Electric M37

[Johnbyrdgates]

The cab goes back on this weekend if all goes well. Then I can hook up the accelerator, start switch, gauges and lights. I still haven’t pulled the trigger on buying the Tesla modules and their battery management system, the charger or the associated wiring because I’m still learning about them.

 

[Travlr]

The cab goes back on this weekend if all goes well. Then I can hook up the accelerator, start switch, gauges and lights. I still haven’t pulled the trigger on buying the Tesla modules and their battery management system, the charger or the associated wiring because I’m still learning about them.

Gotta say, as a newbie here and new to owning three M37s, considering a restomod drivetrain swap, I never thought about an eletric motor. But it is a fascinating idea and this thread has me intrigued. I'll be lurking to see where it all ends up.

 

[G744]

Too bad you'll lose the 24V system.

It was the lifeblood of the truck's engineering.

Dennis

 

[Bill Nutting]

Any updates? This is one very interesting project…

 

[Derrickl112]

.

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

I’m just back from a month and change out in Oregon/CA. I’m getting ready to order the batteries and battery management system. Prices of the Tesla modules haven’t budged, so I guess I’m going to spend some serious money now. That ought to motivate me!

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

Too bad you'll lose the 24V system.

It was the lifeblood of the truck's engineering.

Dennis

Dennis,
I agree. But look at it this way: now the truck is going to be 140V!

 

[sigo]

Great work John. I really enjoy seeing your original idea get closer to fruition.

I’m reminded of another vintage MV electric conversion I read about awhile back. Unfortunately the site I had bookmarked no longer exists, but here’s a brief write-up of M38 Mike’s Electro-Willys. I can’t recall if he’s a member here or not.

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

Great work John. I really enjoy seeing your original idea get closer to fruition.

I’m reminded of another vintage MV electric conversion I read about awhile back. Unfortunately the site I had bookmarked no longer exists, but here’s a brief write-up of M38 Mike’s Electro-Willys. I can’t recall if he’s a member here or not.

Sigo,
Thanks for that link! The M38 went with lead-acid batteries which, while much easier to work with, take up a lot of space and weigh too much for decent range in a larger vehicle like mine. Honestly, the batteries are the biggest challenge in my conversion. Lithium-ion batterie, while much lighter and more energy dense, require special charging parameters that are different than lead-acid. In the case of the Tesla batteries I plan to use, overcharging, freezing and over- discharging would lead to serious problems, so elaborate battery management systems need to be wired in. Now I’m learning about CANbus (not the weed) communication protocol.
john

 

[John Mc]

Any updates on how this is going?

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

Any updates on how this is going?

I’m waiting on my Tesla battery modules (they’re coming from CA). In the meantime, I’ve cut into my trucks wiring harness to rid it of the starter, generator, voltage regulator leads and replaced the heavy gauge battery wire with 8 gauge. I’m making a fuse panel for all the now 12V stuff and making contactor boxes to house all the control wiring and elements (contactors, resistors, fuses, relays) that will sit in the engine compartment and need to keep dry.
im slowly gaining more confidence in electrical connections and think I’ll be ready to connect the Tesla battery modules when they arrive. Michael Bream of EVWest has been very helpful with his vast experience converting classic vehicles from gas to electric.

 

[Mullaney]

I’m waiting on my Tesla battery modules (they’re coming from CA). In the meantime, I’ve cut into my trucks wiring harness to rid it of the starter, generator, voltage regulator leads and replaced the heavy gauge battery wire with 8 gauge. I’m making a fuse panel for all the now 12V stuff and making contactor boxes to house all the control wiring and elements (contactors, resistors, fuses, relays) that will sit in the engine compartment and need to keep dry.
im slowly gaining more confidence in electrical connections and think I’ll be ready to connect the Tesla battery modules when they arrive. Michael Bream of EVWest has been very helpful with his vast experience converting classic vehicles from gas to electric.

.
I happened to be sitting in traffic and noticed the "T" logo on the back of a vehicle. Nothing special about it whatsoever, but as I sat there waiting I spotted words on the right rear DUAL MOTOR.

Picture (below)



Guessing that is "special"?

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

.
I happened to be sitting in traffic and noticed the "T" logo on the back of a vehicle. Nothing special about it whatsoever, but as I sat there waiting I spotted words on the right rear DUAL MOTOR.

Picture (below)

View attachment 852478

Guessing that is "special"?

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

Tesla drive systems are a whole other animal from my set-up. I’m driving the electric motors on my truck through the original transmission, transfer case and differentials in order to maintain granny gearing in the woods. When Tesla talks of dual motors, they’re talking direct coupled motor/gear reducers with half shafts to the wheels, one front and one rear. So all wheel synchronized drive. Not sure if special is the right word. Maybe out of my league is a better fit.

