Really nice Microbus conversion, mild custom, big sunroof, a beautiful paint job and cool coastal artwork. I see a couple of surfboards on top, sweet. But hey, what’s going on down below? That doesn’t look like a VW crankshaft pulley, and where’d all the pipes go?
Every summer the OEVA holds an electric car show in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. I’ll share some of the AC-DC CCs in a future post, but this being Van Week, I had to show you this excellent electrified VW van, completely rebuilt, converted and customized by Leif’s, a local chain of body shops. Two big solar panels pop out the top, where they can be tilted to face the sunlight. About 1 kW total, enough to run the van’s electronic goodies on the beach without draining the battery pack, and to trickle charge it while parked.
That’s an AC induction motor bolted onto the transaxle, probably one of the new HPEV AC-5x or AC-7x drive systems. Full-power regenerative braking makes Nikola Tesla’s AC motor an increasingly common choice for EV conversions. Yes, those aft motor supports were custom-fabricated out of bamboo.
Lithium-ion batteries run the length of the cabin, enough for over 100 mile highway range, and making a handy console. There’s a big flip-down flat screen to entertain the passengers.
I love what they did up front, especially the steering wheel and horn button. Full instrumentation is displayed on the central tablet computer.
Beautiful montage of the Portland waterfront, snowboarding on Mt. Hood and a lighthouse, Cape Blanco I think.
The solar panels tuck neatly inside, one nested atop the other, ready to be protected by the aptly-named sunroof.
Leif’s spent about two years on this project, and they made this nice little video early in the project, when they completely stripped and dipped the body.
Surfboards on top, all charged up and buttoned down for a 100-mile cruise to the Oregon Coast. Maybe Lincoln City for the Big Wave Classic at Nelscott Reef. Clean and green.
Kombis are the epitome of unspeakable coolness anyway, but that is easily the best I’ve ever seen. Although I’m neither here nor there on the ‘lectric motor and solar panels, the body and interior mods are superb. You’d swear it had had a roof-chop and been sectioned, it looks so right. The tail-lights are a master-stroke. What an awesome find!
Are headlights, turn signals, and parking lights built into the round “headlights” ?
There are aftermarket H4 conversions with built in “city lights” that incorporate a small amber bulb for the parking lights. So they may have changed that to be the turn signal or swapped in dual filament bulbs, which would likely make for fairly useless turn signals when the headlights are on.
Right. I took a quick look at my original photo on the way out this morning. It has a large central headlight bulb, with two crescents of LEDs, one on each side, presumably for turn signals and parking/daytime lights. I’ll post a zoomed in picture this evening.
Here’s the zoom.
I will confess some fascination at all of the development work going into electric vehicles. Some of this stuff will likely make it to market, and more choice is always better than less choice.
I loved your description of AC/DC CCs, and look forward to it. But I must ask – does this make our recently-written-up Citicar a BC AC/DC CC?
The Citicar was a strictly DC affair which is why it lacked the regenerative braking capabilities of this conversion and modern EVs and Hybrids.
Yes, even the cars with DC motors have AC chargers! In fact, since EVs used to all have DC motors, many CC EVs are AC-charged DC EVs, especially in BC.
My attempt at the funny BC reference was about age (although everyone now wants to call it “BCE”). Anyhow, I now see it could refer to British Columbia as well. 🙂 Would that make a 70s Citicar in British Columbia a BC BC AC DC CC? This is getting out of hand.
Oh ho! I just figured it was a British Columbian Citicar.
You know Environment Canada is interested in promoting electric vehicles. In fact I someone on the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club who has a Tesla (CC here) is working to get an endorsement from his FC for AC DC CCs in BC for EC.
Many of the older EVs did not have on-board chargers though so the car was all DC even if it’s charger was AC/DC.
A very nice done wild custom. I’d expect the performance is relatively unchanged unlike most EV conversions!
Proof that car enthusiasm will live on beyond petroleum’s extinction. Just wait, the best is yet to come.
Thats cool
Interesting build and very well executed (to say the least!). I’m not sold on the tablet as dash in that position though, which would seem to be angled to combat glare. Perhaps mount it in a sunvisor position, you just need to look up instead of down for a normal dashboard position.
I thought the same thing. Nice, NICE custom Bay Window Van, but I can’t stand gauges in the middle of the dash. This, despite the fact that I’ve only driven one car (A Mini Cooper test-drive back in ’09) with the gauges in the middle. And even the Mini had a mini (ha!) digital speedometer in the “proper” location.