How much does a powerplant good 281 horsepower and 317 lb.-ft. of (instant) torque cost? According to Ford Performance, about $3900.
Oh, and did we mention it’s an all-electric powerplant?
It's called the “Eluminater,” and Ford Performance says that its electric crate motor is “expected to be the first of its kind to be engineered, developed and offered by an original …
Neat, I guess. Maybe I'm just not well enough versed in these things, but until I can get all of the 'not included' stuff needed to make it run too, it comes across to me as a bit of a half-hearted offering just to try to technically claim being 1st by 'beating' the GM E-crate to market... Unless that just ends up being vapor-ware.
I expect we'll see the whole package at SEMA. It'll be like the ICE crates, a full package including all controllers. The format of the batteries is the interesting part, as that's where the current GM "bolt in a box" offering falls short. Depends on how modular the Ford battery system is - we know the next gen GM stuff will be much better.
awww dang. This is getting exciting.
Hear me out: What about something exotic that needs an engine? Could this get something like a salvageable 308 back on the road?
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Think of all the bi-turbo's just waiting to be saved lol
Mount the motor where the transmission is on my 1970 Ford F-250. Mount the batteries where the side saddle fuel tanks are now. Clean up the engine compartment and have a nice frunk. The e-motor weighs about the same as the toploader transmission currently in the F250. I could probably put together a battery pack yielding reasonable range the doesn't outweigh the all iron 360 that's in there now. HP and torque would be virtually unchanged. (215hp / 327tq originally) except the old ratings are gross so I bet the truck would be faster and more capable. Hmm.
Or, go whole hog and mount one directly on each differential?
wonder how long SCCA autox mod rules will take to adjust. Is a crate motor from Ford/GM good enough for SCCA?
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Electric Classic Cars just finished a 308 GTS conversion, actually. The owner says he drives it more now because basically it's no longer a pain in the ass. And of course it's considerably faster.
https://www.heritagecarinsurance.co.uk/newsroom/news-and-articles/electric-ferrari-308/
In reply to dculberson (Forum Supporter) :
Solid axle mounted motors are going to be the game changer for old cars. Build one in the format of a Ford 9 inch and watch the interesting old cars get rejuvenated. I'd happily electrify one of the '66 Cadillacs. It would suit their design intent.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
While I'm sure it won't be cheap, a full system release would be a much more interesting piece of news if/when it happens. Battery form factors will definitely be a major consideration with these types of 'crate' systems for retrofitting Although, if building a chassis from scratch, even the Bolt-in-a-box type system would still be a fine.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I like it. What about a derelict Maserati Merak?
In reply to dculberson (Forum Supporter) :
I'm glad you're back. I love this idea. Also the truck would move the 550 lb of engine (because that's what they actually weighed with iron manifolds and iron water pump and iron intake) from over the front axle to near midships. It would handle!
So, is there a parallel group trying to figure out how to modify factory electric motors?
In reply to mblommel :
If it gets it back on the road from its auto cocoon.
Does not include Traction inverter, Control system and Battery.
Battery Assembly for the Mustang is $23k, which is where this engine is derived from.
I am guessing a warranty would be eliminated as soon as you go aftermarket for those needed items.
noob question: What is a "Traction Inverter"?
My best guess is a regenerator, since this is a traction motor. Basically, the thing that turns the motor into a generator to recharge the battery? Not sure.
Batteries are going to be the expensive part, but the motor is cheap compared to an ICE. The good news is that battery prices are falling, and if they're modular enough you can scale them up and down to meet your performance and cost goals.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I am forseeing bolting a kit like this into a Miata. And then making the battery system modular so that you can have all the range you need, and then when you go to autocross, you remove all but maybe one battery that's good for that 60 second run. Then you strap all your other batteries back in and head home.
I am looking forward to seeing someone stuff one of these new generation of motors into a Miata rear subframe.
Although the small battery pack idea does have a flaw - a battery cell can only deliver power at a certain rate. Think of it as having its own little fuel pump, and it can only deliver fuel so fast. If you want more power, you need more cells. That's why you see better performance numbers from EVs with long range, because they have a lot of cells.
So our "one small battery" Miata is going to be down on power compared to one carrying the full pack. Is it enough to overcome the lower mass? Maybe in a car where the batteries are a very significant percentage of the total mass, like a Lotus Seven type. In the case of a Miata, it will take some interesting experimentation to find out.
Keep in mind that the batteries are usually liquid cooled, so you might want to do the swap at home :)
Junghole said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
I am forseeing bolting a kit like this into a Miata. And then making the battery system modular so that you can have all the range you need, and then when you go to autocross, you remove all but maybe one battery that's good for that 60 second run. Then you strap all your other batteries back in and head home.
There's actually a guy trying to make something like that. It's a neat idea, but modular battery ideas like that have problems getting adequate cooling for fast DC charging or performance.
What about the brake system? On these conversions, do you regenerative braking and if so that would seem to require the use of brake by wire? Or do conversions just skip doing regenerative braking?
Teslas don't do brake by wire as far as I know, but they'll have modern ABS systems so they'll just use that for proportioning at the limit. Not so easy with a retrofit...
Keith Tanner said:Solid axle mounted motors are going to be the game changer for old cars. Build one in the format of a Ford 9 inch and watch the interesting old cars get rejuvenated. I'd happily electrify one of the '66 Cadillacs. It would suit their design intent.
I can haz De Dion?
I'm also in the "cautiously optimistic" camp. The motor is the easy part. It's everything needed to make the motor turn where an EV conversion gets complicated. Especially if you want the EV to have some moderate amount of range. Then there are other systems powered by the ICE to make it a practical car to use - like HVAC. These are not insurmountable issues, but at this time there are not really any plug-and-play solutions.
Part of me is tempted to convert my TDI wagon to an EV. Mostly because it would make the TDI-dorks' heads explode. 
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