Electric VW Beetle - Bolt-in kit 

The Beetle is a perfect choice for an EV conversion. Having a bolt in system is amazing.

Great seeing the electric car conversion for such a classic. My first car was a 1965 Mustang convertible but my parents, brother and later myself all had VW Beetles. Father had a 1967, my brother had a 1967 also and I had a 1969 a few years later as a second car. From 1970 to 1974 my parents also had a 1970 VW camper at the same time as their 1967 Beetle. Both were red so they got personalized license plates for them. The Beetle's plate read, "RED BUG" and the camper's was "BED BUG". They were pretty cute parked next to each other in our carport.

My brother was given a '68 VW Beetle at 18 and amazingly still has it. He's, now, 60. His first car.

Passed my driving test on a triumph toledo, and my first car was an ex police panda Morris 1000, which I had to change the whole car from positive earth to negative earth to install a new car radio.

Hello from Canada. My first vehicle was a 1972 GMC pickup truck. Still have the old girl, lots of work been done to her. Was looking into going electric. Just need to win the lottery.

My very first car was a 1972 Chevelle, bought it in 1986 when I was 17. I’m 54 now and still have it!

Ferdinand Porsche would have loved this, he had a passion for electric tanks and vehicles so this would be a very sympathetic evolution .

I have watched most of your videos and the one thing that really stands out for me is the absolute attention to detail.

Bought my first car 1969 beetle when I was 16 and still have her, I’m 44 now 😊

Dude, that’s pretty amazing you kept your car, that’s OG stuff. My 1st car was a 76 mustang, cobra. Made me cry more than once. That’s a sweet ride right there.

I still have my 1960 beetle since I was 14 and am now 52. This kit interests me, very much.

Datsun tripple S ;-) love your content- based in south africa, we are so far behind the curve on tech this side of the world....

Thank you, very well presented and full of fascinating info about one of my favourite cars. I learned to drive and passed my test in a Beetle. Soon after that I bought my first car, brand new, in 1967 - a Fiat 500F for £417. That is still my all time favourite and I hid FIAMM air horns behind the front bumper! Most excellent!!

I want one! My 73 thing would be so happy with that conversion

VW Beetle has that special place for me, one of my first vehicles and like you restored, modified many

Here in California there is a shop which does these conversions but it also has a long wait list. Is there a program which these shops are looking to set up to franchise with more shops so that these kits can be used to convert more vehicles? There is clearly plenty of demand and it would be great to preserve these classic cars.

Wow, what a well designed system! Please hurry with the DIY version!

my first car was a 72 super beetle, blue with a white stripe on the door. loved that car... got rear ended and put the motor in the back seat.. had a few more over the years, beetles and busses

Look forward to hearing about conversions here in Sydney Australia. Well done. Carl

In 1972 I bought a 1971 Super Beetle and drove it until 1992. At the end it was a Flintstone car and it really deserved much better than it got from me. It took me all over Texas and then to North Carolina, and then out to Idaho and Montana, and finally back to South Carolina. The first engine was good for 200k on the odometer but that was in the first 10 years. Really would love to get another beetle and electrify it. Great video and I look forward to more.

My wife and I have been talking about Beetle conversions as a very cool project. Great video!

Fantastic! I'm about 10 years older than you and my first car was a 1964 Beetle that I bought for $100 in 1977. I too loved that car but where I lived in Maine they salted the roads heavily in winter and the car was a rust bucket. You could see the road going by underneath. I had no access to welding equipment so I riveted and bolted patches on to patches to keep from falling through. I used to keep an ice scraper handy to scrape the INSIDE of the windshield and oh lord did I have to dress warmly. That "hot air" heater didn't do much at -20F/-29C. That said, that car could plow through any snow and I even took it off roading a few times. Sadly, it finally broke apart and got turned into tuna cans or something. Videos like this make me crave a restored electric one but for now my Ford Ranger conversion is far more practical. Keep up the good work!

I owned a 1963 Beetle in 1971 when stationed in Furth Germany. Loved that car. So good in the snow and mud. Wonderful gas mileage. Don't remember the number now, but we were limited to the number of liters we could buy per month. Had a book of coupons to buy gas. Fun car and beautiful country.

My first car: 1969 Fiat Spyder. Nice looking small convertible. I bought it for $250 USD at 16 and proceeded to waste most of my hard-earned income until 18. We did a frame off restoration with a crash course in Italian automotive vocabulary. No matter what carburetor we installed on that small engine, it never ran correctly. For me, I’d love to have an electric conversion of that car, speeding around the mountains in Montana during the summer. Thank you for your video. I visit your website once a month to see what’s happening at ECC. Maybe a classic conversion is in my future!

