Electric Car Conversion

The running process of an electric powered car is simple: A battery accumulates electric power which is used to power an electric motor which in turn converts electric power into mechanical drive.

Normally the battery power is enough to run 100 to 200 miles depending on the kind of electric motor installed, the battery pack available and power demand which in turn depends on the car weight and the kind of electric controller installed.

With the advent of hybrid cars, more autonomy has been provided as the battery is continuously recharged with an internal combustion engine.

Hybrid cars are the new revolution in energy efficient cars, being the high purchase cost the biggest disadvantage.

Needless to say that an electric car runs smoothly and silently and without producing noise and smoke pollution.

As unrealistic as it may appears, building your own electric car is not only feasible but it is actually rather simple. You can follow simple guidelines that cover the following:

1. Find an appropriate car: Ideally a car with broken engine and body and transmission in fairly good condition.

   The transmission should necessarily be manual shifting gear.

   Almost any brand is suitable for conversion and lots of them have been successfully converted.


2. Finding an electric motor: It may be a DC or AC motor, each with distinctive advantages and disadvantages. DC motors are cheaper being this its main advantage. AC motors can take the breaking energy to charge the batteries and they can develop more power per unit weight.  you can pick a used or new one. You can surely find a nice source of electric motors on Build Your Own Electric Car.


3. Find an adequate controller. When using an AC motor the controller normally comes in a kit with the motor, which is an advantage. When using a DC motor the controller you select determine the current it is able to handle and how quickly you will be able to accelerate your electric car. In any case, the controller should be in accordance with the size of the motor and the size of the battery storage.


4. A battery pack to power the motor. A set of 12 or more 12V battery pack connected in series is required to produce the power necessary to move the car quickly and with good range. This is perhaps the most expensive part of the conversion, but, if you follow the advice offered in Build Your Own Electric Car you will find free or inexpensive sources of batteries for your car. Your range will depend on your battery storage. There is a lot of discussion and information on this regard.


5. A battery charger mounted in the car to be able to charge your batteries everywhere


6. Take all unnecessary  parts out of the car, like engine, exhaust system, gas tank, etc and draw a plan to accommodate the new parts, especially the battery pack. This is one of the critical parts as the available room might look limited, particularly when a good amount of batteries should be accommodated.

In the above description, there is the summary steps to make an electric car conversion. It is that simple. Some steps require some specialized help in putting everything together, for instance welding support frames or making the electric wiring.

This help can easily be found as any mechanic or electrician will be happy to assist you in such an exciting project.

Many electric car conversions have been carried out so far with resounding success.

You can be part of this alternative energy trend and help the environment and, at the same time, save money on gas. Using an electric car could mean to spend $1 in charging your batteries for a range of 100 miles. You can not get such mileage with an equivalent amount of gasoline.

Did you know that you can charge your batteries by using solar panels like the photo below?

Click on the image to learn more