Electric conversion project

[terrywindy1]

Not sure if our perspective adds any light to the Ev conversation but thought I would share our situation in any case.
We bought my wife’s 2002 1.4 TDi ten years ago as a low mileage model in immaculate condition. We loved the whole A2 design concept and it’s pioneering sustainability credentials were in line with our own values. ( I have worked with renewables and environmental design for the past 30 years) . This week we had our first ever MOT failure (corrosion of the rear axle), which our local garage says is uneconomical to repair. The thought of scrapping our beloved “Little Plutt” (or breaking for parts) is extremely upsetting. But neither can we bring ourselves to invest a significant sum in keeping an aging diesel vehicle on the road. So for us the ideal solution ( probably driven more by heart rather than head) would be an A2 EV conversion that keeps our beloved Plutt” alive and on the road for another 10 years. So if anyone happens to come across a (sub £10K) EV conversion solution we would love to hear from you. It would make a couple of aging A2 lovers very happy!

Give WOM Automotive a call. They should be able to help you replace the rear axle

WOM Automotive

Automotive Sales & VAG Techology Specialists in Staffordshire

womautomotive.co.uk

 

[Alan_uk]

This week we had our first ever MOT failure (corrosion of the rear axle), which our local garage says is uneconomical to repair. The thought of scrapping our beloved “Little Plutt” (or breaking for parts) is extremely upsetting.

This is becoming more common but many have repaired / replaced their rear axle. I'm doing it now. I was kindly given a rear axle by a member of this forum but I've seen them for sale at £100 (presumably OK MOT wise). I stripped removed the brakes etc (basic socket/spanner set + 1 new big hub socket), wired brushed the worst of the rust off so I could get a quote for shot blasting and painting. Got this done for £240 for 2 part epoxy paint - powered coating is not recommended. This included the brackets and the hub back plates as I could not buy new. The axle goes into an A2 and can be easily lifted by one person when stripped down, so I took and collected myself.

The axle is fixed on with 6 bolts - 3 per bracket. New bolts should be used. You also need to disconnect the brake pipe hoses and handbrake cables. How much else gets replaced depends. At 90,000 I decided to replace everything: all the rear shocks, springs, and mounts, rear brakes, hubs, bearings, brake cables, brake hoses, bushes, nuts, bolts, brackets, etc. You will probably need to change the brake pipes as they corrode and cannot be easily undone - these can be an MOT failure anyway so need doing from time to time.

OK, my total cost so far is £1100 for parts and shot blasting/painting. I need to add the cost of swapping over - many here have done that themselves even without a pit. My guess it is 3 hours work with a pit. Plus say £75 for 4 wheel alignment. The most time consuming bit has been getting the parts as I was replacing almost everything.

I consider it well worth spending £1,000 pa on average to keep my A2 in tip top condition. If I buy a new used car at say £20,000 I will loose much more than that every year and the A2 still looks modern and gets good comments. Of course, if I lived in a ULEV zone I may think otherwise.

Please don't scrap yours. There are people on this forum that will rescue these increasing rare vehicles.

Alternatively one of our ethical scrappers will probably sell you a complete axle with all the brakes etc for £150 and then say 4 hours to remove yours and fit the replacement. I would at least paint the replacement with Kurust rust inhibitor. I do my existing axle every year with this - it takes about an hour with the A2 up on basic car sloping ramps.

PS a long post off topic but as you are a new member I thought it important to make you aware of solutions. I used WOM in the Peak District this year. They are the UKs experts on A2s and rates are reasonable. They are not too far from you. Very friendly.

 

[datsundrew]

Not sure if our perspective adds any light to the Ev conversation but thought I would share our situation in any case.
We bought my wife’s 2002 1.4 TDi ten years ago as a low mileage model in immaculate condition. We loved the whole A2 design concept and it’s pioneering sustainability credentials were in line with our own values. ( I have worked with renewables and environmental design for the past 30 years) . This week we had our first ever MOT failure (corrosion of the rear axle), which our local garage says is uneconomical to repair. The thought of scrapping our beloved “Little Plutt” (or breaking for parts) is extremely upsetting. But neither can we bring ourselves to invest a significant sum in keeping an aging diesel vehicle on the road. So for us the ideal solution ( probably driven more by heart rather than head) would be an A2 EV conversion that keeps our beloved Plutt” alive and on the road for another 10 years. So if anyone happens to come across a (sub £10K) EV conversion solution we would love to hear from you. It would make a couple of aging A2 lovers very happy!

