (reduction), rear window (plastic replacement), any more?
?​
 
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Weight reductions:

Targa top, remove padding and core it out to go to a fabric membrane across much of the surface. There are a few how tos for this on the forums.
Go to fiberglass for the frunk lid, engine lid and trunk lid. Get rid off spring lifts for those and make lightweight props.
Prune wires out of the existing harness that supported IC features
Close off the spare tire well and remove the engine side firewall with associated insulation. This will leave just the one layer of steel behind the seats.
Floor, tunnel and firewall insulation.
Fiberglass bumpers and bumper blocks
Magnesium wheels
Narrower tires
Headlights which are fixed and faired into the body with a clear cover, there are a few examples like this on the forum
 
You might find this thread interesting:

Curb weight thread

I had posted the info below in another thread. Upon reflection......this was perhaps not appropriate and pertinent to the original thread. My apologies. So thought it might be good to start a new thread here. For what it is worth....according to the official Fiat service manual ( found...
xwebforums.com

Although.....it pertains to North American spec X1/9s.....which I think were a bunch heavier than the euro models. As we had bumper shocks, door impact beams, front hood retainers, etc, that you folks did not get.

And by the way.......you seemed to indicate that your X had A/C ?? I did not think you folks over there got that. At least I recall our UK members I think saying that. Your X was 1500 carbed ?

And check before doing plastic windows. In most places approved safety glass is required.....
 
Thanks for the Link! I've also found this one: Lightweight.
Yes, I've got an California re-import 1500 fuel injection with all bells and whistles!

Weight: I will start with a simple thing: the Targa top. I've got a second one and will remove insulation first.
 
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What transmission will you be using? For home grown conversions it is common to bolt the electric motor the the stock transmission; easy but not very efficient. With very few exceptions, EVs come from the factory with single speed transaxles. I have a Fiat 500e, and it has a single speed transaxle with a 9.59 ratio; lighter than the X1/9 5-speed for sure, and also able to handle the torque of an electric motor.
 
You're right that the stock transmission is a weak point. I've been in touch with Janis who initiated the 'alternative gearbox' threat and did some preparations. But I'm far not as skilled as he is mechanical.
My decision is to do the acceptance test with the stock transmission first. I can reduce torque by software with a few parameters. It wouldn't be maximum fun, but should work for a while. The company EVeurope provides a transaxle for the Hyper9, I maybe have a closer look at that. How to adapt driveshaft...
 
I can't remember who it was, but someone has an electric 850 and he never uses 1st gear and is very easy on the "gas" until the car is rolling. So, you can get away with the stock gear, but make sure you have some momentum before unleashing the beast.
 
One other note. You may find the RPM range of the motor means you can have essentially a 1 gear car (forwards and reverse only). If this is the case, you could always use the enter tunnel area for batteries as well. That is quite a bit of space, which sits low in the car as well. Don't forget where the gas tank is (huge space) and the spare wheel area also.
 
You are not talking about a concept like that, aren't you?
Sorry, but I couldn't resist 😁
It is no fun to install 125 kg of battery modules for a high voltage system waterproof, mechanical safe installed and reliable wired in such a small car. I'm sure you can find other modules that would do a better job, but to distribe single cells around the car and fulfill all requirements at the same time is simply impossible I would say. It is no joke that the five Tesla modules I'm using consist of 2220 single cells.
 
Decisions have to be made... Finally my motor vendor got in touch with me. He's got my gearbox since end of July! Now they stared to construct the adapter. Clutch or not? Was their first question. To get rid of another weak point, I've decided: no clutch. Their experience is, that it is a more personal choice. To change gears, you normally switch off the inverter and the motor will not provide any power. You can do this by releasing the "gas" pedal to change gears in theorie, but in standard operation mode the regen will use the energy of the car to slow down and charge the battery. If you have strong regen (this can be adjusted), it would be a very bumpy procedure to change gears. Especially when you want to change to a higher gear. A clutch would prevent the slow down of the car during this. Without a clutch I plan to use a switch to shut off regen mode for this case. Maybe the clutch pedal itself could be transformed to a feet switch. I saw other convertions that use a switch on the gearchange lever.
My question is, do I will or have to change gears at all? Hard to answer. It depends on the available power of the motor and the condition of the battery pack. Torque is no question. Sure the car will not accelerate in forth or fifth gear like in second or third. If you don't want to draw something on the street, the first gear won't be used any more. The TUEV test procedure defines that five startups at a hill with 12% slope must be possible.
Can this be done in forth gear which would be my favourite? Enough for standard Autobahn speed, but not for the 167 kmh or 103,73 mph (defined in my documents). I would set max rpm at 5500, but 8000 would be possible...
P.S. I don't know if the slope definition is the same all over the world. 12% slope are 6,84 grad, e.g. 100% are 45 grad.
 
Would having a transmission improve energy consumption like on a combustion engine?
Switch to a tall gear on the Autobahn and a lower gear in the Schwarzwald?
 
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