Nissan Frontier EV Conversion

[J1000]

Battery boxes fitted to the truck and they barely fit! Literally less than 1/2" of clearance, but clearance is clearance!

Next up, filling the boxes with the battery cells and completing the HV wiring.

 

[J1000]

In the final stages of this build now. The main high voltage battery is installed and sealed up. All the major systems are buttoned up and back together.

Just need to get the interior put back together and figure out the bed lift system. The bench seat is getting reupholstered and having heating elements installed in it. Once it's back in the truck we can test drive it!

Wired the LED driving lights to come on with the high beams:

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

Look into low riders and how they did bed lifts back in the day...

 

[J1000]

Look into low riders and how they did bed lifts back in the day...

I'm hoping to use a 12v linear actuator vs. installing an air system, but right now anything is on the table. Would be cool to have hydraulics and have a real dump bed but it's not in the cards.

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

I'm hoping to use a 12v linear actuator vs. installing an air system, but right now anything is on the table. Would be cool to have hydraulics and have a real dump bed but it's not in the cards.

no air or hydro. i was thinking more along the lines of something like a piano hinge and some gas struts and just manual power...

Just my thought.... build looks great

 

[J1000]

no air or hydro. i was thinking more along the lines of something like a piano hinge and some gas struts and just manual power...

Just my thought.... build looks great

Good idea, I thought about gas struts as well. That's probably the simplest and best.

 

[J1000]

Dave got some new wheels and tires. 16" alloys with some low rolling resistance Continental tires. Also got some bed struts installed. Thanks for the idea @Notyourmomslx450 I was still thinking about electric actuators but your post made me realize to just keep it simple and use pneumatic struts.

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

Awesome!
I didn’t see this until after I asked on IG.
KISS is one of the best methods some times.

 

[J1000]

She's alive! Wow it drives amazing!!! 4th gear is functional. 3rd gear is fun. 2nd gear is a riot. 1st gear is tractionless.

I only drove it for a few laps around the private warehouse area. Done maybe 40 or 45 MPH maximum. Speedometer isn't working. We missed our DMV appointment this week but are scheduled next week.

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

She's alive! Wow it drives amazing!!! 4th gear is functional. 3rd gear is fun. 2nd gear is a riot. 1st gear is tractionless.

I only drove it for a few laps around the private warehouse area. Done maybe 40 or 45 MPH maximum. Speedometer isn't working. We missed our DMV appointment this week but are scheduled next week.

Awesome! Job well done Jimmy! I want to see EV burn out videos!!

 

[J1000]

Awesome! Job well done Jimmy! I want to see EV burn out videos!!

Thank you! I am really proud of how it turned out. Still a few loose ends to tie up. I think I need to put the old wheels back on and do a burn out, indeed

 

[60wag]

Wow, that looks great! - way better than that stainless steel door stop you are parked next to. I just noticed the crazy windshield wiper on the Tesla. WTF?

 

[nakman]

Wow that's amazing Jimmy... yeah we need to see the burn out for sure, dang.

 

[J1000]

Thank you guys! Funny fact, the Frontier has a larger bed than the Cybertruck does. Frontier is 6'4"x4'6" and Cybertruck is 6'x4'

I got the video done of our fist test drives this week:

 

[Notyourmomslx450]

Will the brake pump always be that loud?
Does it have a manual gear box in it still??

 

[J1000]

The brake pump is louder in the video than in real life but it's still annoying. I worked yesterday to dampen it a bit, it was just bolted to the firewall. Also the relay as well clicks loudly. I've been working on it and got some parts coming to solve it because it's so annoying and really takes away from the rest of the vehicle.

And yes it still has the 5-speed transmission.