Don’t write it off simply because a bolt on part has corroded. It’s fairly easy to swap one over, and there are good 2nd hand ones available. I would look at some rust prevention on the replacement to make it last though. A few of us , me included have done this and had it shot blasted and painted so it’ll last another 20 years. Well worth it If you compare the cost of weld repair to a steel bodied vehicle which will continue to rust .

 

[Kbox]

This is becoming more common but many have repaired / replaced their rear axle. I'm doing it now. I was kindly given a rear axle by a member of this forum but I've seen them for sale at £100 (presumably OK MOT wise). I stripped removed the brakes etc (basic socket/spanner set + 1 new big hub socket), wired brushed the worst of the rust off so I could get a quote for shot blasting and painting. Got this done for £240 for 2 part epoxy paint - powered coating is not recommended. This included the brackets and the hub back plates as I could not buy new. The axle goes into an A2 and can be easily lifted by one person when stripped down, so I took and collected myself.

The axle is fixed on with 6 bolts - 3 per bracket. New bolts should be used. You also need to disconnect the brake pipe hoses and handbrake cables. How much else gets replaced depends. At 90,000 I decided to replace everything: all the rear brakes, hubs, bearings, brake cables, brake hoses, bushes, nuts, bolts, brackets, etc. You will probably need to change the brake pipes as they corrode and cannot be easily undone - these can be an MOT failure anyway so need doing from time to time.

OK, my total cost so far is £1100 for parts and shot blasting/painting. I need to add the cost of swapping over - many here have done that themselves even without a pit. My guess it is 3 hours work with a pit. Plus say £75 for 4 wheel alignment. The most time consuming bit has been getting the parts as I was replacing almost everything.

I consider it well worth spending £1,000 pa on average to keep my A2 in tip top condition. If I buy a new used car at say £20,000 I will loose much more than that every year and the A2 still looks modern and gets good comments. Of course, if I lived in a ULEV zone I may think otherwise.

Please don't scrap yours. There are people on this forum that will rescue these increasing rare vehicles.

View attachment 115255

Thanks Alan for the comprehensive description and cost guidance. We certainly will take the advice about not scrapping the car. Unfortunately I don’t have the capacity to do the work myself so would need to find a local garage willing to take on the project and that might not be so easy. ( We are based in Cheshire in case any local members have recommendations). We already have a couple of Zoe’s in the family and would happily part with one of them if we can get the A2 repaired and converted as EV. So we are keen to explore the EV route as the solution to keeping her on the road. So if anyone has guidance or EV conversion experience that would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kbox]

In the late 60's/70's there used to be a magazine called "Custom Car". (I think that I purchased the first issue!) Anyway, it was all about doing just about anything to run-of-the-mill cars. Favourite topics were fitting larger engines and lowering the ride height. Even lowering the ROOF, I seem to recall! It's a pity that there isn't a similar magazine for electric conversions. Maybe "Custom electric car"? Maybe there will be, in the near future? Anyway, I'd be all for converting my laid-up A2 to electric. It's a bit sad that such a shining star of a car isn't out there being enjoyed and used! I do like challenges and I've got the time and funds to do this ..... I just need to find another member(s) to share in the experience and (hopefully) the rewards!

David

Hi David we are also interested in an electric conversion. Did you make any progress yet?

 

[Kbox]

This is becoming more common but many have repaired / replaced their rear axle. I'm doing it now. I was kindly given a rear axle by a member of this forum but I've seen them for sale at £100 (presumably OK MOT wise). I stripped removed the brakes etc (basic socket/spanner set + 1 new big hub socket), wired brushed the worst of the rust off so I could get a quote for shot blasting and painting. Got this done for £240 for 2 part epoxy paint - powered coating is not recommended. This included the brackets and the hub back plates as I could not buy new. The axle goes into an A2 and can be easily lifted by one person when stripped down, so I took and collected myself.

The axle is fixed on with 6 bolts - 3 per bracket. New bolts should be used. You also need to disconnect the brake pipe hoses and handbrake cables. How much else gets replaced depends. At 90,000 I decided to replace everything: all the rear shocks, springs, and mounts, rear brakes, hubs, bearings, brake cables, brake hoses, bushes, nuts, bolts, brackets, etc. You will probably need to change the brake pipes as they corrode and cannot be easily undone - these can be an MOT failure anyway so need doing from time to time.

