Freelander 1 Freelander EV

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Nodge68 said:
If that's possible, the it's probably worth the time and effort to carry out. Is it practical to make the fish tank larger, maybe the full width of the boot, so making more space below the boot floor?
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I'm not sure about enlarging it too much if at all.
If I can us the fish tank hole as is with a larger box under it and manoeuvre the modules through the hole then I figure I'm not cutting any of the floor of the car. From an inspection point of view this would be good but also means I won't need to worry too much about adding strength for the boot battery box and it can be made from a single sheet of 1.5mm steel.
I can also treat the two battery boxes as a single unit and will not need to worry about fuses and disconnects in the leads between them since there is no way to access the cables without removing the boot box lid.
 
Alibro said:
I'm not sure about enlarging it too much if at all.
If I can us the fish tank hole as is with a larger box under it and manoeuvre the modules through the hole then I figure I'm not cutting any of the floor of the car. From an inspection point of view this would be good but also means I won't need to worry too much about adding strength for the boot battery box and it can be made from a single sheet of 1.5mm steel.
I can also treat the two battery boxes as a single unit and will not need to worry about fuses and disconnects in the leads between them since there is no way to access the cables without removing the boot box lid.
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That's why I suggested opening written dialogue with the appropriate authority to get clarificaiton on what you can and cannot do. If you get it in writing that doing away with the fishwell and putting in some hardpooints to support a battery box on the now flattened area under the boot floor vacated by said fishbowl and exhaust system went, you're golden.
 
Alibro said:
If I can us the fish tank hole as is with a larger box under it and manoeuvre the modules through the hole then I figure I'm not cutting any of the floor of the car. From an inspection point of view this would be good but also means I won't need to worry too much about adding strength for the boot battery box and it can be made from a single sheet of 1.5mm steel.
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I think from an inspection point of view, you're worrying too much Ali.
I know you are playing it safe, but I really don't think it matters here.
I can't see any inspector getting all upset about you modifying the boot floor for extra battery space.
It's just thin bodywork, not a structural body component.
As long as what you do doesn't effect the structural integrity of the structural components, and what you welded in is as strong or stronger than what was there is all an inspector will be worried about.
The inspector will probably be more bothered about HV cables being easily identifiable, routed safely, and general electrical installation being done to an acceptable standard, and that all components added are safe and can't break loose in a crash.

From what I've been reading, you might just need an MOT, in which case they won't be bothered about a boot floor change, they might not even notice it. ;)
 
Jayridium said:
When I make comments like this, I'm not meaning to be a bellend... I'd simly rather you had a metal barrier between your lungs and lithium battery smoke should the worst happen.
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I know mate, I appreciate all input even if it means I end up changing things and as I am now planning to enclose the batteries in 1.5mm steel I'm following your advice.
Jayridium said:
That's why I suggested opening written dialogue with the appropriate authority to get clarificaiton on what you can and cannot do. If you get it in writing that doing away with the fishwell and putting in some hardpooints to support a battery box on the now flattened area under the boot floor vacated by said fishbowl and exhaust system went, you're golden.
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Nodge68 said:
I think from an inspection point of view, you're worrying too much Ali.
I know you are playing it safe, but I really don't think it matters here.
I can't see any inspector getting all upset about you modifying the boot floor for extra battery space.
It's just thin bodywork, not a structural body component.
As long as what you do doesn't effect the structural integrity of the structural components, and what you welded in is as strong or stronger than what was there is all an inspector will be worried about.
The inspector will probably be more bothered about HV cables being easily identifiable, routed safely, and general electrical installation being done to an acceptable standard, and that all components added are safe and can't break loose in a crash.

From what I've been reading, you might just need an MOT, in which case they won't be bothered about a boot floor change, they might not even notice it. ;)
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I don't think you guys appreciate how useless the DVA are. A letter from them would be meaningless as everything is down to interpretation and the desk warrior in the DVA will probably have a completely different interpretation to the inspector. Add to that I am in Northern Ireland, the DVA are in Swansea and regulations are different here from there and that would be a recipe for total confusion.
Regardless there would not be sufficient room under the car (with suspension and propshaft in place) for all the modules so some will have to be in the boot.
I'm already aware that structural changes are a big issue but what one man says is structural may be different to another so I am building this conversion with as few holes and cuts as possible to err on the side of caution. I've seen horror stories from others who cut large holes in their non structural boot floor and struggled to have it approved.

I'm still living in hope that an MOT is all that is required. ;)
 
I know from earlier in this thread you have what appears to be more stringent regulations governing your cars in NI than we have on the mainland, and I try to factor in them* meaning when I suggest something I've already pre-empted some of their, concerns. Glad to hear you're putting some steel between the occupants and the batteries, still trying to think of a better way of secreting those 5 small modules outside the cabin.But i've got a fair bit on today, so might not get back to you any time soon.

*(I've done enough swearing in this forum in the downsizing thread to see me through for quite a while, without casting apsersions about civil servants in the motoring departments)
 
Nodge68 said:
If that's possible, the it's probably worth the time and effort to carry out. Is it practical to make the fish tank larger, maybe the full width of the boot, so making more space below the boot floor?
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I like that idea, bar one thing, aren't there frame rails running under the boor floot either side of the fish tank, can't remember how much clearance there is from fish tank flanks to these "rails". But worst case put in the fishtank, one in a separate box either side of the rails.
 
Jayridium said:
I like that idea, bar one thing, aren't there frame rails running under the boor floot either side of the fish tank, can't remember how much clearance there is from fish tank flanks to these "rails". But worst case put in the fishtank, one in a separate box either side of the rails.
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Your right, there are frame rails either side of it but i don't really need to make the opening any bigger if I remove the fish tank and put a larger box beneath it. This way I have plenty of room to fit the batteries through the existing hole then put a lid over it and install the rest of the modules above. :)
 
Jayridium said:
I know from earlier in this thread you have what appears to be more stringent regulations governing your cars in NI than we have on the mainland, and I try to factor in them* meaning when I suggest something I've already pre-empted some of their, concerns. Glad to hear you're putting some steel between the occupants and the batteries, still trying to think of a better way of secreting those 5 small modules outside the cabin.But i've got a fair bit on today, so might not get back to you any time soon.

*(I've done enough swearing in this forum in the downsizing thread to see me through for quite a while, without casting apsersions about civil servants in the motoring departments)
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My biggest concern with contacting the DVA and asking specific questions is getting someone who doesn't have a clue and knows nothing about Freelanders make a ridiculous decision that negatively effects everything. Any decision made will be set in stone and if I was to deviate from their instructions it would be instant fail.
I'd much rather take my chances with real engineers at the MOT centre.
It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. :p

In reality I suspect they would just point to the regulations and would not give any useful advice anyway.
 
I'd be tempted to change the information on the V5 (do you have a V5 in NI), send it to the DVLA and see what comes back.
In theory the fuel type should change to electric, and the cylinder capacity to 0cc, and that should be that.
Then pop down to the MOT garage and get them to change the records to match the DVLA records if needed.
In these modern time, it should really only be a formality, but then a government department can add all sorts of unnecessary complications to things. :(
 
Nodge68 said:
I'd be tempted to change the information on the V5 (do you have a V5 in NI), send it to the DVLA and see what comes back.
In theory the fuel type should change to electric, and the cylinder capacity to 0cc, and that should be that.
Then pop down to the MOT garage and get them to change the records to match the DVLA records if needed.
In these modern time, it should really only be a formality, but then a government department can add all sorts of unnecessary complications to things. :(
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Our MOT centres are council run so I don't know what they can do but presumably they have the same facilities. ;)
 
What's your timescale for getting it to a test centre @Alibro ? This february will be my tenth year of getting my FL MOT'd where I work. It's a Council depot that does cars, 4x4s and all sorts of commercial vehicles and trucks etc. They're completely impartial as they pretty much only do fleet vehicles and they're not looking for work but have all sorts of experience. My main reason for going there is that I want a fair and safe MOT, which they do. There is no discount on the fee, but I'm more than happy with that as I want to know what needs doing, what is advisory and not have things picked up because a garage wants a few quid for an easy job. They will obvioulsy have next to no EV or conversion stuff experience, but I could put a hypothetical situation to one of the testers to get an opinon.
 
kernowsvenski said:
What's your timescale for getting it to a test centre @Alibro ? This february will be my tenth year of getting my FL MOT'd where I work. It's a Council depot that does cars, 4x4s and all sorts of commercial vehicles and trucks etc. They're completely impartial as they pretty much only do fleet vehicles and they're not looking for work but have all sorts of experience. My main reason for going there is that I want a fair and safe MOT, which they do. There is no discount on the fee, but I'm more than happy with that as I want to know what needs doing, what is advisory and not have things picked up because a garage wants a few quid for an easy job. They will obvioulsy have next to no EV or conversion stuff experience, but I could put a hypothetical situation to one of the testers to get an opinon.
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Our MOT centres are usually pretty fair and do a good job of testing the cars. As for when, Mmmmmmm, I'm hoping before Christmas. :p
 
Here's a scary thought guys, I bought the Nissan Leaf donor car two years ago this month.
Since then I've been working at this project probably between 5 and 10 hours per week.
At the lower estimate I've spent around 500 hours on it. :eek:

But enjoyed almost every minute. :D Thanks to everyone who has supported me in this madness. :p
 
Nodge68 said:
Yes you were quite vocal. Wasn't he a fellow countryman?:eek:
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I don't care where he was born, or lives, he started it, so I finished it. There was absolutely no need for him to go off on that tangent saying we were all lazy layabouts living on benefits watching TV all day, even were it true, say I were tapping away on this forum in the queue for methadone hoping they'd hurry up so I wouldn't miss my job centre sign on time all the while ticked off that I would be missing [daytime tv show], A that is none of his business, and B we were laying him a path to be able to properly advertise his vehicles, so why take a pop at us, biting the hand that was trying to feed him.

Alibro said:
Our MOT centres are council run so I don't know what they can do but presumably they have the same facilities. ;)
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Over here the council run MOT centres are generally viewed as being fairer because they don't have a conflict of interests in as much as they get no more money out of finding faults if you see what I mean? Hopefully the same holds true over there, meaning you should get a fair test? Is it an MOT test or is it something different for NI? If it's an MOT, they cannot remove covers to inspect behind them, so it's pretty much carte blanche to do with as you please. For talking sakes, if you welded nuts onto the boot floor or floor pan underneath the carpet and ran the bolt up from the underside, they cannot remove the carpet to see where that bolt goes into. I believe the same happens in IVAs/SVAs.

I'd say it's worth quantifying who you are dealing with to get this certified for road use, so we know what rules they play by, and what they can and cannot do, so Sun Tzu - Know thy enemy, know thy self...

Nodge68 said:
I know you're looking for a pre 2001 FL1 Ali.
This nice looking 50th anniversary waggon in up for sale in Newport.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/landrove...=p2349624.m2548.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
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John! - do you realise what you've just done? Andy's likely to buy that one too...
 
Alibro said:
Nice car, nice colour just a bit far from home, A plane ride and a ferry journey. :(
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I figured it was closer to you than me, although I do forget how far north you are, ignoring the Irish Sea of course. :oops:
I had an identical one about 10 years ago, it was a lovely vehicle, fully loaded, but had to sell it when we started getting lease cars. :(
 
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