Converting a standard car into an Electric car

[Sig]

Anyone done this before? Can the car still be registered legally afterwards and pass inspection?

After seeing a couple of my favorite hippies do it on the discovery channel last year, I am really interested in the idea.

 

[docjohn]

I think a better "hippie" idea is to convert a diesal car to old cooking oil burning.:smile:

 

[Ojas]

I'm starting a conversion. I have yet to locate the donor vehicle, but I've done a good bit of homework (talking with locals who've done conversions, researched motor, controller, batteries, vehicles, weigh, etc. to meet my range goals).

In my state, there's no major issue with registration and safety inspection. It's registered like a normal car and there's no emissions test since it's electric.

There's a very active EV community here in Austin (http://austinev.org/). I've attended a few meetings and shows and ran across some very helpful folks. Some folks doing conversions down here have open garages on the weekends where they invite people to stop by while they work on their conversions... very insightful for newbies like me.

If there's an EV group in your area, you might want to get to know them. They'd know the ins-and-outs of registration and other issues best.

 

[queenlives]

I'm starting a conversion. I have yet to locate the donor vehicle, but I've done a good bit of homework (talking with locals who've done conversions, researched motor, controller, batteries, vehicles, weigh, etc. to meet my range goals).

In my state, there's no major issue with registration and safety inspection. It's registered like a normal car and there's no emissions test since it's electric.

There's a very active EV community here in Austin (http://austinev.org/). I've attended a few meetings and shows and ran across some very helpful folks. Some folks doing conversions down here have open garages on the weekends where they invite people to stop by while they work on their conversions... very insightful for newbies like me.

If there's an EV group in your area, you might want to get to know them. They'd know the ins-and-outs of registration and other issues best.

great post, thx!

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Built and raced one on a team in high school for a senior design project. It was much easier than one would think. We, as young snot nosed high school students, made a pretty successful one out of a crappy Ford Festiva donor, on a very limited budget and using super heavy crappy lead acid batteries well over a decade ago.

We didn't have to register it so I can't help you there. In terms of actually building it, it really depends on which direction you want to go. What's your energy source? Lithium Ion, Lead Acid, Fuel Cell etc? Each will come with it's own set of design issues. How are you planning on handling the drives? Are you going to use one main motor and pair it up to a transmission? Or are you going to use individual motors for each wheel? Regenerative braking? Front or rear wheel drive? What will the donor car be?

These are some of the questions you'll need to figure out on the front end. Once you do that, I highly recommend gutting your donor car. You'll need to first fab some battery boxes and your best bet is trying to stack as much in the middle and rear of the chassis as you can (if the motor is going in the front). You may be able to use your original donor transmission. We did by making a bracket to mate up the DC motor to the tranny. You'll need to get your hands on some good control systems as well. We went with Johnson Controls but that was years ago. You may need to beef up suspension and other parts to handle the weight. It all depends on how elaborate you want to get.

I will say that it's not as easy as dropping in some batteries and swapping out the motor. But it's not as hard as building a car from scratch. It will take time (took several of us 8 months) so keep that in mind. Finally, remember, it is not cheap. If you think you'll make up the difference in gas savings, you won't. Do it for the fun and love of the environment; not for any economical rationale. Happy EV'ing. :smile:

 

[cojones]

I think a better "hippie" idea is to convert a diesal car to old cooking oil burning.:smile:

This guy actually makes money on it -- http://www.hlineconversion.com/

One of his early projects (on Pimp My Ride) was 800 horsepower biodiesel (canola oil) 1965 Chevrolet Impala that gets 25 miles per gallon (mpg). Not only did Goodwin convert the engine despite skepticism from producers of the show, but the car also demonstrated the sheer performance that can be achieved using the renewable fuel. The upgraded Impala raced a Lamborghini at the Pomona Raceway and left it in the dust.

Lots of old Mercedes TDs are getting converted to burn bio --> http://www.noendpress.com/caleb/biodiesel/ . Smells good too :biggrin:

 

[Ojas]

I forgot to mention, the local EV club I mentioned above actually also hosts an album site for the EV community at large. I believe it's the largest such site - sort of like a cardomain for EV conversions.

http://www.evalbum.com/

It's a pretty good way to find owners in your area or conversions similar to what you're planning.

 

[Osiris_x11]

"sh!t man, why dontcha' just get one of those small-azz Honda's for that!"

hey ojas... nice RX7!

 

[da3dalus]

Re: "sh!t man, why dontcha' just get one of those small-azz Honda's for that!"

Did anyone see the segment on the NBC nightly news last night? They had a car on there that was a hybrid that was going on sale this year for 27-30k and got 300mpg. Yes, thats right... 300 MPG. You can drive coast to coast on it on 1 tank of gas.

Anyone know specifically what its called? They didn't mention the manufactures name? Looked very space aged, 3 wheels, like one of the solar race cars almost.

 

[queenlives]

I think a better "hippie" idea is to convert a diesal car to old cooking oil burning.:smile:

turns out that used cooking oil is now at a premium price and even being stolen as reported http://www.newsday.com/services/new...nation/ny-usoil215695958may21,0,7627256.story

 

[Ojas]

Re: "sh!t man, why dontcha' just get one of those small-azz Honda's for that!"

hey ojas... nice RX7!

Thanks! You'll get the first ride.

Did anyone see the segment on the NBC nightly news last night? They had a car on there that was a hybrid that was going on sale this year for 27-30k and got 300mpg. Yes, thats right... 300 MPG. You can drive coast to coast on it on 1 tank of gas.

Anyone know specifically what its called? They didn't mention the manufactures name? Looked very space aged, 3 wheels, like one of the solar race cars almost.

I didn't see the news segment, but what you describes sounds like the Aptera Typ-1.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Hey. I saw two of those parked outside of Spacely Space Sprockets on my way to drop Jane off at the mall.

 

[Sig]

It looks like the Aptera is currently only offered to California residents. I was ready to put down the $500 to reserve one... oh well, I will just wait.

I wish Tesla would build an economy sedan in addition to their 100k+ sports car.

 

[sptrader]

Anyone done this before? Can the car still be registered legally afterwards and pass inspection?

After seeing a couple of my favorite hippies do it on the discovery channel last year, I am really interested in the idea.

* I think a kit car would be a better choice for an electric, they are very light weight and being a kit, I think you could do the mods easier. (maybe AC Cobra kit might be fun)

 

[fullracehonda]

have any of you watched the drag racing show on speed called "pass time" where 2 contestants and a guy from the show try to guess times on the 1/4 and 1/8th mile passes? there was a guy with a little white truck like a nissan that was fully battery powered that made a pass, it was pretty cool and i think it was decently quick

 

[Mac Attack]

I'll probably get started on my 993 Porsche conversion this winter:

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/

 

[queenlives]

Anyone done this before? Can the car still be registered legally afterwards and pass inspection?

After seeing a couple of my favorite hippies do it on the discovery channel last year, I am really interested in the idea.

here is one guy's honda vfr conversion to electric:

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3548

endless-sphere looks like a neat board.

 

[quack]

Hey. I saw two of those parked outside of Spacely Space Sprockets on my way to drop Jane off at the mall.

I see what you did there :biggrin: