1) The beauty of simple engineering.
The VW Beetle’s design and engineering is relatively very straightforward and uncomplicated, so you won’t have to deal with any complicated electronics or components.
2) Easy conversion kits available.
The VW Beetle is already such a common EV conversion car that it’s extremely easy to get your hands on a ready-made conversion kit. Purchasing one of these kits will make the conversion process so much easier for you, particularly when it comes to installing the adapter plate. Because the plate is pre-cut to perfectly fit your Beetle, all you need to do is bolt it into place.
3) Price you can’t argue with.
Old VW Beetles are generally fairly inexpensive and easy to find almost anywhere. Try looking for one at used car dealerships, vehicle trading site websites, or in government auction inventories.
If you can find a VW Beetle with a non-functioning engine then you’ll be able to get your donor car at an even lower price. For your EV conversion, you don’t even want the engine, but you can use the fact that it isn’t working as a bargaining chip to greatly reduce the cost of your purchase.
4) Quick and easy engine extraction.
Once you’ve found your donor vehicle, you’ll need to remove the existing engine. You’ll find it incredibly straightforward to extract the VW Beetle’s old internal combustion engine because the original engineering is so uncomplicated.
Just undo a few bolts and you’ll be able to hoist the thing straight out. Compared to trying to remove the engine from most other vehicle models, this is simply child’s play.
5) Rear-wheel drive.
The ideal EV donor car will have rear-wheel drive. Guess what? The vast majority of VW Beetles are already built this way.
6) Manual gear transmission.
For an easy DIY approach to EV conversion, you really need to get hold of a donor vehicle that has a manual transmission. Luckily for you, it is incredibly easy to find an old VW Beetle to fit your needs, saving you time, effort, and cash.
7) Ample trunk space.
You’ll need plenty of room up-front in your EV donor car for your batteries and, in this respect, the VW Beetle is perfect for conversion, with its capacious forward trunk space. Just take out the spare tire and you’re good to go!
8) Ample in-car storage space.
You’ll find that there’s even more potential storage space behind the driver’s seat in a VW Beetle. You can take advantage of this by using the space for additional batteries, thereby extending the range of your EV conversion.
9) Light weight and nimble.
Most VW Beetles will weigh less than 1,800 pounds, which is a boon for EV conversion. A lighter vehicle has lower inertia, and that means it requires less energy to move forward.
And the less energy you need to get going, the longer your batteries will last, and the further you can travel without having to recharge.
10) Easy to locate spare part.
There are so many old VW Beetles lying around these days that finding spare parts for your EV conversion and its maintenance should be both easy and inexpensive.
VW Beetle Electric Car Conversion Book
If you are looking for a good Do It Yourself (DIY) VW Beetle electric car conversion book, check out Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy guide.
Gavin is from New Zealand and he has converted his old gas guzzler into a pure electric car in his garage.
Gavin is also well known in the homemade electric car realm. This is because of all the videos he took when he was converting his electric car.