Nick C asked:
There is a book called electricity for fuel that sells for like $70 bucks online and they claim that it will show you an easy way to convert any car to electric on a $600 budget. Sounds like BS to me. Anybody know anything about this?
There is a book called electricity for fuel that sells for like $70 bucks online and they claim that it will show you an easy way to convert any car to electric on a $600 budget. Sounds like BS to me. Anybody know anything about this?
sounds like bs to me too.
just the batteries would cost more than that.
Electric cars are one of the best inventions as they eco-friendly and do not have any ill effect o the environment. Converting your existing car into an electric car is not that difficult as you might think it to be. There are some basic aspects that you need to consider before starting your car conversion project.
Before converting your regular car into an electric one, you must have a basic knowledge about the working of the cars. You have to understand all the components and the operations performed by them. This information can be gathered from internet by buying online manuals and guides that contain all the details related to car conversions.
For your conversion project you require ample of comfortable working space that must be-
• Large enough to contain the car and accommodate the components that will be take out;
• Big enough to provide leg room for at least two people I order to work comfortably;
• Dry and protected from cold weather and rain;
• Well-lighted so that the work can be done properly.
The right kind of donor vehicle has to be selected in order to transform it into the best electric car. It is advisable to use a spacious and light-weight car for the purpose. Do not mistake of using very old cars as you might find it difficult to look for such old parts. For the very same reason even latest or exotic vehicles should not be used.
The best part is that the parts required to build an electric car are relatively low in number as compared to a regular car. Some of the absolutely must parts include Motor, Batteries, Controller, DC-DC Converter, Battery Charger and Vacuum Brake Pump. These parts can be bought from suppliers ad dealers of conversion kits. Along with these parts you also need some tools to deal with the tasks like welding, electric wirings, metal works etc.
Jest hook the battery to your crank shaft and then ot should be electrified,
Doesn’t even sound feasible, the electric motor for my golf cart cost over $600 to replace
The great problems are low range and high charging time.
However it’s fun.
You can not convert a car to electric for $600.
Simple answer.
Reason:
Batteries are expensive even normal car batteries (which are not suitable)
The motor is well into the $1000′s
The controller is the same.
Then who is going to do all that labor for fee ?
Who is going to customize the MECHANICALs for nothing ?
Qualified answer is:
IF you have a workshop.
IF you do not require any outside labor charges
IF you have old motors, CONTROLLER and batteries laying around.
IF you can take 4 weeks off work to get your first car going.
IF you can find batteries used or not, they are worth a bit to recyclers.
Not very likely .
Typical kits are around $10,000 with out batteries.
Sure but not for 600. Batteries are not that bad if you import like I did. 20 sets of li-ions with shipping from china for 7000 that’s 350 a set. so far I built 2 getting ready to built 2 more for the kids as soon as they realize you can’t convert a hummer 2, weight is an issue with EV’s.
try here the have everything you need plus books and video’s for a reasonable price.
I have 2 I built myself, 1 is an 87 Omni the wife’s grocery getter, It’s a single speed with a top end about 70mph but most efficient at 35. Mine is an 86 Fiero, I built it as a performance car, it has twin Solectra AC55 motors and controllers each run through 5 speed Getrag transaxils. The rear is the Fiero’s the front however came from a Cavalier RS. The Fiero does the 1/4 mile in 9.9 seconds about 6 times on a full charge. And I could probably get that down to low 9′s or even upper 8′s when I change the training gears and adjust ratio’s.
both of these cars are good weather only, spring summer and fall. there is no longer a heater or ac. still has wipers for rain but that’s all. Rack and pinion – power stearing was stripped down and rebuilt to manual now. no power anything. they both where around 2600# when I started and after stripping them down, some welding for battery cradles and building back up as an EV there now around 2100# which is still a little heavy for an EV to have good range. I know for a fact the omni can go 103 miles on a charge and still had some left over.
bad idea.
Yes you can BUT the problem is the superstructure of most all cars just don’t take a conversion very well. Most cars are to strong and heavy in once area and not strong enough in the areas it need to be. Overall electric cars bodies in the future will be a lot lighter due to the fact there is no 120 lb full gas tank and 200 lbs or transmission stuff and the 500 lbs of engine with 100 lbs of stuff that makes the engine work. YES people convert cars all the time but the end results are not all that. If you work less than 40 miles from your house and can charge up while at work then it will pay for its self in no time.
You can convert your car to electric. But the book is a scam.
You can convert your car to electricity? YES.
Can it be done for $600? Only if you’re REALLY good at scavenging, lol!
Will it run on pennies a day worth of electricity? YES.
Will your car do everything it did before? NO… but you knew that
Right now there is a scammer who has put up a bunch of websites each selling a really bad e-book. In fact, in researching this article, I got trapped on one of those pages by Javascript that wouldn’t let me leave! Avoid ebooks. Avoid those super-tall web pages loaded with come-ons and testimonials, you know the ones.
Seriously, the information you want is free. You can research on the Internet easily. You can meet real people who do this type of conversion at and they will give you lots of help.
If you want to buy a REAL book, these are classics…
or
You should check out the book review first to determine if it’s a scam or not.
Technically, you could strap a battery powered drill to a little red wagon and call it an electric car.
Most electric cars have been conversions where the engine is replaced with an electric motor and lead acid batteries are installed in cargo areas. These tend to have limited range, limited speed or both but can be done on a budget.
However the $600 budget is a bit low, even the Mechanix Illustrated UrbaElectric from the mid 70′s was a $1,500 project back in the 70′s. Of course, they could always argue that they used scrap yard batteries, as well as a scrap yard regular car etc. You can easily stay under budget if you consider all the components to be free.