SCRAP TO SUSTAINABLE - UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH TO BUILDING A HYBRID CAR

Tinkerers from low-income and structurally weak countries like India or Africa often have to make do with what they have due to a lack of workshops, tools, or spare parts. When it comes to such an ambitious project as building a hybrid vehicle with four-wheel drive, it is hard to imagine. However, a resourceful tinkerer demonstrates how he can make it work in a video (advertisement). He has already received almost 573,000 subscribers, with some of his hair-raising DIY videos generating millions of views on his channel.

The formula for success is simple. With the simplest conditions and the simplest tools, something is built from whatever is available that just about works and can be used. This is also the case with the hybrid project: Take an old, rickety small car, tip it on its side and start removing the parts that are no longer needed.

From Scrap Car to Hybrid - It's That Easy

First, the rear axle comes out. Reason: An axle with a differential that will be driven by an electric motor in the future is to be mounted here. Where the drive shaft usually drives the differential, there is a 10-kW electric motor with 72 volts responsible for the drive. A 72-volt battery with 140 ampere-hours is used as a power storage.

Quickly measure again whether the axle fits in terms of length and put it in. The central position of the axle is adjusted with a small jack. The installation of the car lying on its side is quickly done. Practical: The old shock absorbers can also be reused. Now reconnect the brakes, screw a suitable, used 72-volt controller directly above the electric motor onto the underbody, connect, tip the car back over, and the hybrid is finished.

Two Motors, Two Drives

The small junkyard car now even has four-wheel drive, at least theoretically. However, the combustion engine and electric motor may not work so well together due to completely different gear ratios. So, you can either drive electrically at the rear axle or use fossil fuel via front-wheel drive. It also works in practice; at the end,the tinkererdemonstrates this with a short test drive. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the electrical range or possible recuperation capabilities of the hybrid. Nevertheless, we can only congratulate so much ingenuity.

By Lars Schwichtenberg

This article was published in cooperation with EFAHRER.com.

2024-03-19T09:21:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd