When I converted my own gas clunker to electric I was terrified. I almost gave up twice in fact. The only reasons I powered through it were my determination and the fact I’d uploaded videos to youtube showing my progress to hoardes of eager viewers. This meant there was no way I could back out!
There were a couple of EV conversion publications available which I read, though one was severely outdated, and the other (more popular) one was so overwhelmingly technical I put it back on the shelf several times. This just added to my burden but still I pressed on. I ended up emailing thousands of beginner’s questions to complete strangers from all over the globe. It’s here where I learned just how many friendly and helpful Americans are out there. I now have many great “yank” friends because of it.
Now I’ve been able to change my own motor oil for years – I even figured out how to change brake pads last year – but I’m by no means a mechanic. I’m the sort of person who reluctantly pays other people to stop my car from making “that noise” or generating “that smell”. It always seems to cost me hundreds too. If only I could get all the money I’ve spent on engine or exhaust repairs back in my wallet I’d be somewhere on a cruise ship right now. Though I’d probably be alone; my wife seems to get seasick just walking past a swimming pool.
Anyway, as soon as I had my electric motor installed in the car I realised I had nothing to worry about. As simple as it is, the motor-to-gearbox connection is the hardest technical part of any conversion. Once you’ve got that figured out, and your motor installed, the remaining tasks simply involve screwing things in and bolting things together. I ended up paying an engineer to join my motor and gearbox together. I regret that now as I could have saved hundreds by doing it myself, but there was no plain-English guide telling me how to do it at the time.
It’s too late to help me now, but I’ve since written a 200+ page EV conversion guide (with videos) but obviously I didn’t have it to start with. If only I knew then what I know now.
Once the motor’s in, the rest is generally smooth sailing. If you’re using either Lead or Lithium batteries, there are a few things to keep in mind to keep your batteries healthy and happy for a long lifespan, but ultimately you just bolt them in and connect them up. It’s sounds simple, and it really is. There are screw holes for this and instructions for that. As I’ve said many times before, the hardest part is bringing home a donor car – often to the horror of your partner or spouse!
In my case my first conversion took several months to complete. It’s a shame because most of that time was spent waiting for parts to arrive, or welders to show up, or money to appear. If I did it again, and had all the parts ready to go in, or even if I used a ready-made conversion kit, the whole thing would probably only take a week or two.
Other than a percieved lack of skills, the other reason people aren’t willing to start a conversion is a lack of finance. Admittedly if you buy a complete kit, or buy ALL your parts brand new then you could spend around $6000 US for an average conversion. However there’s a brilliant gold mine out there for converters looking to cut costs. The first thing to do is just “do it yourself”. Make your own motor adapter: it’s not hard. Why not make your own battery racks too: you don’t actually need a welder.
More ways to cut costs are to remove the motor, wiring & controller from an electric forklift and bolt them into your car. Also you could look into using recycled batteries and selling the gas engine & components from your donor car. While you’re at it, why not contact car-towing agencies to grab a donor car that has been reposessed. They’ll often be glad to sell to you to avoid auction costs. This is just a tiny fraction of the cost-cutting options out there; the list just goes on and on.
The last bastion of the procrastinator is the excuse “I’ll just wait for Detroit to make an affordable EV”. This breaks my heart when people say this because it’s just not going to happen any time this decade. When the Chevy Volt is released at the end of this year it will cost $40,000 USD, and will be only available in a limited batch.
This means it’ll be about 15 years before it reaches my price range, and buying gas for another 15 years just isn’t worth the time, cost or the environmental damage. It seems doing nothing is an irresponsible choice.
This means I too have no excuse. I think I’ll call the local car towing agency now and see what unclaimed/repossessed cars they’ve got in their warehouse. While the USA gets ready for summer, it means it’s almost winter time down here & a fresh EV conversion might be just what I need to while away those long cold days.
Don’t procrastinate any longer. Grab a car, get in your garage, break your oil addiction – and have some fun while you’re doing it!