OK, my total cost so far is £1100 for parts and shot blasting/painting. I need to add the cost of swapping over - many here have done that themselves even without a pit. My guess it is 3 hours work with a pit. Plus say £75 for 4 wheel alignment. The most time consuming bit has been getting the parts as I was replacing almost everything.

I consider it well worth spending £1,000 pa on average to keep my A2 in tip top condition. If I buy a new used car at say £20,000 I will loose much more than that every year and the A2 still looks modern and gets good comments. Of course, if I lived in a ULEV zone I may think otherwise.

Please don't scrap yours. There are people on this forum that will rescue these increasing rare vehicles.

Alternatively one of our ethical scrappers will probably sell you a complete axle with all the brakes etc for £150 and then say 4 hours to remove yours and fit the replacement. I would at least paint the replacement with Kurust rust inhibitor. I do my existing axle every year with this - it takes about an hour with the A2 up on basic car sloping ramps.

PS a long post off topic but as you are a new member I thought it important to make you aware of solutions. I used WOM in the Peak District this year. They are the UKs experts on A2s and rates are reasonable. They are not too far from you. Very friendly.

View attachment 115255

Thanks again. Good to know that WOM are not too far away!

 

[Alan_uk]

we are keen to explore the EV route as the solution to keeping her on the road. So if anyone has guidance or EV conversion experience that would also be greatly appreciated.

I did explore this myself some years ago and was then prepared to spend up to £20k on a conversion with say 200+ miles range . A number of people on the A2 German forum did convert their A2s many years ago but most used older types of battery and the range was (from memory) typically 60 - 100 miles. Fine for local trips.

In Germany a A2 enthusiast who was also an electronics engineered produced an interface unit that connected the can-bus to the EV battery management system. He then made them for other but that was many (10?) years ago.

There were more recent German postings using modern batteries from scrapped EVs but these always petered out. Either they failed or never got round to posting again. I think the former. Germany authorities seems more amenable to conversion although they have strict compliance certification. As mentioned earlier, the UK is also fairly strict. All work has to be documented and photographed and then inspected. But also the UK does not allow the engine type to be change on post 2002 cars so congestion charging etc still applies.

Last year a chap on this forum started to convert his A2 but then we heard no more. I think he is the only A2 one in the UK.

I did contact a number of conversion companies in the UK but they said the A2 is too modern due to the can-bus and computers, They preferred cars like Morrris Minors. Also they wanted far more than my £20k budget.

In concept it seems simple but there is a lot of technical & compliance issues. With the abundance of older cheaper EVs suitable for short journeys / 2nd cars, I think the conversion market has disappeared except for rich vintage/classic car owners and DIY people with electrical engineering skills and their own workshops and plenty of time.

Next year VW bring out their ID2 with a target price of £22K with 38kWh battery and a range of around 220 miles with bigger batteries/longer range options.

There is a long thread here (15 pages) from 2015 to 2023 with examples from Europe.

Do you want an electric A2?

Battery and electric motor technology are advancing all the time. It may now be possible to get the performance and the range we need, so is it time to look at electric conversions of our A2s? I'm particularly concerned about government taxes and restrictions on our much loved Tdis - there is...

www.a2oc.net

In that thread I listed all the components needed:

Do you want an electric A2?

You're comparing an MX5 conversion to an Audi A2 conversion. That said, no one has priced a conversion, and it would likely be a lot. There's the DIY conversion route which is a lot cheaper and what I'm looking to go down, precisely because it is so much cheaper that I've gone over previously...

www.a2oc.net

(probably incomplete) plus all the labour and compliance.

PS the forum search engine does not allow searches on words of 3 or less characters, so no search on "EVs" but you can use google or duckduckgo and put this in your search "site:a2oc.net" (without the quotes)

 

[Kbox]

Many thanks Alan, I'll take a look. But I guess you are probably right about the market for converting cheaper / non vintage ICE cars being quite small. So our only hope is perhaps to find an enthusiast who is up for the challenge !

 

[Kbox]

Thanks again. Good to know that WOM are not too far away!

