RANT: Electric Conversions, Not what you think...... Options

[KaptKaos]

There's a fellow selling a motor in the classifieds. Here's the link:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=92077

Seems normal enough. I assume, maybe wrongly, that this person is using the car for an electric conversion.

I have no issue with people converting their cars to electric motors. However, I am wondering if it is reasonable to ask or inform the people that are looking to do this to please try to use '76 cars? This is particularly important in California, as the smog checks in California aren't required on Pre-76 cars.

There are two counter arguments that I can think of and they are:

1) '76 cars are fairly rare, and therefore either more expensive and/or harder to find.
2) The point of an electric conversion is to reduce emissions, so using a car that has higher emissions makes more sense.

I am not sure if this is practical/possible/reasonable/feasible, so I figured that I'd ask.

Am I out of line here?

Please note that I mean no ill will to the seller above.

[TimK]

Hi All,

Glad to see the excellent discussion on 914 EV conversions. I've had my 914 EV for two years now and have really enjoyed it. The car uses older lead-acid technology and only has a 50 mile range. The performance is mediocre compared to the original. After fixing everything up and getting a new transmission, the total cost for everything was about $24,000.

It may seem like this was just a waste of time. On a more positive note, there is very little maintenance, no noise, and absolutely no emissions. Bicycles love it. I personally did the conversion because I wanted a cool car and be "green" at the same time. It was really an emotional decision and not a practical one.

After two years of hard driving and commuting, I'm probably going to sell the car since I just converted a Honda Civic to an EV that's far more practical and cost much less to convert (it has three times the acceleration too!).

You can see more at the following:
914 EV conversion blog
EVAlbum page for 914EV

The Civic conversion is off topic, but here's a link anyway for those who are interested.
Civic conversion blog

If you're seriously considering an EV conversion of a 914 and want some detailed answers, feel free to PM me, or join the 914EV GoogleGroup and start asking questions.

Cheers,
TimK