Ok, this is definitely pretty out there, but I've gotten it into my head that it'd be nice to have an extra 50-100 ft/lbs on tap with a beefy brushless motor and a couple hundred pounds of lithium batteries under the floorboards (good for COG 
), and I think I've convinced myself that it'd probably even qualify my 60 to park in EV charging spots (it'd legitimately be a plug-in hybrid, haha).
So, I've been brainstorming how to get the motor input into the drivetrain.
Suffice it to say I thought of a bunch of goofy ways to do it (McMaster Carr chain cog + drill holes to match output flange on t-case and drive shaft at the yoke, mount motor parallel to rear shaft, run chain sideways to it), but since I'm already gearing up to do a fully vanilla split-case rebuild sooner rather than later, I noticed that nice, temping inspection cover on the rear housing, with the six bolts...
Inside, it's just a bearing and the end of the input shaft, and a gasket.
This got me thinking:
Would it be insane to:
1.) get a splined or keyed hole machined in the end of an OEM input shaft
2.) make a new 'cover' out of 1/2" aluminum on the drill press, with a bearing press-fit into a (neatly!) drilled hole in the middle and the same 6-bolt pattern around the edge
3.) find/modify/pay someone to machine a stubby little shaft that can press into the bearing, key into the t-case input shaft end, and have any number of types of couplers (gear cog, more splines, whatever) on the external side
4.) run a chain/shaft/etc. to wherever the ~9 inch x 13 inch motor fits best under a 60
This means the motor would be turning the same shaft as the transmission output, so you only have the two or more speeds of the t-case to change where the motor's torque/power RPMs are hitting. I'd rather have something like a version of Mark's Adapter that just has a big spur gear pressed onto the middle of the transmission input extension shaft, but I can't seem to come up with a good solution to how I'd make a whole custom bellhousing that can handle the thrust loads of what amounts to a custom transfer case in the middle of it (but that'd be my favorite solution, I think?). I know it could be done, but I can drill holes and saw aluminum plate a lot more confidently than I'm casting or welding anything at this point (not that that matters too much, since this is all hypothetical, too!).
So, yeah. Thoughts? I can share more on the actual characteristics of the motor(s)/batteries if that seems relevant, but just think 'somewhere between VW aircooled engine and 22r with a tuneup' in terms of the torque, power, and RPM range, for the ones that got me thinking about this when I found them on a less out-there bit of research for a smaller/sooner/realer EV conversion (hint: '87 Subaru GL).
), and I think I've convinced myself that it'd probably even qualify my 60 to park in EV charging spots (it'd legitimately be a plug-in hybrid, haha).So, I've been brainstorming how to get the motor input into the drivetrain.
Suffice it to say I thought of a bunch of goofy ways to do it (McMaster Carr chain cog + drill holes to match output flange on t-case and drive shaft at the yoke, mount motor parallel to rear shaft, run chain sideways to it), but since I'm already gearing up to do a fully vanilla split-case rebuild sooner rather than later, I noticed that nice, temping inspection cover on the rear housing, with the six bolts...
Inside, it's just a bearing and the end of the input shaft, and a gasket.
This got me thinking:
Would it be insane to:
1.) get a splined or keyed hole machined in the end of an OEM input shaft
2.) make a new 'cover' out of 1/2" aluminum on the drill press, with a bearing press-fit into a (neatly!) drilled hole in the middle and the same 6-bolt pattern around the edge
3.) find/modify/pay someone to machine a stubby little shaft that can press into the bearing, key into the t-case input shaft end, and have any number of types of couplers (gear cog, more splines, whatever) on the external side
4.) run a chain/shaft/etc. to wherever the ~9 inch x 13 inch motor fits best under a 60
This means the motor would be turning the same shaft as the transmission output, so you only have the two or more speeds of the t-case to change where the motor's torque/power RPMs are hitting. I'd rather have something like a version of Mark's Adapter that just has a big spur gear pressed onto the middle of the transmission input extension shaft, but I can't seem to come up with a good solution to how I'd make a whole custom bellhousing that can handle the thrust loads of what amounts to a custom transfer case in the middle of it (but that'd be my favorite solution, I think?). I know it could be done, but I can drill holes and saw aluminum plate a lot more confidently than I'm casting or welding anything at this point (not that that matters too much, since this is all hypothetical, too!).
So, yeah. Thoughts? I can share more on the actual characteristics of the motor(s)/batteries if that seems relevant, but just think 'somewhere between VW aircooled engine and 22r with a tuneup' in terms of the torque, power, and RPM range, for the ones that got me thinking about this when I found them on a less out-there bit of research for a smaller/sooner/realer EV conversion (hint: '87 Subaru GL).
