We want to give a quick update on the 1970 Corvette conversion. Since our initial post, the motor cradle has been completed, painted, and installed into the vehicle with the motor, gear reduction box, and custom driveshaft.
The rear frame rails were reinforced to help support the additional weight of the rear battery boxes. After welding in the reinforcements, the rear frame rail sections were painted and undercoated. The engine bay was also completely stripped and repainted in chassis black. A ceramic heater element has also been installed into the new HVAC unit.
Working with fabricators from our sister company, Motion Products, Inc., the custom battery boxes were fabricated for the Corvette. Drew mapped out where each module would fit most efficiently in the vehicle taking wiring and coolant routing into consideration. There are three battery boxes, one will be placed above the rear frame rails where the factory fuel tank was located with six 4P3S Kore power modules, another battery box will be placed below the rear frame rails with twelve 4P3S Kore power modules, and the last battery box will be installed in the engine bay with eighteen 4P3S Kore power modules creating a 400V nominal battery pack. Fully charged, this battery pack will sit at 468v and be able to discharge all the way down to 302v. Each module has a 212Ah capacity making a 99 kWh pack!
Custom bus bars were modeled in house and 3D printed for test fitting purposes to connect the battery modules in series inside the boxes. The part files and prints were then sent over to our sister company, WJW Metal Fabrication, to be water jet out of 110 Copper. The bus bars were then nickel plated by another sister company of ours, The Chrome Shop, for corrosion resistance.
Now that all the components have arrived and been mounted to the vehicle, we will begin the wiring process of the conversion! This project is really coming together, and we are excited to share more in the coming months. You can also follow our journey on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.
Midwest EV 