 

[John Mc]

I'm curious about the decision to keep the transmission. Couldn't the electric motor just turn a driveshaft going directly to the transfer case?

Eliminating the transmission would be the equivalent of driving in 4th gear all the time. (Minus the friction and weight of the transmission.) You'd still have some low gear capability from the transfer case, and save a bit of weight and complexity.

Is being continually in 4th gear just too high a gear, even with the electric motor?

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

I'm curious about the decision to keep the transmission. Couldn't the electric motor just turn a driveshaft going directly to the transfer case?

Eliminating the transmission would be the equivalent of driving in 4th gear all the time. (Minus the friction and weight of the transmission.) You'd still have some low gear capability from the transfer case, and save a bit of weight and complexity.

Is being continually in 4th gear just too high a gear, even with the electric motor?

John Mc,
Thats a good question for which I haven’t a good answer. If this were a Volkswagen, Porsche, or other vehicle for which kits are readily available, I would have scrapped the transmission and gone with a two speed unit that you can get for those cars. I clearly won’t need all the gears for daily driving but one of my fondest memories of this truck is it’s ability to go so slow that you can use it like a tractor. When I was a kid, we pulled a hay wagon with it and let it drive itself while we tossed hay bales onto the wagon and stacked them, occasionally correcting the steering wheel of the truck. I didn’t want to design that capability out.
The electric motor controllers have an “idle” setting that will allow for low speed idling on the narrow hiking paths where I collect firewood in the local woods. The forest fire department encourages the removal of all the recently dead oak and ash.
As for gearing, time will tell. My guess is that I’ll mostly use third gear around town and fourth on the highway. Reverse will be either through reverse in the transmission or via a switch that tells the electric motors to turn the other direction…

 

[John Mc]

John Mc,
Thats a good question for which I haven’t a good answer. If this were a Volkswagen, Porsche, or other vehicle for which kits are readily available, I would have scrapped the transmission and gone with a two speed unit that you can get for those cars. I clearly won’t need all the gears for daily driving but one of my fondest memories of this truck is it’s ability to go so slow that you can use it like a tractor. When I was a kid, we pulled a hay wagon with it and let it drive itself while we tossed hay bales onto the wagon and stacked them, occasionally correcting the steering wheel of the truck. I didn’t want to design that capability out.
The electric motor controllers have an “idle” setting that will allow for low speed idling on the narrow hiking paths where I collect firewood in the local woods. The forest fire department encourages the removal of all the recently dead oak and ash.
As for gearing, time will tell. My guess is that I’ll mostly use third gear around town and fourth on the highway. Reverse will be either through reverse in the transmission or via a switch that tells the electric motors to turn the other direction…

Great image there... I tend to think of my truck as a "fast tractor" (it beats thinking of it as a slow truck).

If you do electric reversing, you may want to limit the top speed. Scary to think of someone expecting it to work like a normal vehicle, and then find out it will go full speed in reverse.

I'm not familiar enough with the transmission to know how it will handle reversing the input shaft rotation. Is there anything to worry about there? (For example, will lube still circulate normally?)

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

Great image there... I tend to think of my truck as a "fast tractor" (it beats thinking of it as a slow truck).

If you do electric reversing, you may want to limit the top speed. Scary to think of someone expecting it to work like a normal vehicle, and then find out it will go full speed in reverse.

I'm not familiar enough with the transmission to know how it will handle reversing the input shaft rotation. Is there anything to worry about there? (For example, will lube still circulate normally?)

Good point about high speed reverse! I’ll have to dig into that. The transmission on the M37 is pretty robust and when I had it apart for rebuilding I was struck by how symmetrical it was inside. I think it’ll go in either direction in either gear. I have no desire to reverse at 50 mph though…

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Good point about high speed reverse! I’ll have to dig into that. The transmission on the M37 is pretty robust and when I had it apart for rebuilding I was struck by how symmetrical it was inside. I think it’ll go in either direction in either gear. I have no desire to reverse at 50 mph though…

I have a railroad truck with a special reverse gear, it will do 45 in reverse... pretty unsettling when I forget it is engaged and I go to back up. It is pretty weird even on the tracks.

 

[Johnbyrdgates]

I have a railroad truck with a special reverse gear, it will do 45 in reverse... pretty unsettling when I forget it is engaged and I go to back up. It is pretty weird even on the tracks.

Whoa, Ferroequinologist! That‘d be handy for heading off a head on!