Electric Land Rover Series 3 for sale

At the moment I am working on developing prepared EV conversion kits for various cars. One of them is for the Electric Land Rover Series 3. Together with VinCE (Vintage Cars Electrified) and Moorfortheweekend I am doing this for both Range Rover and Land Rover. For now there will be two main strategies. The first one is to use a Tesla motor and power the front and rear axle directly. In the second approach we will keep the original transfer case and gearbox. Using this approach with the motor in front of the gearbox will maintain the true off-road capabilities of the Land Rover. At the same time you also keep some of the noise. But a Series III isn’t known for its silent ride anyway. What you will get is flexibility and loads of torque since you still will have the gears including even low and high gear on top of the significantly higher torque at low RPM.

Our first car to gain hands on experience will be a 1978 Land Rover Series 3 and we will attach a motor from a Nissan Leaf to the original gearbox. While the car will be up for sale once it is ready we thought, why not put if up for sale now already. That allows the new owner to have a say in the design choices we make in terms of features and perhaps some other tweaks. Perhaps even range though we have some thoughts on batteries to be used already.

Efficient and silent 80 kW motor

The motor we will use is a 80 kW (about 110 HP) motor from a Nissan Leaf. The power available from that motor is much more than the 75 HP the original 2286 cc petrol engine used to have. Also keep in mind that the electric motor has all of its 254 Nm torque available from 0 RPM. In practice we probably even tame that a bit to ensure the drivetrain can handle it.

We will eliminate the clutch and thus the possibility to shift while driving. In practice this is not an issue since the motor is expected to produce enough torque to drive off in third gear or second gear.

Nissan Leaf motor and original Land Rover gearbox

Compared to the original petrol engine this motor has an amazing power to weight ratio. Once it is in, there is plenty of space remaining for other components.

Nissan Leaf motor in Land Rover Series 3

Batteries and range

We intend to use batteries from Volkswagen and have good access to sourcing the right batteries. Expected consumption for the below calculations is 220 Wh/km but this is a conservative estimate. Especially when driving at lower average speed and warm days this consumption is lower and the expected range goes up. Currently we have two options in mind:

  1. Capacity 43 kWh (usable around 38 kWh) gives a range of about 170 km
  2. Capacity 55 kWh (usable around 49 kWh) gives a range of about 225 km

Of course subject to change depending on the available volume and space in the car while maintaining the proper weight balance and ground clearance.

Further EV details

In terms of user interface we intend to keep it simple. Just a meter that gives you information about the state of charge (%) and a light that comes on when the state of charge gets low. Further details might be made available via a phone app but that is to be discussed later.

Of course we will add an onboard charger to charge the batteries at home or at a regular charging station. We could even add DC fast charging (both CHAdeMO or CCS) but given the characteristics of this car it is not likely to be needed and adding value.

Furthermore we install a DC/DC converter that ensures 12V is available since we do not have a generator / alternator anymore. Of course a battery management system will be added to monitor the status and safety of the batteries. Finally a heater will be installed that produces warm air directly using the high voltage battery as a power source.

High end Land Rover Series 3 restoration

Restoration

As you can see, the Series 3 is already being restored at a high quality level by Maarten. As we go along this will progress as well. We will at the same time implement high-tech electric car technology while at the same time preserve the original details of the car.

Series III EV conversion

Power steering and power brakes is to be decided and can be added if requested. We can either have no power brakes, keep the original brake booster and add a vacuum pump or switch to silent electric power brakes. For power steering we can either implement electric power steering or hydraulic power steering.

Co-creating an electric Land Rover Series 3

Maarten Moor (Moorfortheweekend) and Lars Rengersen (EVcreate) have teamed up in co-creating a full electric Land Rover Series 3. By buying this car before it is finalized and build, we invite you to join us so we can build the car that suits you.

In case you are not a typical early-adopter, you can contact VinCE (Vintage Cars Electrified). VinCE is a collaboration between Maarten Moor and Frank Manders and will be providing turn-key Land Rover and Range Rover conversions supported by EVcreate. In case you are interested in converting a car yourself, please signup for the EVcreate Land Rover / Range Rover conversion kit newsletter.

Is this your future electric Series III?

Please contact us if you are interested. Given the nature of this project we prefer a buyer who lives relatively close (ie in The Netherlands). The car has a Dutch registration (currently inactive) from 1982 and will be delivered with the required E registration via RDW inspection.

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