Fiat 500e electric drive unit fabrication

My bestfirned and I have a wild idea. we were wondering if a Fiat 500e's electric drivetrain could be swapped into another car.
Before doing the fabrication and costs, anyone have the basic dimensions (length, width, height) of the motor and transmission when bolted together?

Also we're curious about the half shafts - how far out from the front/rear of the unit are they, and could the whole thing be rotated as long as the axles line up with the wheels? Any info or experience with this wild idea would be much appreciated!

Starbucks360 said:

My bestfirned and I have a wild idea. we were wondering if a Fiat 500e's electric drivetrain could be swapped into another car.
Before doing the fabrication and costs, anyone have the basic dimensions (length, width, height) of the motor and transmission when bolted together?

Also we're curious about the half shafts - how far out from the front/rear of the unit are they, and could the whole thing be rotated as long as the axles line up with the wheels? Any info or experience with this wild idea would be much appreciated!

Click to expand...

This is a really interesting idea! I'm curious to see how it works out, but I know Fiats can be a bit tricky with electronics. There's a chance it might not recognize everything or even cause some new problems. It might be worth checking with a mechanic familiar with Fiats to see if they have any experience with similar setups.

Starbucks360 said:

My bestfirned and I have a wild idea. we were wondering if a Fiat 500e's electric drivetrain could be swapped into another car.
Before doing the fabrication and costs, anyone have the basic dimensions (length, width, height) of the motor and transmission when bolted together?

Also we're curious about the half shafts - how far out from the front/rear of the unit are they, and could the whole thing be rotated as long as the axles line up with the wheels? Any info or experience with this wild idea would be much appreciated!

Click to expand...

Sounds like a mad genius plan! Can’t help with exact numbers, but if you pull this off, you might just create the first electric Franken-Fiat

It would be difficult to get around the system's limitations. My colleague attempted to use the motor and gearbox with their own controller, but it did not work due to the complex network.

But I'm excited about your project if it pushes through. Best of luck!

Starbucks360 said:

My bestfirned and I have a wild idea. we were wondering if a Fiat 500e's electric drivetrain could be swapped into another car.
Before doing the fabrication and costs, anyone have the basic dimensions (length, width, height) of the motor and transmission when bolted together?

Also we're curious about the half shafts - how far out from the front/rear of the unit are they, and could the whole thing be rotated as long as the axles line up with the wheels? Any info or experience with this wild idea would be much appreciated!

Click to expand...

Sir, I am curious about your wild idea. How did it end up?

A 500e drivetrain swap is a seriously ambitious project! Finding the exact motor and transmission dimensions will be difficult as Fiat doesn't typically provide them. Your best option is to measure a wrecked 500e yourself or check EV conversion forums for existing projects. Regarding the half-shafts and rotating the unit it's possible if you can align everything correctly. However you'll face challenges with motor mounts, cooling, and the complex canbus system. It's a huge undertakingh but it would be an impressive build if you can pull it off.