1970 Fiat 500 electric conversion

[Blib]

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.

[dibblecorse]

Just buy her one of the new minis, why sacrifice such a lovely little car ?

[Blib]

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

[peterperkins]

Well done on rescuing it, but it would be a shame to convert it to an EV. It's a classic already..

Converting older cars to EV's invariably involves compromises and some unsubtle changes.

It will need a fair chunk of money. I would say 5k is unrealistically low and 10-15k sounds about right for good parts.

I've no idea on the drive setup and axles etc on the fiat 500,
but some decent mechanical work will be needed to mate a suitable AC motor to a suitable drive/gearbox..

There is very little room in one of those for a decent battery pack, so range will be limited.
I would say an EV conversion is not likely to cover it's cost if sold on later. (It won't add value)

[jeremyc]

Why not buy an electric one from Classic Chrome, and sell yours? They might even entertain a part exchange.

New one = £25,000. Part exchange allowance = £11K (say, I'm no expert). Cost to change = £14K.

[Blib]

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.

[Major T]

I’d say, if you’re handy with spanners, take a DIY route. Cheaper and funner!

[Pericoloso]

I was at a classic car show in Netherlands that had electric 500s on display.
I'll see if I can find a company name or details.

[Pericoloso]

Bingo !
Carbonara electric are the 500 converters.
I even took a pic of the car with the sign above it at the show....

[SOL111]

Blib said:

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.

Not much to add to this thread other than to say that's a beautiful car and a lovely looking restoration.

Best of luck with whatever you end up doing with it.

As you were

[Ilovejapcrap]

Everyone stop telling him what to do with his car, he didn’t say should I do it.

OP wheeler dealer converted a car to electric when Ed was still on show ? Did you see it may give some inspiration

[SOL111]

Doh sorry, I forgot about these guys. A mate in Wales knows the chap and said he's ok, although not sure about the exact costs.

https://www.electricclassiccars.co.uk/

[Blib]

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.

[Doofus]

Blib said:

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.

That's a surprise. It's somethig I've idly toyed with, and CEVs kit of parts looks closer to 7 or 8 grand than 18...

[Blib]

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.

[Doofus]

If you look at CEVs webshop, they have motors for, say £3-3,500, batteries for £1,350 and adapter plates for £1,000. I appreciate you need controllers and wiring and so on, plus bits of fabrication, but I can't see how those would add £12,000.

I'm going to stop idly toying with the idea with imediate effect...

[Blib]

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

[oop north]

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

[Chromegrill]

Some bloke in POland spent around £3000 converting his Rover 75 to electric. OK so it was a barely disguised DIY bodge but proves it can be done for less than you think. Offer him double for a profesional standard piece of work and it would still be a third of what you would pay a UK firm.

Surely it won't be long before instead of Polish LPG conversion garages we have east European EV conversion garages instead.

[Blib]

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.