51 replies to this topic

[unburntfuelinthemorning]

I would rather pay a little more and get a remastered mini

Do you mean the David Brown Mini?  They've done a cracking job of that.

[CityEPete]

Fwiw I drive a hybrid car with a battery in the back so I'm not poo pooing electric cars.

[unburntfuelinthemorning]

Electric cars don't smell right.  Nor have petrol engined cars since they had to have catalytic converters.

[mk1leg]

 

I would rather pay a little more and get a remastered mini

Do you mean the David Brown Mini?  They've done a cracking job of that.

 

yes i would for the extra cost much more refined

[unburntfuelinthemorning]

 

 

I would rather pay a little more and get a remastered mini

Do you mean the David Brown Mini?  They've done a cracking job of that.

 

yes i would for the extra cost much more refined

 

Although legislation probably prevented it from happening it would have been brilliant if Rover had done this to the Mini - it's a proper up to date Mini without detracting from the character of the original.

[ryanlogsdon]

They've opened up their order page now.

 

What do you guys think of the final specs and prices?  I personally like that there's a choice of power inverters. I want long, easy drives, not fast bursts for racing.

 

specifications: https://swind.life/products/hpd-2/

 

price list / reservation page: https://webshop.swin...&product_id=261

Edited by ryanlogsdon, 11 June 2020 - 09:01 PM.

[MalcolmB]

So just shy of £8000 for the motor and diff, plus £2400 for the low-voltage inverter...

 

It looks like the low-voltage version would give you roughly 70 hp at the wheels (70 kW peak from the inverter).

 

It's a nice package for a Mini or other small classic car, and I guess a few people will have pockets deep enough, but there are much cheaper ways of doing it. There are a few good conversion shops in the US that could probably put together a cheaper solution for mating to a small transaxle (transverse gearbox and diff).

[ryanlogsdon]

There are a few good conversion shops in the US that could probably put together a cheaper solution for mating to a small transaxle (transverse gearbox and diff).

 

Hey Malcolm,

 

If you've got some links, I'd love to check them out!

 

Thanks,

Ryan

[MalcolmB]

Hi Ryan,

Here's a link to HPEVS, which makes it's own range of AC motors for use with Curtis inverters (which Swindon also uses in its low-voltage system):
https://www.hpevs.co...conversions.htm

There's a list of US conversion shops on the linked page. I've bought a few items from Thunderstruck Motors in the past and I know EV West have done many good conversions (including a Mini Moke), but I can't vouch personally for the others.

[MalcolmB]

Link to the Mini Moke conversion: https://youtu.be/j0g3ypjBL9Q

[IronmanG]

So just shy of £8000 for the motor and diff, plus £2400 for the low-voltage inverter...

It looks like the low-voltage version would give you roughly 70 hp at the wheels (70 kW peak from the inverter).

It's a nice package for a Mini or other small classic car, and I guess a few people will have pockets deep enough, but there are much cheaper ways of doing it. There are a few good conversion shops in the US that could probably put together a cheaper solution for mating to a small transaxle (transverse gearbox and diff).

So its 8 grand for the motor and then you have batteries on top?

[ryanlogsdon]

Hi Ryan,

Here's a link to HPEVS, which makes it's own range of AC motors for use with Curtis inverters (which Swindon also uses in its low-voltage system):
https://www.hpevs.co...conversions.htm

There's a list of US conversion shops on the linked page. I've bought a few items from Thunderstruck Motors in the past and I know EV West have done many good conversions (including a Mini Moke), but I can't vouch personally for the others.

 

Thanks Malcolm!

[ryanlogsdon]

So its 8 grand for the motor and then you have batteries on top?

 

 

To my understanding, it'll mount perfectly to a Mini's transmission.  That means no adaptor plate, and as low-tech as a mounting plate is, I'm seeing that they're really expensive, some are over a thousand dollars, because they all have custom hole patterns.

 

But I'm with you, I was hoping for a lower price.  A few months back, I tallied that this kit (or "crate motor" as they call it) will replace about $6000 worth of components.  I think that extra $2000 is their convenience fee.

 

I'm going to call the makers and see what more I can learn.  If I find anything of interest, I'll let you guys know.

 

Ryan

[Bobbins]

Costs are still very high in the EV market and are likely to remain so. Tesla are trying get battery cost to less than $100/kw which for a Model S is around $8000 cost to Tesla for the battery alone. Add to that the extremely high tech motor(s) and the component cost gets pretty serious ... hence Tesla's long time coming to turn a profit. Their battery investment will secure their future though, the markets have already valued Tesla (momentarily) higher than Toyota who produce 30x as many vehicles. It's definitely the future though and as such classic conversions are likely to become quite popular.

[MalcolmB]

To my understanding, it'll mount perfectly to a Mini's transmission.  That means no adaptor plate,

Ryan

 

The Swindon unit completely replaces the original Mini transmission with a single-gear reduction and differential in one housing. You need to use their custom output shafts to replace the original Mini shafts.

 

I guess you will also need to add new mounting points to the Mini subframe, as the existing engine mountings are unlikely to be in the right place.