1970 Fiat 500 electric conversion

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I am after some advice on converting a car to electric power.

Mrs B has decreed I get some quotes and info for converting her 1970 500L to battery power.



I've reached out to Classic Electric Vehicles, through Classic Chrome in Mortlake. They've quoted £20,000 to do the conversion, or £18k for the parts. That's too steep for the mileage that the car will cover.

Another firm suggests a kit price of £12k, while a third company offers a "generic" kit for roughly £5k.

With such a wide range in prices, and with no in depth knowledge on the subject, I'm in a bit of a quandary.

Can anyone suggest a company that can meet Mrs B's requirements without breaking the bank?

Thanks.

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You make a fair point. However, this car has already been sacrificed once. This is how it looked when I bought it five years ago.






I believe that as I rescued the little thing from the scrapheap, I'm entitled to fettle it.

Edited by Blib on Thursday 11th July 18:49

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The one we have was built in secret over an 18 month period as a surprise birthday present for Mrs B.

She would like to have it converted. She would never sell it.

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Thanks everyone. It wouldn't be PH if posters didn't advise the OP to do something entirely different!

The Welsh firm are the ones who quoted £20k.

I've emailed Carbonara and will report back.

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Surprised me too. The guy at Classic Chrome suggested £10-12k for a conversion, then the chap at the Welsh company said hes not sure if the cost but thought about £15k then suggested I email the office. Finally, the office quoted the £20k for a conversion and £18k for parts.

Methinks they saw me coming.

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Without idle toying this place would shut down. Indeed, this thread is an exercise in idle toying.

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oop north said:

London electric cars? Seem to work to smaller budgets than classic electric vehicles

Thanks. I've emailed them. A reply saying " please bear with us as we're snowed under.." pinged back.

I'm on holiday in Italy at the moment- remarkable how many classic 500s there are pooling around our part of Tuscany - I'll call them when I get home.

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Thank you, I've emailed them

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Thank you. I'll email them too.

London Electric Vehicles got back. They report they're developing kits, including one for the 500, and will get back with more news for me "in a few months".

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Wish said:

Any update on this ?
I am wanting to convert a 500. Did classic chrome ever come back to you with a new DIY kit ?

Mrs B took a test drive in Classic Chrome's demonstrator.

To cut a long story short, she eventually did a deal to convert her 500 with Electric Classic Cars. They had completed about 70% of the work when Corona shut them down. So, we wait.

ECC have been terrific to deal with, BTW. I'd recommend their services if that's the route you decide on with your conversion.

We were lucky with our build as they had another 500 client pull out so we took their slot. Otherwise, we would have had to wait months. (Oh the irony).

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Wish said:

Can you pm me the cost of the conversion as you already had the car ?

Many thanks

PM sent.

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Brief clip of the car, with others.

It's the stealthiest of the three.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_plKj_HHyO/?igshid=up...