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.

[LarryR]

So where is all this extra electicity going to come from to charge these cars every night? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

They'll just have to run the peak hour plants around the clock.

I have done lots of research into EV conversions (It has been probably 2 years ago). I came to the conclusion back then that in order to do it the way I would want with the power and range I would want it would cost somewhere around 50K. So I just deemed it not an option. I wanted Telsa performance....

I think doing it to a 914 is kind of a mute point considering that the 914 must be one of the all time most converted cars on the planet. (chevy v8's, suby, tdi, I think I remember someone even putting a geo engine in one) I remember thinking that I would probably do a boxster if I ever converted a car to electric. This is for reasons stated before... more abundant, rust resistance, etc...

However, for now the wife and I both drive 40 mpg clean diesels. The new jetta TDI is only 22K and delivers pretty awesome economy. I figure we do need to make the shift to energy independence for a multitude of reasons ... global warming, smog, economy of the nation, on and on....

No one technology will address everyone's needs so I say bring on the diesels, hybrids, EV's etc... Yes I still have my jeep for towing and hauling.... However, I now drive it less than 500 miles a year.....

I have strayed a bit from the initial premise of this thread so I will go ahead and stop here....

[jrmole]

Hi all,

I just got home from after dropping off my son at school - in my 1975 914 EV. I was actually moved to convert the car because I used to drive a Honda EV+ (a lesser known late-90's EV than the GM EV1). It was a great car, but after 4.5 years Honda cancelled the lease and crushed the car. I loved that car and would still be driving it if Honda had let me keep leasing it.

My original plan was to convert an early BMW Z3 - long front trunk with a heavy engine. The alternative was a 914 where I could buy a kit with most of the parts. I decided not to do the Z3 because 1) I would need to design my own battery boxes and 2) I would need to hack into the computer if I wanted to retain the anti-lock brakes, airbags, etc. After finishing the 914, none of these things scare me anymore.

Getting back to the original issue (using '76s for EV conversions). I understand the writer's point. I choose a '75 because it was the body I could find that had a crappy engine and was local. I've tried to make sure that the parts I pull get recycled into the 914 community - often giving away smaller items rather than trashing them. Honestly, if I could have found a 76, I would have used it. There were only two for sale around me during the few months I looked. One was completely restore - I couldn't tear that one apart. The other was a bucket of rust in the shape of a car. Oh well.

I went with a small AC motor. It is very efficient and expect I will have a 60ish mile range with golf cart batteries once I work out all the kinks in the battery monitoring system - keeping my drives under 30 miles until then. When these batteries die, I will probably bite the bullet and invest in lithium-ion (hope the price really starts dropping). That will drop the weight of the car back down to near stock and increase my range to about 100 miles. The downside of the little AC motor is that I don't have the torque I would like in a sports car. It does ok on flat ground (not far off the stock performance), but the 1,000 pounds of lead makes it struggle on the very steep hills near my house. ANother reason to get Lithium if I can afford it for the next battery pack.

I enjoy driving it and expect to keep tinkering with it for years. Is it practical? Sort of. I work 5 miles from home, so it will easily be my commuter car. I can use it for quick runs to the hardware store on the weekend (as long as what I am buying can fit in the passenger seat). Could it be my only car? No. Of course, a two seater is almost never a practical car, so I don't think my EV should have to meet that standard.

Finally, I power my car with part of the 4,000 Watts of solar panels on my roof. During the day, my meter spins backwards as I sell power to the electric company. At night, I buy it back (at an off-peak discount!) to charge the car. My panels make enough excess power to put 10,000 miles/year on the 914 and still not have to write a check for my electricity. Given that I was only driving the car that the 914 is "replacing" about 6,000 miles a year, this should be fine. I could add a plug-in hybrid (if they ever really come to market) and still not spend money on power.

Enjoy your cars! I do mine.