Thanks for the run through on your EV conversion. Answering your poll question: First car, bought as a 16 year old know-nothing was a 1965 180 hp Corvair with a blown engine. I replaced that with a junk yard 110 hp unit (I think). Ran that until it blew up, then got a '67 type 1 with a bus engine, finding out the push rod tube seals in a VW held up much better than the Chevrolet counterpart. That said, if I were to EV convert a vehicle I would choose a second gen Corvair. Nothing compares to one's first love.

awesome conversion kit. I still have my ' 74 I haven't driven it in about 3 years and am totally hyped on the thought of a vw bug KITTT!!!

Thank you for a well thought out unit, my first Beetle was a 66, engine was modified to a 1600 with two Weber's.

I'm in Australia and sat here patiently waiting (and saving) for a self-install kit for my 1976 bay window camper, so you know - hurry up lol

my first car was also a 1968 VW Beetle, actually belonged to my mother, was lowered with four stabilizers and belted tires, but only 40 hp, yes, that saved my life

Thank you, for the video. In Brazil it was produced untill 1986, and then again between 1993-1996 (curiously known as "Itamar", after the president Itamar Franco). Greetings from Brazil.

What is the range capacity

First car was a beetle paid £50 and completely restored it, started with removing the rusted body off the chassis and restored the chassis gearbox and Engine before sourcing a rust free body and bolted that to the now pristine chassis! Body worked the “new” shell and resprayed the entire car myself, new wiring and interior a big job for 16/17 year old but boy did I learn a thing or two! Now in my fifties and never forgotten my first car

Can't wait to watch an install video on these new components!!

My first car (I am 65 years old) was a perfect 1957 Buick Special two-door. I had to rebuild the transmission to get it going. Love it!

My first car was a 65 Beetle. I drove it many places in the woods where 4x4's feared to tread! On one occasion a wheel came off while I was driving on the free way - it did give some warning , however , so I was almost stopped when it dropped. ( had to use one lug- bolt from each of the other wheels to drive to home!)

1st car 1970 bug, 1959 ghia, 1964 steel sunroof bug, 1975 bug, 1971 Westfilia, 1971 911 Targa, 1964 Crew cab, and since 1995 currently owned 1963 sunroof bug. Love them.

My first car was a '65 beetle. Never left me stranded. It came to me from my new sister in law in 1972. She had entered it in the "Herbie the Love Bug" contest Walt Disney held to pick the car used in the movie. She had photos of her driving it through Disneyland in Anaheim in the parade Disney held for all the contestants who could/would come to it. I had nothing but air cooled VWs for the first 40 years I drove, worked at a machine shop that had specialized in them for 30 years. I rebuilt a couple dozen engines, did everything except the insides of the transmissions. Including paint, upholstery, glass, electrical, you name it, I did it! Almost everything stock.

First car was a '76 Firebird, last of the 2 headlight ones until the '82 pop-up headlight models. Then I had a '72 Triumph Spitfire and a '80 Porsche 924. The Spitfire was the one I loved and lived with the most... in fact I am restoring another one right now!

My first car was a 1964 VW Bug that I bought for $300 dollars in 1989 at the age of 15 . . . I still have that car! I could never get rid of it! I love that thing!

First car was a 1964 VW Beetle and I loved every bit of it! Seems I had a flair for getting it up on two wheels every so often. For real tight parking spots I would get the rear end into the spot and go up front to pick it up and scoot it over into place!

The Golf MK2 I've a big attachment to. A friends family had one and it was the most fun I've ever had riding in as a passenger. Been obsessed over them since.

So impressive! That kit looks like a dream to install.

My mom had a 67 bug that I learned to drive on. Then I went over to England for a couple years and drove a 76 BMW 320i. Then after coming back, I bough my 66 bug and drove it from Washington State down to Southern California. Put in a brand new motor and transaxle and then ran out of money. Drove it back to Washington State and took it to college. Was at the bottom of a snowy hill and was sitting still and ended up getting hit by three cars in a row. Pulled the rear fender out, kicked out the big dent in the door and kept driving it for a while. Sold it to a person who really just wanted the motor and cashed the three insurance checks and basically broke even. Will always have VWs in my veins and love that people are bringing them into the present with electrification. Hope you put in brighter lights than the 6 volt ones my car had. Put a 12 volt system in with the new motor because the original lights were like driving with two Zippo lighters stuck out in front of the car.

