electric beetle - lose gear, keep diff?

[jeremy_rutman]

Hi
I'd like to electrify a beetle. Low weight is key so I wonder
if its possible to remove the gearbox but keep the differential.
This would mean, I suppose, mounting the electric motor where the gearbox
normally is.
Does anyone have blueprints of the gearbox/other transmission parts?
What about the 3d models I have heard talk about on this site -
are they available for download ?
thx , jrr

[LLVWGL]

so low wieght is your goal? funny how batteries weigh more than gas tanks
there is no way to realisticly convert a bug to an electric vehicle and maintain it's weight.

[jeremy_rutman]

The beetle is a reasonable place to start for an electric conversion
since they're cheap, rugged, and chassis is simple.
I am not claiming my result will weigh less than the ~750kg curb weight
of standard beetle. "As light as possible" is the attitude. You are
correct that even NiMh batteries do not compete with gas in terms of energy
density (or cost-yet). But the hybrid gets good results by using both the high energy density of gas
and extra savings from fixed rpm gas operation and regenerative braking.

If anyone has weights for engine, gear, diff, chassis, etc this would help me calculate my final weight beforehand.
Again my primary request of those in the forum is blueprints/diagrams with
dimensions of the beetle transmission,including gearbox and differential.

The goal is to remove as much unnecessary weight as poss, e.g. the engine and gearbox if possible.
I also need to decide how to attach electric motor - to which side (engine
side or in place of the removed gear)

[jeremy_rutman]

attached pic of current design (3d cad file lacking exact dimensions for transmission)

red - generator
teal - elect motor
blue - controller
purple - batteries

[LOAF]

If I remember correctly, I think I had seen someone do something similiar with bus.. could be wrong.. but putting it out as FYI..
Alex

Nice idea though..

[Bruce2]

What max rpm does your motor turn?

You are going to need to retain at least one gear since the input shaft of the trans is not connected to the output shaft. It will probably be 4th gear.

You can probably leave out the shift rod, the hockey stick, internal shift rods, forks, 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears. The trans would need 2 custom spacers to take up the distance left from leaving out those other gears.

For reverse, have a big switch on the dash to reverse the polarity of the motor instead of switching the gear. That way the trans will always be in gear. No clutch required.

[jeremy_rutman]

is it just me or is there something screwy about this blueprint?
(pic 1)
and does anyone have the full-resolution pic of the proper blueprints (pic 2)