kmead
Old enough to know better
If one were to change the fuel tank area and the spare tire area into one contiguous space it would likely be wide enough as it effectively goes from outside panel to outside panel of the car. Leaving appropriate openings where the fuel tank is removed could allow for air circulation but one could also run air in from the side vents which are accessible to the spare tire area (Today separated by chip board panel).Ideal for weight distribution, I agree. But I wasn't able to find battery packs that would fit in there. There is a major difference betweeten both spaces: one belongs to the passenger cabin and the other not. First step would be to separate the whole space from the passenger cabin and not only with the original cover in front of the spare wheel. Why? In case of a battery failure, temperatur and pressure inside the battery pack could increase very fast which opens the burst valve to the outside. After separating you have to find a way to access this space and even load your modules to it.
Using the fuel tank space only could be an idea, if you find the right battery modules for this area. You might be able to place around 12 - 16 kWh of batteries there, good for a 100 km drive. Mine -2nd hand from a Tesla Model S- wouldn't fit, they're just too long. I use this space for charger and DC/DC converter. Together, both use the surface where the fuel tank has been and a lot of unused space for air circulation remains
May the next project find better battery modules
The space of the spare wheel is used for the HV distribution box and additional LV distribution. This place is easy to access, is dry and has room for additional equipment like a Notebook for fine tuning.
Closing the spare tire well off is just some sheet metal and rivets away from being done. Removing the separating panel between the spare tire well and the fuel tank area would be minor surgery. There are existing channels from the spare tire area to the trunk on either side over the wheel arches for large cables. There is a sizable opening at the right side of the trunk for cables into the motor bay.
Cables could go from the spare tire area, over the wheel arch to the trunk, to the controller and then to the motor bay.
The controllers could be in a housing off of the trunk, using the engine bay access plate as the access point to the controllers in their own box. This way one isn’t digging around behind a seat to work on it, adjust wiring etc. and could be laid out full width of the trunk and be within the wheel bays of the rear wheels.
All highly protected areas of the car. This would place all of the components within the wheel base and hopefully as low as possible short of the rollerskate platform…