Change of Plans
The coupe was begging for updates. Disassembly began in November, 2018 with the intention of upgrading the driveline to a modern early 1990s vintage BMW fuel injected 3.5 liter M30B35 and 5 speed manual transmission.
After acquiring a new motor and trans, I ran across a guy named Paul Dexter who was converting his 3.0 CS to electric using a Tesla motor and batteries. This was inspiring.
Everyone does the 3.5/manual swap but this was truly different. I've always liked the idea of a clean running electric classic car and the coupe seemed it has the right temperament to become an EV -- it isn't a snarling muscle car like my Camaro or a powerful sports car like a Ferrari. The BMW E9 coupes are elegant autobahn cruisers with gorgeous, elegant proportions.
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| BMW M30B35 Engine all ready to go into my coupe. Or not. |
Fortunately, Paul lives nearby in Orange County so I made an appointment to check out his progress. His car wasn't on the road yet, but he was spinning the tires in the air with a Tesla large motor package and the batteries in a rack on the shop floor. It was still a bit of a science project but it was promising.
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| Tesla Model S batteries -- not yet in Paul's car |
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| Very much a proof of concept -- that's a Tesla Model S motor/inverter/differential assembly seen below all the wiring. You know, where the trunk used to be. |
Equally interesting, Paul also ran into more rust in his coupe than expected and a talented sheetmetal guy, Tyler, on staff. While my car was much less rusty than Paul's had been, combining rust repair with EV conversion seemed logical. Paul liked the idea that I wanted to keep more original BMW components (brakes, steering, seats, etc) on my car than he had done with his. Also, Paul needed help with programming the instrumentation in the car, which happens to be my forte.
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| Paul Dexter and Tyler Rivera -- my new partners on this project |
We struck a deal. Together, we'd fix my rust, mount the Tesla driveline, and convert my coupe to be the second Coupe Sport Electric (CSE), while also working to finish his.