My first car was a 1973 super beetle. I wish I 'd never given it away. I have a 1970 beetle based Manta Montage kit car I would love to convert to electric. Your conversion kit looks comprehensive and amazing!

My first car was a 1968 Beetle. Wish I still had it as I now work for a company that produces classic car interiors, Beetles included!!!!!!!

Still got my beetle is got when I was 16.. 2 years till I'm 50 😂❤❤

First thanks for the vid, worked on a slew of old bugs and 1954 porshes back in the 70's. I drove a new 72 bug with a 36 ford front end fiberglass. I used to keep my old laundry bag full of my camping gear tucked in behind the fake grill . It helped hold down the front end and I figured it for a little more cush before the gas tank got pushed into my lap in a crash. My next car was a used 72' super bug with air conditioning. That was a trip (the A/C).

What a beaut of a beetle! You and your team are doing great work. First car I bought was a 1978 Alfa Alfetta.

Great video. My first car was a 1975 BMW 2002 in Alpine White with the round ‘pie chart’ rear lights. My Uncle bought it new in Cyprus when he was with RAF. He had a company car when he returned to the UK and I bought it from him when I was 16... Loved that car. So many good memories and lots of adventures. Fast, comfy and not bad on fuel. Girls liked it too.

My first car is a 1973 Super Beetle; I say "is" because I don't yet have my license, but my dad and I are fixing it up and hopefully it'll be ready to drive by the time I am too! Just started putting in new headliner the other day, it's such a cool project and I intend to keep it as long as I can!

My first car was given to me by my Dad in 1973-74 (3rd year in college). It was a 1964 Chevy II Nova, 194cu inline 6, single barrel Rochester. Back then regular gasoline as ~94 octane and I got it up over 90 mph following a faster car back up to college. Three on the tree, converted to a Hurst shifter on the floor. Bench seats front and back. Seatbelts added after my Dad bought it. Finally sold it after I got married when we converted to a station wagon with an automatic. I wish I still had it because it had tons of room and felt good on the road. It'd be a perfect conversion car with tons of room under the hood and plenty in the trunk (rear boot). I imagine it would need a lot of frame conversion along with brakes. If I remember correctly, the rear used leaf springs (could be wrong). The car I really wanted was a late 60's Austin Healey, the incline 6cyl, triple carb version. Back then I could have gotten one for $3-4K but now they're going for around $60-$90K restored. As for your installation kits, I really like them and can't wait for the DIY kits although even then they would be too expensive. I really want the EV industry to put some money into EV conversion kits for older American cars and trucks along with select Japanese cars and truck (mainly the early 2010's Tacoma). The older American cars and trucks had classic lines while the earlier Japanese cars were smaller than the big pigs they are now. My 2013 double cab Tacoma is almost a mini-truck in todays truck market but it's the perfect size. Pull the underpowered 6cyl engine, transmission and transfer case plus differential and drop in two Tesla motors with plenty of batteries under the bed and it would be perfect.

My first car was a 1963 VW Beetle. I got it when I was 17. I am close to 50 now and I still have that car.

Sweet! My first car was a 1965 Chevy impala tank. However, in 1987 I bought a 1968 Beetle while stationed in Japan off an Air Force member for $500. I shipped it to US when I transferred and enjoyed it for a few more years then sold it for $1800. 🙋🏼

My first car was a 71 Citroen GS. I’ve recently acquired an ‘86 GSA for restoration. I have a Nissan Leaf power train sat on the bench next to it. Following your mantra of converting a low weight, aerodynamic classic, it seems like a good choice. Drawing inspiration from your builds.

My first car was a 62 bug so low it would take out the road dots..... LOVED that car. I also had a 65 bug after that one.

Probably the best car for electric conversion. The engines were never the most reliable on long trips, but great for urban driving.

I still own (46+ years later) my 1958 BSA B33 500cc single motorcycle I grabbed in my last year at university. It’s traveled with me from the UK to California USA.

