Midwest EVs Latest EV Conversion Project
Our most recent EV conversion project is underway! We are honored to have the opportunity to convert a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette from its original 350 small block to a Cascadia Motion iM-225. Drew, our EV technician, has completed the disassembly process of removing the ICE components and is making progress on this project. Our team has also built a custom motor cradle, as well as rear battery packs for this EV conversion. Keep reading for all the details of this project!
The Start of a Custom Project
This project is unique in that the owner of the 1970 C3 Corvette wanted the capability to convert (or should we say reverse) the corvette back to an internal combustion engine later on if he wanted, if his kids wanted to convert it back, or if the value of the car would benefit from having the original internal combustion engine vehicle. The engine along with all of the components we won’t be using on the final project will be going back to the customer should he decide to reverse the EV conversion one day.
The customer also worked with Legacy EV to figure out what kit would be best for his vehicle and application process for the Corvette. Legacy EV is an Arizona based company that sells Electric Vehicle conversion kits and components, and also provides educational courses for those wanting to learn more about converting vehicles. Drew went through their EV Technician course – we’ll have a post about this up soon! With Midwest EV being an official authorized installer for Legacy EV, we then got a call about the project and got to work.
All the components we are using are supplied by Legacy EV, and our responsibility is to install all of the components and motor properly and to perform any additional upgrades necessary. These upgrades included converting the vacuum powered components to electric, and replacing all of the factory gauges with speed hut gauges that work off of CAN with the AEM software. We replaced the headlights and wiper motor, and also deleted the factory power steering system to install a micro-steer steering column from Flaming River giving the vehicle electric power steering. The Corvette has manual brakes, so there will be no need to run a vacuum pump with this conversion.
Corvette Change Details
The Corvette is getting a Cascadia Motion iM-225 motor mated to a Torque Trends single speed gear reduction box utilizing their electric park lock actuator. We are using the AEM EV combined charging unit (CCU) that incorporates the DC-DC converter and onboard charger into one unit instead of having two separate components. This helps with component placement and wiring aspects.
The Cascadia Motion Motor is relatively small compared to the stock internal combustion engine. We couldn’t mount the transmission to where the OEM transmission originally was because there isn’t enough clearance in the transmission tunnel, and if we put it all the way up towards the factory engine mounts, we would have excess driveshaft length that would be sticking into the motor compartment. To tackle this challenge we’ve built a custom motor cradle that ties the factory motor mount to the transmission mount and the motor is placed in between both. A custom drive shaft will be made to attach the gear reduction box to the factory rear end.
We are not making any permanent modifications to the C3 Corvette, meaning everything will be mounted off of factory mounting holes and everything will be able to be reversed without modification. The custom cradle was fabricated to fit inside the corvette engine bay so the EV motor would fit properly.
The C3 Corvette was not running and driving when Drew got his hands on the project, which left him unable to test some components before disassembly. He found that some of the original components were faulty and the car had components that ran off a vacuum tied to the original engine including the headlamp, wiper cowls, and HVAC controls. Instead of replacing the faulty components, he converted the headlamps, wiper cowl, and HVAC system to operate electronically, completely eliminating the vacuum system.
What’s Next?
Next up, Drew will be mapping out where the battery packs need to go, installing the custom motor cradle, and more! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the progress of the 1970 Chevrolet Corvette EV Conversion!
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