1996 Land Cruiser EV Conversion - EVJ80 Project

[J1000]

Latest episode of my Electrek series is live now:

 

[J1000]

Power brakes! I got the rear brakes rebuilt and adjusted. Took forever to adjust the parking brake which I guess is normal for an 80. Now the parking brake holds strong which is a requirement without any sort of parking prawl or engine compression to help.

I also got my vacuum pump wired and mounted up. It's louder than I expected but not horrible with the hood shut. Also I can hear an air leak from the booster diaphragm so maybe it will be quieter if I fix the leaks. Went for a quick test drive and we have power brakes! Ok now we just have to make it go fast enough to properly bed them in I also have a full setof braided steel lines (as in 7 lines) so I will swap those in and bleed the brakes next and do the LSPV delete at the same time.

 

[gummycarbs]

What kind of vacuum pump is that? That's the sort of detail in an electric conversion that wouldn't even have occurred to me.

 

[J1000]

What kind of vacuum pump is that? That's the sort of detail in an electric conversion that wouldn't even have occurred to me.

It is from a newer Camaro ZL1

 

[J1000]

Latest episode of the Electric Land Cruiser is up!

 

[Artie]

Latest episode of the Electric Land Cruiser is up!

I dig the soundtrack on your videos. Overall, good content. Thanks for sharing!

 

[nukegoat]

Turn on the image stabilization on your camera! Other than that, rad

 

[J1000]

In other news I have been working on a heater. I decided to just completely skip electric heat and waste heat at the moment and go straight to a fuel heater. Cheap chinese "diesel air heaters" are flooding the market after the German patent expired. They are basically a small combustion chamber where fuel is pushed in and a fan draws in air and it's burnt to create heat. They are very simple but very effective. They are becoming super popular in the vanlife/RV/EV community.

I have one small problem with them: they run on diesel. I hate the smell of diesel like most people and hate getting it on my hands, shoes, car, etc and having the smell linger forever. I definitely don't want that smell in or around my EV. Some of these heaters are advertised as "gasoline air heaters" but some internet detectives claim they are identical to the diesel version with just the computer settings adjusted slightly.

I took it one step further and am running mine on E85. E85 has a much more subtle smell than gasoline and doesn't linger because it's mostly alcohol. The exhaust is also much more pleasant. Also compared to gas E85 has about 40% less lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and burns way cleaner so I think it's the most green way I can run one of these heaters.

Today I screwed around with the heater and was able to get it running reliably on E85 fuel.

The two things I did specifically to run E85:
-Added Top Lube to the fuel to provide lubrication to the pump
-Increased the minimum Hz from 1.6 to 2.4Hz and maximum from 5.6 to 6.5Hz

So far so good! The heater has been running today for hours without running a beat on the new settings keeping my garage at 60F. The heat coming out of the vents is 180-190F. If I still had my LEAF I would install one of these in it!

I got this heater which is towards the top end of the chinese quality: https://amzn.to/3GHeJIy
Top Lube: https://amzn.to/3oFRvML

My test setup in the garage currently:

Now the next question is where in the Land Cruiser will I mount this thing?? I'm thinking maybe in the center console but it's already getting cramped in that area. I really am stumped as I want to keep all 7 seats. Maybe I will mount it in a rear quarter panel area where the subwoofer goes sometimes.

 

[jpoole]

Nice looking heater. I ran a propex in my VW Westy and loved it when camping and as a supplement to the meager air cooled engine based heater.

Any way to mount the heater in the engine bay or underneath the 80 and then plumb the heated air to vents inside? You'll have some benefits if you could pull this off including keeping the noise levels down and of course space. Being able to plumb a few vents in at lower/floor levels where the heat can rise is also what you want. Location will have to be based on where there's space for the heater and plumbing below the floors but running a single feed into the space below/around the center console and then making a manifold that delivers air under both front seats and into the 2nd row footwells could be a good option in some ways and could tie into the heater being near or in the old gas tank or muffler locations.

 

[J1000]

Nice looking heater. I ran a propex in my VW Westy and loved it when camping and as a supplement to the meager air cooled engine based heater.

Any way to mount the heater in the engine bay or underneath the 80 and then plumb the heated air to vents inside? You'll have some benefits if you could pull this off including keeping the noise levels down and of course space. Being able to plumb a few vents in at lower/floor levels where the heat can rise is also what you want. Location will have to be based on where there's space for the heater and plumbing below the floors but running a single feed into the space below/around the center console and then making a manifold that delivers air under both front seats and into the 2nd row footwells could be a good option in some ways and could tie into the heater being near or in the old gas tank or muffler locations.

Space under the hood is becoming more and more tight so it probably won't work. Also it will need a 3" hole to get the air pipe through. I was looking at it today and it might fit under the center console after all. Or possibly in the front passenger footwell.

 

[Outsane]

Cool conversation on the heater! Are those settings you changed easily accessible from the interface?

 

[on the rocks]

Damn, that system is cheap. I was going to suggest a Eberspacher S3 B5E and plumb it into your existing hvac if not all ripped out but it can’t come close to that price. Don’t know if any advantage to pre heat anything on cold nights for the motor or system with the coolant instead of forced air. Just a thought.
If your not using the OEM hvac/ heater core under the dash, maybe rip it out for the space? If running inside maybe add a co2 detector to make sure it never springs a leak? Or maybe put it in the passenger fender and pipe it directly in the side? Lots of space between the inner and outer fenders on these 80’s.

