Aztec62 Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Hi folks, I have been thinking about an electric conversion done on a Buick Reatta. Is there anyone who did something like this on a car with the 3800 Powerplant and Transmission? There are so many cars with that kind of Drivetrain, I think it would make sense to design and build a electric front end ready to replace the old fuel powered outfit. Lots of (classic) cars have already been converted and the hardware needed is available. What do you guys think about it? Henning Bremen, Germany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Not saying it wouldn't work but the Reatta is a really heavy car for it's size. Wouldn't you want to start with light weight car for best battery life and lots of room for batteries and electronics needed to control the motor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski.dive Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Buy a Prius!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aztec62 Posted July 23, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Buy a Prius!! No thanks. I do not want to look like a nerd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski.dive Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 No thanks. I do not want to look like a nerd. I'm not a nerd... I have a Prius and it's a greatly engineered automobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Aztec needs no defending, but the Prius does project an image, for better or worse. I was vacationing last year and came upon a Prius in a wayside in CO. with the following sticker in the back window :"Nice Prius, said no one ever". This guy had the perfect rye sense of humor and he gets it. Never owned one, but do know several people that have them, and all agree, they are great cars and they love them. This isn't intended as criticism, far from it. I ordered a brand new AMC Pacer in 1975, so my sense of good and not so good may be misaligned :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Just talking about hybrids in general... my nephew had a Honda Civic hybrid. Although it got great gas mileage he said it was the most expensive car to own he's ever had. Price up front was high, maintenance was expensive because no one wanted to work on it but the Honda dealer. When the batteries needed replacing - $1600 + labor I believe - he traded it for a Honda Fit with a gas engine. It had almost no trade in value because the batteries were failing. He's had the Fit for over 100k miles and he says it's the cheapest car he's owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I know this is way off track but maybe my son bought that car? Several years ago he bought a ten year old Civic hybrid, which was a trade in and just had a new battery pack installed. Bought it from a neighbors Chevy dealership. The car is faded and rather ugly, he calls it his hoopti, but he drives it all over. He lives in central WI and for short (by his standards) trips of 500-600miles he takes the Civic, Detroit, Kentucky, St Louis etc.. It's right at a quarter million miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I ordered a brand new AMC Pacer in 1975, so my sense of good and not so good may be misaligned :) I remember those :D Had a relative and we took it in the back country several times, and I have a neighbor down the street that has one and he lifted it...Now that looks really interesting to say the least!!! :huh: Actually there were some converted to electric Pacer's :idea: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/1978_AMC_EVA_Pacer_electric_wagon_at_2015_AMO_meet-1.jpg/220px-1978_AMC_EVA_Pacer_electric_wagon_at_2015_AMO_meet-1.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 I had a friend who had a real nice 1970 Monte Carlo and traded it in on a Pacer. Never did understand that one. The Pacer was okay but a Monte Carlo for a Pacer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 On the other end of the spectrum I went to a local big box lumber yard and saw a "Hellcat" by Dodge. Parked next to him and quickly went in to buy my stuff and hurried back to my car and waited. He came out and I started talking to him. His was #9 in the list of manufactuer. He drives it year round and has 56,000 miles on it. He claims he "did some things" and it now puts out about 800 HP. It was black and looked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogware Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Wow Dave that sounds like a real treat to see a Hellcat. Did he start it up and rev it for ya? Vroom, Vroom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 He did. But he kind of put his foot in it when he was on the road. It sounded a little louder then I would like, but you could tell he had a "motor". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordrodsteven Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 He did. But he kind of put his foot in it when he was on the road. It sounded a little louder then I would like, but you could tell he had a "motor". "Motor"? I remember I was in a certain auto mechanics class once and the instructor was adamant. "A motor is electric" the fossil fuel powered things in our vehicles are "engines" I always remember him saying that whenever I hear it referred to as a "motor" LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nittany Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Aztec62, I applaud your forward looking question! I also have given thought to this issue and I think that someday the economics will be there to give our cars additional life via electric motors and batteries. Some folks can afford to "blaze the trail" now, and through the trial and error of others, I hope to be able to accomplish this upgrade at some point "down the road!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aztec62 Posted July 25, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 I'm not a nerd... I have a Prius and it's a greatly engineered automobile. I am not saying you are a nerd. But you are considered one, when you are seen in a Prius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aztec62 Posted July 25, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Aztec62, I applaud your forward looking question! I also have given thought to this issue and I think that someday the economics will be there to give our cars additional life via electric motors and batteries. Some folks can afford to "blaze the trail" now, and through the trial and error of others, I hope to be able to accomplish this upgrade at some point "down the road!" Hi Nittany, at last there is someone out there! But I think I am in the wrong forum with my question. Ronnies forum here is more about preserving Reattas as they were build and not so much about any conversions. I think I will post my idea in some "electric conversion" forum. Have fun Henning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Hi Nittany, at last there is someone out there! But I think I am in the wrong forum with my question. Ronnies forum here is more about preserving Reattas as they were build and not so much about any conversions. I think I will post my idea in some "electric conversion" forum. Have fun Henning You are making assumptions that are incorrect. If you read past posts on this forum you will see that we discuss all things Reatta and more. We often drift off topic here. I would love to have a supercharged 3800 in my car or even a good Northstar V8 in my Reatta but I'm too old and lazy to take on the job. If you want to start a topic about converting your Reatta to electric power that would be fine with me. You asked for comments and you got them. Don't feel that your ideas aren't welcome here just because everyone didn't jump on the wagon with you. I thought the comments, "Buy a Prius!!" and "No thanks. I do not want to look like a nerd.", were off base but I don't think that is something to get offended over as long as the language is civil. Be assured that I will step in and delete posts (and members if needed) if the discussion gets out of hand. I find the idea of an electric motor interesting but not practical. I expressed my reasons in a previous post. You can take your discussion about making an electric powered Reatta to an electric conversion forum if you like but I think they might tell you that it's not practical to start with a heavy car that is already an electricians nightmare to work on and then start adding controls for an electric motor that only complicates the electrical system more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aztec62 Posted July 25, 2017 Topic Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 All Right Ronnie. Have fun Henning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 How about something like this. I just stumbled across it. Targeted at trucks and such due to poor mileage, but an interesting idea if you could find the room: http://www.enginelabs.com/news/sema-2016-e-charger-bolt-on-hybrid-system-draws-crowds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sema-2016-e-charger-bolt-on-hybrid-system-draws-crowds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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