Converting an A2 (or any ICE car) to EV is a non-trivial job. Back in 2020 I followed many threads on European forums (using Google translate) to try and produce a list of components and tasks. Some of the threads made it to the end but others just petered out, so maybe the task was too challenging or expensive. There are also YouTube videos about A2 conversions, some quite old when just having an A2 EV was the goal despite very limited range. An English chap in Italy (I think) made a successful conversion documented in about 12 videos.

I did get as far as listing the components and tasks see below (but not the costs and time - perhaps you can do that and post back!) . These lists are no doubt incomplete and maybe wrong. I did contact some UK EV conversion specialists. Most didn't reply and others said the A2 was too modern (i.e. it has a CAN-BUS). The EV needs to be registered with the DVLA and pass a though inspection and they need photographic evidence of the conversion work as it progressed. Also, any one doing this is advised to undertake a course on how to safety handle EV batteries and electrical components -they can be lethal.

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View attachment 88899

Hi Alan, I note in your list of parts for EV conversion you included "Rear Axle with Discs". Since our rear axle has failed its MOT we will need to repair/replace that anyway. But I am wondering why it appears in your list. Is it because an upgrade to Disc Brakes is required to cope with the additional weight from the batteries, and/or extra power? I am considering whether to have the axle work done by WOM now so we can pass teh MOT, or whether to wait with that work until we decide if a EV conversion is viable. Do you have any thoughts on this?

 

[PlasticMac]

Hi Alan, I note in your list of parts for EV conversion you included "Rear Axle with Discs". Since our rear axle has failed its MOT we will need to repair/replace that anyway. But I am wondering why it appears in your list. Is it because an upgrade to Disc Brakes is required to cope with the additional weight from the batteries, and/or extra power? I am considering whether to have the axle work done by WOM now so we can pass teh MOT, or whether to wait with that work until we decide if a EV conversion is viable. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Theoretically, conversion of an A2 to EV is possible, but practically? Probably not. Economically? Definitely not. Doesn't stop us thinking about it though.
At the EOS Meal, last Saturday, an A2 conversion to rear wheel drive EV was, albeit briefly, mentioned.
Mac.

 

[Alan_uk]

Hi Alan, I note in your list of parts for EV conversion you included "Rear Axle with Discs". Since our rear axle has failed its MOT we will need to repair/replace that anyway. But I am wondering why it appears in your list. Is it because an upgrade to Disc Brakes is required to cope with the additional weight from the batteries, and/or extra power? I am considering whether to have the axle work done by WOM now so we can pass teh MOT, or whether to wait with that work until we decide if a EV conversion is viable. Do you have any thoughts on this?

I cannot remember but probably for the significant weight. Normally the A2 rear drums get hardly used and conversion to disks is not recommended but batteries weigh a lot and there is a lot more weight towards the back.

I would get the axle done now and enjoy your A2.

 

[DJ 190]

Hi David we are also interested in an electric conversion. Did you make any progress yet?

No, My A2 has just stood in the same place here for ages! The paintwork has such a high lustre and the whole car looks so good, it is such a pity that it isn't being enjoyed! I've got a solar panel array here which is linked to a 10Kw battery pack/inverter. It would be perfect for charging an EV ! I feel that if the A2 was converted to electric and only did 40 - 60 miles on one charge, it would still be perfect for my needs! So here it is, all ready for conversion! ( A previous car of mine, a Mercedes 190, stood in the same spot for well over 10 Years, so this has a long way to go!)
David

 

[Kbox]

No, My A2 has just stood in the same place here for ages! The paintwork has such a high lustre and the whole car looks so good, it is such a pity that it isn't being enjoyed! I've got a solar panel array here which is linked to a 10Kw battery pack/inverter. It would be perfect for charging an EV ! I feel that if the A2 was converted to electric and only did 40 - 60 miles on one charge, it would still be perfect for my needs! So here it is, all ready for conversion! ( A previous car of mine, a Mercedes 190, stood in the same spot for well over 10 Years, so this has a long way to go!)
David

Hi David. There is a likelihood that we could be in the same position with ours sitting on the drive for years, so I was hoping to find an example of someone who has succeeded in pioneering the path to an electric A2 future. Out of interest, if costs can be brought down is there a cost point that would tempt you? We could imagine taking the plunge for a low range conversion for upto £15k, which is around what we recently paid for a decent 2nd hand Zoe.