Components currently price me out of this build being feasible for what I'm needing from it. That's the main reason for waiting to get together a list of specifics. At the very minimum however, the new cells should kill the used market price of the 18650 cells, which should have some effect on the rest of the battery market. In the meantime, things like electric brake boosters, powersteering, etc, aren't going to change drastically.
I see separating the batteries into different zones simply being a necessity, the weight over the front axle needs to remain approximately the same or else it'll become difficult to get a proper alignment without making suspension changes.
Cooling requirements end up being related more directly to the components used than the vehicle being converted to electric. One of the big advantages in changing cell dimensions/chemistries being operating temperature and heat creation. Some cells simply run cooler than others... Until I know for sure which one I'm using (which is based almost entirely on weight and price) I won't know whether my existing radiator space will be sufficient. As is, I'll be upgrading at least to an all aluminum rad without a trans cooler. Shaving down the fan shroud, I'll presumably be able to fit a thicker rad into the existing mount and install an appropriately sized electric fan in the shaved oe shroud. One thing I hope to do better than 'big electric' is actually
insulate the batteries. A crazy amount of power goes into keeping the batteries warm in the winter, so assuming I have the space to do so, I'd like to better control when the batteries are dissipating heat.
For the brakes, I've settled on the vacuum-less booster made by Bosch (p/n 97356684) it's found on the new Accords and Tesla model 3. SuperfastMatt has a nice video on it
here. What makes this interesting to me while the truck remains an ICE vehicle is that the brake assistance is adjustable.
Powersteering will likely come about in the form of the popular prius steering column. For a relatively low price, you can get the column itself and an aftermarket chip that'll restore the variable steering assist. Otherwise, the column will instead be in limp mode, providing the same amount of assist regardless of vehicle speed.
As part of the drivetrain portion of the build, the AC will be modified such that a motor takes the place of the electric clutch, wiring to the clutch instead goes to a relay which will supply sufficient power to this small motor.
Heating will hopefully continue to use the existing heat exchanger as a prewarmer, hopefully leaving enough room for a resistance heater being installed in line after the heat exchanger. It would be wired such that it makes up for any addition heat requested on top of what the heat exchanger was able to provide.
There's at least
one out there, although they're pricy. Hub motors however, are unlikely to ever become popular for anything smaller than commercial vehicles. The unsprung mass causes exponentially more issues the lighter the vehicle. That being said, sometimes that mass is preferable, Jaguar went away from inboard brake disks due to a variety of other issues that popped up between maintance difficulties, and inconsistent brake application once the cv's got worn/ broken