| Owner | Jim Beecher | ||||||
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| Location | St. Louis Park, Minnesota United States map | ||||||
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| Vehicle | 1964 Volkswagen Bug I bought the Bugzorz a few years ago. It was in dire need of a body and mechanical restoration. I figured "Why stop there?" and updated it further. | ||||||
| Motor | Advanced DC L91-4003 (high-speed 6.7 inch) Series Wound DC This motor is small enough to fit in the bug's engine compartment, but will give 38 peak horsepower, which approximates the original gas engine. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | Standard VW Bug long-throw 4-speed. I only use 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. | ||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1209b Rated 80v, 450 amps. | ||||||
| Batteries | 9, 26.00 Volt, Nickel-Cadmium, Flooded Two parallel strings. One string of three 26v 40aH batteries, one string of two three-battery 26v 20aH strings. Believe it or not, it all stays pretty balanced. | ||||||
| System Voltage | 78 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Zivan NG1 Programmed by the fine folks at Elcon to the exact charging curve of the batteries, this little charger is really a champ. I have circuit breakers and separate charge leads to balance the pack if it becomes necessary, but so far it hasn't. | ||||||
| Heater | Electric unit pulled from a wrecked GEM car. Haven't installed it yet, but will soon. | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Sure Power Industries, Inc 7130i I got this out of a wrecked GEM Car. It gives out 25amps of 13.5v power and is a small, neat design. | ||||||
| Instrumentation | Cool combo volt and amp meter in place of the vintage radio, Curtis state of charge meter. | ||||||
| Top Speed | 60 MPH (96 KPH) Works fine for occasional freeway use, but too much really eats the range. It works great for what I built it to do, namely cruise around town at 30-45mph | ||||||
| Acceleration | Keeps up with traffic well. | ||||||
| Range | 25 Miles (40 Kilometers) This is normal city driving, starts and stops averaging 40mph or so. Faster means less range. | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | Does great around 45mph in 4th gear. It pulls around 120 amps and will run about 25 miles. | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | Two in front, a third or two kids on the rear bench seat. | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,000 Pounds (909 Kilograms) The gas version weighed about 1700 pounds with a tank full of gas. I added coil-over shocks to compensate for the slight extra weight. Handles great and rides well. | ||||||
| Tires | Kuhmo 165/80R-15 Power Star 758. A little bigger than the original tires, but they ride very well and stop quickly in bad weather. | ||||||
| Conversion Time | Nearly three years working very part time. I put *way* more time into restoring the car itself than I put into the conversion. I had it done after two years but a hail storm destroyed much of the exterior and I had to start over. | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | About $1200 for the car, $300 to get it here, $1600 for the flooded Nicads, $400 for the NOS controller. About $3000 to refurbish the bug's body, suspension, brakes, etc. Then another $1500 to redo the exterior again. Probably about $8000 total. | ||||||
| Additional Features | Original chrome on those vintage bumpers! No cutting or welding done to the bug, just drilled a few holes in sheet metal. I spent a lot of time getting the metal sunroof working, but it was worth it. I learned so much on this project, but it was way more work than other conversions. There were many times I never thought I'd get it done. Fortunately, I have a supportive wife who let me work on the stupid thing for so long. She loves driving it now! It is a fun car to drive, and nearly silent which surprises people used to the air-cooled rumble. | ||||||
| Air-cooled VWs are awesome platforms for conversion, but they usually require a lot of restoration work. If you can get one in good shape, I'd recommend it. | |||||||
1964 Volkswagen Beetle
“Bugzorz”
Last Updated 02-26-2010
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey