Watt⚡Rods

We convert combustion vehicles to electric power.

Any and all vehicles, old or new, four wheels or two, big or small, on road or off, fully customised to your requirements.

Our full service Lower Hutt based workshop can take care of as much (or as little) of the conversion as you like.

Convert? How?

It can be pretty simple...

Take an older servicable vehicle.
Remove all combustion related bits, e.g. engine, fuel tank.
Fabricate parts to fit, e.g. battery box(es), motor mounting bracketry.
Build a battery in the battery box.
Install the motor, charger, battery box, and other EV components in the vehicle.
Wire everything up.
Get it LVVTA certified for use on public roads.

But why?

To keep cherished vehicles on the road. To turn that "used on occasional weekends" classic into a reliable cheap to run daily driver. Or a drag strip monster. No more having to tinker, or it leaking "soul" all over the garage floor. EV conversions offer an...

... improved ownership experience

More reliable - use it every day or leave it standing for months without worry.
Lower maintenance costs - nothing on the battery or motor, maybe a transmission oil change after 100,000km.
Lower fuel costs - could even be free if you have solar.
Handy in a pinch - it could power home essentials for days during a grid outage.

... improved driver experience

Responsive - electric motors offer 100% torque from standstill; get up to speed, fast.
Smoother - no kangaroo throttle or gear changes.
Quieter* - hold a conversation at highway speeds without shouting.
Simpler* - no need for gears or a clutch.

* optional, noise can be made, clutch & gearbox can be retained.

So, how much and how long?

Best case lowest cost conversion ~$30,000 and a couple of months...

1990 or earlier vehicle, servicable with current WoF and rego.
Conversion using all Nissan LEAF bits
24kWh battery for ~120km range
motor 80kW (107hp) and 254Nm (187 lb-ft)
3.3kW AC charging, 50kW DC charging.
Single battery box of simple shape.
Minimal fabrication for motor and battery box mounts.
Minimum viable dashboard modifications.

And the worst case?

Cost is highly dependent on customer requirements; build time increases with complexity. Some examples of things that add to complexity, cost, and build time...

Power upgrade, e.g. dual Tesla motors 640kW / 850hp AWD (~$35,000).
Range upgrade, e.g. 100kWh+ battery with liquid cooling (~$35,000).
Upgrades - uprate suspension, brakes, or other components.
Difficult vehicle requiring complex packaging of EV parts.
Custom dashboard and instrumentation.
Power assisted brakes.
Power assisted steering.
CANBUS integration.
Vehicle restoration / reVIN.

This doesn't make any financial sense!

It's not meant to! Unless driven tens of thousands of km a conversion is unlikely to save more money than it cost. If you want a cost effective EV buy a modern used vehicle that began life as an EV.

This isn't about financial sense. It's about keeping cherished vehicles on the road, and improving them so they can be reliable cheap to run daily drivers. Or drag strip monsters.