I had this in my notes. Not sure why I forgot to mention it. But yes, he kept it simple by just leaving the bike dash in the back (short wiring harness) and just pointing a cheap camera at it.

Had to go back to see that in the video, that ingenuity is great!

It's not stupid if it works!

Oh for real!! I had to go back to 6:18 cuz i didnt notice that! For me its just awesome solution. Not just convenient, but dope af!!!

I really admire such elegant hacks.

It's happened! I had to stop to charge but made it home. Also the car has been mobile for all but maybe 5 days during this whole build due to the redundant powertrain.

@@DerekYoungdby Good deal. Have you considered trying the same in a Chevy Bolt EV? Even without a boost from an ICE, it's a pretty quick car. It would be pretty neat to see if it can go even faster. They're starting to get pretty cheap now.

@@seanplace8192 I actually own a Bolt and would love to do this but they're still worth too much $$ to cut up (for now at least).

@@DerekYoungdby I now you might not read this but maybe try Swapping the engine of a plug-in hybrid that has a dedicated EV mode, that way the engine can work as intended with car's fuel tank, radiator and stuff, plus some space saving for whatever DIY you need.

Fortunately, he kept the deep oil sump instead of shortening it like I did. So it should be fine.

I put in an oil gauge before I went lapping to monitor this and the deep sump seems to have been enough (thankfully!)

@@DerekYoungdby Awesome car, Derek! 👌

I think the transverse mounting helps with oil starvation too. Kawi pickups are in the rear iirc

You don't need to make room for the engine to fit under the hood if it's mounted in the rear. So much room for activities!

luckily vehicles over 25 years old also dont go for emissions

What I also like about this build is that it is fitted EV on just the front wheels and ICE on just the back wheels. If one of the systems fails you can still drive around

@@sneaky_krait7271 also it's a 4x4 technically. that's how my bicycle is setup, electric motor in the front and pedals on the back, I have so much grip in sketchy paths in the woods, so I imagine it works well on a car too.

@@satibel True 4x4 is great for many reasons, but having a clear split is special here and like that specifically too

​@@md4luckycharmsnot where they are in CA :(

spice is boost, space is the future

Add a supercharger, and it'd be a Leaf with a Blower.

I bout to put a Hayabusa engine in my Chevy Cobalt coupe

Nobody talks him out of this, we need to see it happen

Definitely make a video out of it. We'll be cheering for you

OOOHH MAAAN PLEEEASE DOOITTTTT

It's a KTM, isn't it? So, an European engine, you're going to have a fun time than a long time...

@@calvinnyala9580 the ktm 1290 platform is a pretty solid engine

It would surely be cool if this could be done to all the old (10 yr old) EVs that are going to the junkyard...

@@ReXoRofc the leaf is a bit of an outlier with it's shitty battery cooling

it is amusing how most petrol heads pretend that all old EVs will be dropping dead in 10 years.... due to the longevity of the leaf's, crappy air cooled battery pack...

@@Matt-dx3wo sure but i doubt all the new EVs will last for 20+ years like most gas cars just because of the cost of that huge battery pack , that's IF they even continue making these tailormade battery packs for each car. I think this EV car thing is BS and not environmentally friendly in the LONG term.

@@ReXoRofc I'm not sure I'm following your logic.

Can you imagine having the whole engine as a modular box you just plug into the back when you want it?

There are some PHEV optionsvnow with decent power from the ICE and decent electric range. I think the Volvo V60 Recharge has around 250hp and 40 miles of electric range? But I'm not aware of anything which is smaller than that at the moment.

koenigsegg gemera is pretty much this on a a huge budget

Thanks for joining us on the moto-powered adventure!

My pick for this is a 2nd gen Probe GT.

A 1955 Chevy Cameo or GMC Suburban with a Vonnen Shadow Drive sandwiched between the engine and transmission, or a GMC Cyclone IFS with an electric motor and differential gears up front. Oh, it’s got to look like a straight restoration.

my pick is the audi tt :)

You can actually see the robot hanging on the wall of my garage @5:59

turbocharging would help!

I find it amusing every Tesla nurburgring lap record, excluding Plaid, is beaten by various years of stock Honda Civic Type R. Which the Plaid gets beaten by an Audi RS4 that are all a fraction in cost to the full EV counterparts. For that track the ABSOLUTE track record is Porsche 919 EVO hybrid even beating the Volkswagen IDr EV by around 45 seconds.

That is very likely how it works, and is how the new Corvette e-ray works

he literally did say that the leaf motor doesnt mind being ``helped`` by the rear drive... So yeah, by that, i would also say that the rear literally just does its thing as matt said, entirely separate from the front drive...

When they're both contributing to propulsion this works fine, and how normal AWD EVs have worked forever. But if you are trying to get the ICE motor to charge the batteries by going through the regen, that means that the rear wheels are pushing and the front wheels are trying to slow down. Besides the additional tire wear and all the inefficiencies on both sides, it would lead to some interesting traction dynamics when you're off-throttle going around a turn and all your tires are already using 30% of available grip sending power to each other.

I have a 2015 Leaf and I'd bet money he's just using the regen braking from the front EV drivetrain to charge the batteries. The knob on the right would logically split the throttle demand between the EV drivetrain and the motorcycle throttle. So it wouldn't be difficult to create a situation where the rear is powering the car forward while the front is trying to decelerate. The EV drivetrain wouldn't know the difference. It would just look like a big hill

Yes, regen through the road. The rear wheels push and the front wheels drag. How this happens is based on the the bias of the EV and ICE motors. Most of this is via Leaf settings. "B" adds higher regen, "ECO" disabled EV power for first 1/4 of pedal travel. In this mode, the EV will regenerate during this portion of throttle position while the ICE pushes the car forward effectively charge sustaining. The car typically is only regening at 20kW, which is barely enough to feel and definitely doesn't upset the handling. It can drive as long as there's gas in it (it only holds 5 gallons which is good for about 100 miles). I drove it from SF to LA and back (+ canyons, + trackday) and didn't plug it in.

Yesssss! A Metro.

I’d say put the Rover K-Series engine and uprated everything else to MGB specs. If you can add the hybrid setup from Vonnen, all the better. Keep the little cutie stock appearing and keep blowing the doors off Honda Civics with a 1950s British convertible that looks like it should be at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance.

I always figured putting it in the back of a fwd car would be neat Imagine leaf guts getting transplanted into a Honda CRX or something

Look up Vonnen, they do a hybrid setup that goes between the engine and transmission. You might be able to stick it in your proper Volkswagen.

Matt overstated the comfort levels, sound wise. Even in EV mode the chain makes a good bit of noise. There is however, a heated steering wheel.

@@DerekYoungdby I love that you're responding to the comments here, I hope you end up making a detailed walkthrough on your channel. Even without editing it would still be fascinating. In regards to comfort, I guess it's important to keep things in perspective. It's never going to be silent, but compared to the S600 it's an S-class :P

Check my Instagram -- I did a post on it in the summer of 2021

I'm working on getting my hands on a Leaf Plus inverter. The Leaf hacking scene reports seeing 150kW (up from 80kW) from the stock motor, even with the stock 24kWh battery. Total system HP will go from 280 to 370, which should be fun! Weight is another challenge...