Nissan LEAF Dissected, Pinned To Pegboard, Still Runs!

Remember in biology class when you had to dissect a dead amphibian and place and label all of the organs? Kinda gross, but very engaging and enlightening (so long as your stomach could handle it). Well somebody has gone ahead and dissected a Nissan LEAF in the same manner, only in this case the “victim” is still alive, in a sense.

Green Car Reports found this neat video posted by mikeatyouttube, who apparently disassembled a trashed Nissan LEAF and arranged the electric drivetrain components on a pegboard. This includes the electric motor, controller, and all the (many, many) wires that are needed to make it all work in beautiful synchronous harmony. Similar projects have attempted to shed light on the battery in the Tesla Model S, though this appears to be for funsies than anything technical. More than just looking cool though, this disassembled LEAF still works.

While the battery pack is too big to pin to the pegboard, once all the connections were made, the drivetrain proved to be capable of operating outside of the mothership. Pressing on what I can only assume was the throttle pedal sensor, you can hear the electric motor whir to life, sounding far more ferocious than its 107 horsepower rating would seem to indicate. Four years and 150,000 electric vehicles later, and the LEAF has become more than just a cult hit.

This is more than just a cool science experiment though, it’s inspiration if you’re a hot rod kinda guy like me. If the entire drivetrain of a Nissan LEAF can operate without the car, then there’s nothing stopping me from dropping it into a different vehicle. I’m not saying it would be easy per se…but seeing this video, it looks a lot less complicated than performing one of the more “commonplace” swaps, like a fuel-injected LS1 into a classic Chevy Chevelle.

All of the sudden I find myself inspired to buy a trashed Nissan LEAF and figure out a cool car to swap the drivetrain into. I’m open to suggestions…