I still have my first car; a 1967 Mustang Coupe, bought in when I was 21, 22 years ago. I am now converting it from a straight six to 302 V8. Good stuff 🛠👍

I took my drivers test in a VW. I acquired an VW '57 with a sun roof in '77 for cheap ($50) and used it when I as doing a teachers training. Had to hold in the third gear on the climb over Vancouver Island. It got pulled off the road due to rust and sold for $50. I kept it alive with "VW Repair for the Complete Idiot". I think that was what the book was called.. With these electrification kits now available I have casually been trying to source one. Interestingly the vans seem to be easier to find then the bugs. The old buds have become collector items. Thanks, I really enjoyed your video.

i was looking for 2002wrx,...now i want a beetle what sorcery is this/

I had my Beetle when I was 19 and I still own it. I’m 50 now. It’s a 1971 1302s model.

My first car was a used 1966 Karmen Ghia. Loved it, but it was fairly high maintenance. I saw an electric conversion of a Ghia on RU-vid some time ago. That would be a great fun car!

Nice, my first car when I turned 18y in ‘92 was a VW 1303 from ‘72. When I was a kid my parrents had a VW K70L

Well done video presentation - clear + precise information. Nice looking Oval as well.

First car was a Fiat 128. I wanted a Beetle, but you must have had them all! Really enjoyed the video. Thanks for the effort in putting it together.

Thanks for doing these videos. I love the old air cooled VW's, about 30 years ago my wife and I had a white 69 beetle that we loved, unfortunately we had to get rid of it due to rust and essentially being unsafe to drive anymore :(. We lived in Colorado back then and I used to take that car on Jeep trails up in the mountains, that car would go everywhere! I'm so happy to see companies like yours bringing them back to life again! Cheers!

My first car was a 69 vw beetle. That car has traveled with me from state to state for 24 years now.

Love your channel, my first car was also a 68 bug. Wish I could say I still had it. I’m just a few years old than you.

49 here, still have my ‘74 that I got when I was 17. Have had it for 32 years now. Needs restored.

Lovely paint job on that car. My first _gallon_ of petrol cost me 40p. I could fill my bike's tank for a quid.

My first car was a 1955 Studebaker Champion flathead six, 2 door standard, 2 tone white top and yellow body. My family drove Studes and Edsels.

Great video and conversion. My first car was a '63 Beetle when I was 15 bought for 45 quid with some crash damage. I spent a couple of years converting it to a GP Speedshop LDV beach buggy in metalflake red. Wish I still had now (50 years later) to convert to electric with one of your kits. That would be so cool.

Hi. Great video. My first car I bought two months after getting my drivers license at 16 was a blue 1964 Beetle. That car eventually died on my way back from university piled to the gills with 3-4 suitcases, 13 boxes, skis, a bicycle and my guitar. I sold it to a garage for CAD50 which was enough to pay for a Greyhound Bus to take me home which was 350 miles further down the road. But in 1978 I bought a 1962 Cabriolet owned by a little old lady who only drove it in the summer. That car was fully restored in 1995-1999 and I still have it. It is mostly original including the rebuilt engine and transmission and is stored in a house I bought in 2000 to store the car (since I have not lived in Canada since 1992). It sits in a Carcoon and I fire it up every time I get a chance to visit my home town - every 2-3 years. The electric conversion is interesting for the future but maybe a bit early for this car that still runs great. Regards.

Wow, this is amazing! As plug and play as it gets.

I had a Beetle for my first car. My Mum bought it brand new in 1974. She gave it to me when I was 15 and I've owned it until just a few months ago... When I gave it to my daughter for her 21st birthday 🙂❤️

Nicely engineered Gents, I would have loved to see that car finished and running with a test drive. 👍

My first car was a Austen A40 Summerset, which I restored when I was 16 (1961). I lived in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia).

Great video! I too have owned several VW Beetles and found this video quite intriguing. Watching this video got my mind to thinking what other cars could be converted. Suddenly it hit me, the Chevrolet Corvair. I also owned two of these. The Corvair had a very large and very square front trunk area and engine compartment. Granted there aren't as many survivors out there which is too bad and they received an ill-gotten bad rap from mister Nader.

Really learned something today. Thanks for the insight of your wisdom. First car was a 1960 bmw SA 2000. Wish your kit was available to the public, do believe it is good enough.

I spent a lot of time in a hot rod beetle in high school,a perfect electric conversion, i would love to see this done on a mini cooper.

I've never seen someone who's so very British. You should be in history films bro!

Hi Richard, great video and info as always! My first car was a 1983 MkI Fiest 1.1L I drove it around until I finished college and then bought a 1990 MkII XR2. That XR2 is a car that I would love to still have and drop a small tesla unit into it. At the time I didn't think it was underpowerd and given the brakes and suspension it was probably about right but after 5 years with a MS P100D, I think I'd like a bit more out of the old thing if I still had it :) Keep up the content, always a pleasure to watch. Thank you.

My first car was a Skoda 1000 MB, 1966. I still have it. It is currently in a process of a long restoration. I would love to have it converted to electric drive, but there are no kits and it would be super expensive. I currently drive a 2020 VW e-up. The power and range of it are absolutely OK for my daily uses. My dream is to have the Skoda 1000 MB with the same traction accumulator and engine as the e-up has. The traction accumulator has no active temperature management, making a conversion easier. I would put some of the modules over the front axle, where the original tank is as well as the spare wheel and tools. The rest of the modules could go behind the back seats. I would probably upgrade the brakes to disc brakes in the front (from a slightly newer model), and also replace the rear axle to the type that we see on the beetle in this video, even if that would mean cutting into the chassis. The spare wheel would move to the rear engine compartment. the original radiator for the water cooling might be utilized for the cooling of the engine and inverter. Charging port would be most likely "hidden" behind the grill on the rear right wing, which would be modified to open on hinges instead of being fixed. No need to have power steering or power brakes, especially since most of the braking would be with the electric motor. I rarely use the mechanical brakes on my e-up, mostly just to bring the car to a complete stop.

Great job on the video folks! Thanks for making it.

Really interesting well presented explanations with enough detail, but not overwhelming. Thanks Back I the 60's I learnt to drive in a driving school Beetle but my first car was a 1946 MG TC on 19" wheels (knock off wires, clearly not modern wide ones! )

Good to know old cars don't die they EVolve.

My first car was a Nissan Micra van. It drove me all over the country to gigs and it was wildly abused. No desire whatsoever to drive one again, but I really would love to convert an Alfa 156. To this day it's one of my favourite car designs.

Is an air conditioner possible?

The first car I bought was a 1960 Beetle and it cost me $600 at the time. As I recall that was in 1970. I drove it from Boulder, CO USA to Provo, UT USA during the winter of 1971 up through Wyoming. The roads were icy and there was a lot of snow. I actually slid off the freeway at one point and fortunately just got into soft snow. A couple of people stopped to help push me out of the snow and back onto the freeway and off I went. I was only able to go about 35 mph due to head wind but I did make it to my destination unharmed. That was also my first “make out” car. I ended up giving the car to my girlfriend about a month later because I had to go into the Army. She didn’t have it long because my dad went out there and reposed it from her. Then, during my leave before going to Vietnam I traded it in for a Pontiac. So that’s the story of the first car I purchased which just happened to be a 1960 VW Beetle.

very cool. My very first car was a 12/59 semaphore beetle. I had it a long time, eventually replaced it with a 53 i still have. incidentally in the same beautiful Metallblau. Mine has semaphores and a sunroof, of course.

Bought a 63 when I 19. I'm 50 now also. Still have it. Semi restored it but it needs going through again. Always thought it would be cool to put a electric motor in it. Love your experience with them.

Wow that’s a very nice conversation! Great job like always my friend!

I'd love to do something like this. Always liked the original Beetles and this to me seems to be the perfect candidate for an electric conversion. the only real caveat I still see is the range, and the environmental considerations of large scale Li-Ion battery production for EVs.

My first car was a Mark I Scirocco GTI. I would love to electrify one of those. Such a fun car to drive. And same thing with the weight distribution. I used to drive around with a slab of marble in the back to improve handling.

Awesome content. My first car was a 1964 beetle with a Baja kit. It was still on a 6V system. Would love to re-create it with one of these kits. Great stuff.

My mom had a ‘69 Beetle, baby blue color. I was a lil kid at the time. I do remember riding to school.

What a great and informative video. My first car was also rear engined and air cooled, but it only had two cylinders - it was a 1972 NSU Prinz 4L. It was totally gutless, but I still think of it fondly, and seeing how you have converted a number of beetles makes me think that maybe a NSU would be a great conversion candidate. Maybe a pipe dream, but a little more possible now.

That is one beautiful beetle

My first car was a ‘74 Beetle, I currently have a ‘74 Beetle, unfortunately not the same one but both have their original heater channels and have never required any welding. The first one wasn’t terribly old when I had it as an 18 year old, the current one is an Australian import hence the unwelded original condition having never seen a salty road.

1971 Holden LC Torana 2 door coupe. Worth a fortune now. Now that would be an interesting conversion. Had it for years. Fairly well modified to be a great tourer.