Dala's EVNX - LEAF powered!

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dala

Well-known member
Leaf Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2018
Messages
464
Location
Finland
So I'm building up a 1991 Nissan NX to be LEAF powered. Might be interesting to tag along? :)

In this episode I get the vehicle into the shop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSjmS2s5ITs
 
I experienced a moment of confusion. One of the higher ups at the agency where I worked for decades drove a Pulsar for quite a few years, and I was picturing that when I read "NX". Not much room in one of those for a Leaf drivetrain!
 
Well it is almost meant to confuse :D It is an extremely obscure car, mostly forgotten if it hadn't been for the SR20 engines. Before this one was stripped, I had it setup with an JDM SR20VET engine, making 350whp on a FWD system. It was also RAIN-waterinjected and ran E85. I have a goal to top the last build, let's see if I succeed!
 
very cool Dala!

I will definitely follow along. I am guessing you won't be using the stock VCM? Or have you been able to crack it to command more amps?

cheers
Marko
 
Parts are being purchased! In this episode I show what my usual approach is when it comes to finding salvage yard bits and pieces!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPlQUc2rKVM
 
So the motor that I ordered from Norway is finally here. In this short video, I proceed with tearing it down so that I can start to measure if it will be even possible to mate it with the SR6speed gearbox. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP8bPH0Euvs
 
Crazy stuff Dala. I did a i4 performance built Audi conversion into a 1990 Westfalia (took me about 2 years) so I truly feel your pain here. Very nice work. That's some serious kahunas making your own adaptor plate. Jeepers.

I missed how you were dealing with braking with no vacuum assist but I'm assuming you're using Leaf bits for this? Our climate here is very similar to yours, but my shop does have some nice heat and a hoist. I feel a bit spoiled.

Your battery swap video is quite inspiring as well :)

battery swap video
 
Thanks denwood! Yeah I bough a Hella vacuum pump to handle the power brakes, more on that in an upcoming video.

The adapter plate & clutch adapter is now aligned and permanently attached to each other. Feels good having this crucial step completed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p21poN02Lg
 
I'd call you a bit fearless. I can see perhaps a lathe and mill in your future if you plan to do more of these :)

It will be interesting to see how you manage the vacuum issue as well. Between the adaptor plate alignment and the "chuck" to combine the motor/trans, I hope there are no vibration issues to deal with. How did the machinist doing the "chuck" ensure that the splines were aligned to each other longitudinally? Easy to do on a 7 axis lathe, not so easy manually.
 
denwood said:
I'd call you a bit fearless. I can see perhaps a lathe and mill in your future if you plan to do more of these :)

It will be interesting to see how you manage the vacuum issue as well. Between the adaptor plate alignment and the "chuck" to combine the motor/trans, I hope there are no vibration issues to deal with. How did the machinist doing the "chuck" ensure that the splines were aligned to each other longitudinally? Easy to do on a 7 axis lathe, not so easy manually.

Yeah the local machinist has some Soviet era lathes and milling equipment, no clue how he managed :D Marine diesel conversions are quite common here, so the knowledge to build adapters seem ubiquitous.
 
So here it is. This is the most effort any video has taken so far, I had massive problems with the axle carrier bracket. So glad this is finished now and I can focus on the battery :D

https://youtu.be/vgdRvg0oUeU
 
I suspect you'd get your money's worth from a hoist Dala :) Again, nice work. I might have left the tank, but welded it in and cut the floor/top of tank off to give you even more space for the batteries. Just an idea.

So dumb question, but what is your motivation for doing this project? Are you planning on doing kits? For sure the project will need your CAN bus magic touch to power it up minus all the extra LEAF electronics.
 
Back
Top