 

[gummycarbs]

I was looking at it today and it might fit under the center console after all. Or possibly in the front passenger footwell.

Apologies if it was shown in an earlier post, but do you have any of the climate control system in place? It's hard to gauge the size from the pictures, but it seems like it would fit in the space normally occupied by the AC evaporator and heater core. Could you set it up to use the factory blower motor (maybe with PWM control instead of the inefficient resistor) and vent selection?

 

[Bambusiero]

Question about the E85 heater - do I understand correctly that the hot combustion gas is blowing directly into the cabin?
If yes - are you not concerned about breathing CO?

 

[scottryana]

Question about the E85 heater - do I understand correctly that the hot combustion gas is blowing directly into the cabin?
If yes - are you not concerned about breathing CO?

No it is not the exhaust gas that is used for heat. It draws air over the "heat exchanger" that is hot from combustion.

 

[J1000]

Cool conversation on the heater! Are those settings you changed easily accessible from the interface?

Yep just use the admin code 1688 and you can adjust the fuel settings, fan speeds, and glow plug power. Most all of these chinese heaters have exactly the same controller.

Damn, that system is cheap. I was going to suggest a Eberspacher S3 B5E and plumb it into your existing hvac if not all ripped out but it can’t come close to that price. Don’t know if any advantage to pre heat anything on cold nights for the motor or system with the coolant instead of forced air. Just a thought.
If your not using the OEM hvac/ heater core under the dash, maybe rip it out for the space? If running inside maybe add a co2 detector to make sure it never springs a leak? Or maybe put it in the passenger fender and pipe it directly in the side? Lots of space between the inner and outer fenders on these 80’s.

Good ideas! I did want to get a "water heater" version of the heater but they are all much, much more expensive. Even the chinese ones. Plumbing it into the factory heater core would work nicely. Inside the fender is clever, I like that.

Apologies if it was shown in an earlier post, but do you have any of the climate control system in place? It's hard to gauge the size from the pictures, but it seems like it would fit in the space normally occupied by the AC evaporator and heater core. Could you set it up to use the factory blower motor (maybe with PWM control instead of the inefficient resistor) and vent selection?

I currently do have the heater core and evap core under the dash still. That's a good idea. I still have the HVAC panel, blower motor, and all duct work so ideally I can keep it all in place and adapt the heater to it.

 

[J1000]

Had some LC friends over to work on the 80. Time to get serious now if we are going to make it to Cruise Moab...

My buddy Dom got a bracket welded in to mount the PS pump. I got all the adapters now so I should be able to make up some AN fittings and braided hose to complete the PS loop. Funny coincidence the LC and the Volvo PS pump I have both use the same size 16x1.5 fitting.

We also got all 7 braided brake lines installed. Only one fitting rounded out! The small hard line on the passenger front caliper for some reason would not come loose. Will just replace it and move on.

 

[J1000]

Been a little while since I updated but still working hard. I am excited to announce if I haven't already that I will be taking this truck to Cruise Moab this year! I also am stoked to announce I've been sponsored by Gamiviti with a roof rack, I cannot wait to get that installed. It will come with a surprise bonus with an EV-twist also!

Because I have been jamming for Cruise Moab I wanted to put it out there that I need a couple key items to complete the truck and looking for additional sponsors. I really need a set of wheels and tires (35x10.5s ideally), front and rear bumpers, sliders, and a custom grill. I have reached out some but I don't know the 80 world very well, so I welcome any suggestions or if someone has these parts for a good deal I'll just buy them too.

Towards that end I've put some effort into cleaning up the truck and getting it looking better. Replaced the green driver's door with a black one and also got a replacement rear fender flare. The flare is from a totally different truck but the sun fade matches mine perfectly, like they both sat broken for comparable lengths of time

Now it's all the same color again! The power steering is now also complete and the brakes are done. Everything is wired and plumbed except the Blackbox cooler and pump. Made my first AN lines and they don't leak!

The littlest radiator. So cute.

 

[cody c]

Been a little while since I updated but still working hard. I am excited to announce if I haven't already that I will be taking this truck to Cruise Moab this year! I also am stoked to announce I've been sponsored by Gamiviti with a roof rack, I cannot wait to get that installed. It will come with a surprise bonus with an EV-twist also!

Because I have been jamming for Cruise Moab I wanted to put it out there that I need a couple key items to complete the truck and looking for additional sponsors. I really need a set of wheels and tires (35x10.5s ideally), front and rear bumpers, sliders, and a custom grill. I have reached out some but I don't know the 80 world very well, so I welcome any suggestions or if someone has these parts for a good deal I'll just buy them too.

I been reading lots on EV conversions lately and dug this thread up to reread it.

A couple questions for you:

How is the power with that leaf motor? How are highway speeds? Is the gearing ok to get it up to freeway speed and leave it at that speed?

What do you figure your overall range (distance) will be with the battery packs you are running?

How does it handle with the weight change/shift? Does the whole thing feel lighter? Would you move the weight to the fuel tank was?

I'm trying to wrap my head around not having a transmission still. It seems like a 4 or 5 speed and a clutch would be nice. Like an H42f or something.

 

[gummycarbs]

How are highway speeds? Is the gearing ok to get it up to freeway speed and leave it at that speed?

What do you figure your overall range (distance) will be with the battery packs you are running?

I'm pretty sure he's said that this is intended to be a rock crawling rig, so speed and range aren't what he's after.