Sadly I don't think there is a business case here. Feel free to prove me wrong!
I have friends in the conversion/DIY EV industry (small enough it's really had to call it that!), and It's almost impossible to support DIY efforts. There's just too much risk, everyone needs concierge level support, but nobody wants to pay for it. I watch all these videos on Youtube where people are cramming OEM EV parts into some car or another and I cringe seeing all the mistakes made around HV and ternary lithium packs with improper envelope design, etc. It's not limited to EVs either, there are all these "DIY powerwall" people. There must be a lot of fires we never hear about! Sadly, generally this is true in most cases: You want basic transportation cheap and easy, but even the most basic EV conversion is almost never either of these. It's going to cost way more than you expect and take an order of magnitude longer, and you'll be screwing with it forever. The only EV conversions that really work are passion projects, I've never really seen a "reliable and economical" DIY transportation device with no bells and whistles. The best bet is to just buy a low cost OEM EV like an older Nissan Leaf, you'll spend less, not get stuck on the side of the road all the time, and it's a pretty good "transportation appliance" if you can live with the reduced range. I didn't enjoy writing this post, but I believe it to be reality. On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 11:21 PM t ray via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > I will be happy to leave commercial vans and fleet conversions to the pros. > I envision a privately-owned electric (formerly ICE) compact car that has a > motor system to go, and OEM brakes to stop. A battery management system > and charge remaining gauges would be sufficient for the engine electronics, > I believe. A GPS speedometer with an odometer and trip meter would complete > the instrumentation, which is easily available on Amazon. I can imagine > some challenges with cabin heat and window defrosting, but there are > stand-alone systems which will cover these needs. I really see no need to > retain an OEM computer, or to convince it that there is an ICE aboard. I > regard telephone service and Internet functions as Gee-Whiz toys that > really have nothing to do with getting down the road. I drove for decades > in cars that had NO computers, Internet, or location reporting gear > aboard. I would be quite content to do more of that, especially while > cruising past the obsolete gas stations. > > On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM EV List Lackey via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > I think there's still an argument for conversions in a few cases where > > there's no or few modern EV equivalents available, such as truly small > > cars > > (in the US) and antique vehicles. > > > > The motor is an interesing idea. I seem to recall a company many years > > ago > > that offered that kind of driveshaft motor kit for pickups, though it > > wasn't > > modular. > > > > Unfortunately fitting the motor isn't so much the tough part. > > > > The real challenge is where to put the battery. It's somewhat easier now > > that batteries are smaller (remember the lead sleds of the 1970s to > > 1990s?). > > I suppose you could design a tiny LI battery with limited range that > would > > fit in the back of multiple vehicles. > > > > But if you want really good range, you'll need a customized solution. > > Then > > when the vehicle is restyled, the battery kit has to also be redesigned. > > > > Phil mentions the headaches of convincing a modern ICEV's myriad > computers > > that an ICE is still under the hood, idling, cruising, accelerating. > > > > None of this is trivial or cheap, if done right - sometimes even if done > > wrong. > > > > Even for a major automaker with tons of $$$ and engineering on hand, > > designing an electric powertrain option (EPTO) for an existing ICEV > > platform > > is a pretty significant challenge. > > > > David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey > > > > To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my > > offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt > > > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > > > The only way to achieve a practical, livable peace in a world > > of competing nations is to take the profit out of war. > > > > -- Richard Nixon, "Real Peace"(1983) > > = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Address messages to [email protected] > > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20260112/5a722580/attachment.htm > > > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to [email protected] > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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