| Do you want to build your own electric car by | | | | Used cars with engine damage, but that are in |
| converting a regular gas burning vehicle? Would | | | | otherwise excellent condition can be found at |
| you like to say goodbye to the gas pump forever | | | | amazingly low prices. You just have to look |
| and run your vehicle on clean household current? | | | | around a bit, but it’s worth the effort. |
| You can. Read on and find out how. Normal 0 | | | | Check for issues in the breaks transmission, |
| false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* | | | | undercarriage etc before you buy it. Often you |
| Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable | | | | can find one of these with the motor already |
| {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; | | | | gone and the rest of the car intact. This is an |
| mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; | | | | ideal situation when you can find it. Another option |
| mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; | | | | is to pay a mechanic a small amount to pull the |
| mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in | | | | motor for you. Sometimes, you can even get a |
| 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; | | | | mechanic to pull the motor for free if you let him |
| mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; | | | | keep it. |
| mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; | | | | Low priced batteries and motors can be found |
| font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | locally. Again, this takes a little bit of looking |
| mso-ansi-language:#0400; | | | | around but well worth the effort. For best results, |
| mso-fareast-language:#0400; | | | | get a DC motor in the 9 to 13 inch range to get |
| mso-bidi-language:#0400;} | | | | top speeds between 50 and 55 MPH. Use deep |
| Skeptics love to challenge the idea that a regular | | | | cycle batteries. You’ll need between 15 and |
| person can build their own electric car at a | | | | 20 of these to achieve a range of 200 miles |
| reasonable price using parts that are regularly | | | | between recharging and you can get away with |
| available and easy to find Truthfully, I don't know | | | | fewer, but it will require recharging more often. |
| why there aren't more DIY electric cars on the | | | | |
| road. | | | | Once you do complete your project take some |
| So why aren't more people doing it you may ask? | | | | time to get used to the responsiveness. You |
| Wouldn't everyone rather drive for 4 cents per | | | | must get a feel for the controller (the electric car |
| mile instead of four dollars per mile if given the | | | | version of the gas pedal) because these things |
| choice? If people could say goodbye to the gas | | | | are surprisingly quick off the line. In no time at all, |
| pump, oil changes and tune ups forever, they'd do | | | | you’ll have the feel of this car and be |
| it. Therefore, many conclude that converting a car | | | | driving it everywhere. |
| to electric power must be difficult, highly | | | | Project plans are critically important. The right |
| complicated and beyond the ability of most | | | | plans and diagrams will guide you step-by-step |
| people. What I do know is that it is a lot of fun to | | | | through the entire project. A high quality |
| build and drive and the project is easy and cheap | | | | instruction manual also provides priceless |
| to complete. Here’s how to do it. | | | | information on places to get all your parts very |
| For the vehicle, use something with enough space | | | | inexpensively-and in some cases even free. As an |
| to mount your electric motor and batteries inside | | | | example you can easily spend more than $6000 |
| but that is still relatively small and light. Use a | | | | on a conversion kit before you even buy a single |
| manual transmission vehicle too. Automatics make | | | | battery for the vehicle. As a comparison, you can |
| the project a lot harder to complete. That's really | | | | complete the entire car for $500 including |
| important, but don't worry if you can't or don't | | | | batteries by investing $50 up front for a good set |
| want to drive a stick. You won't have to shift at | | | | of plans, so a few bucks spent up front will save |
| all once the conversion is completed. | | | | you a ton of money in the long run. |