Electric Vehicle Conversion/Resources

Note the presence of hazardous materials and conditions that must be approached with proper precautions and procedures to avoid damaging, injurious, or even fatal consequences.

External links

Clubs and associations

• http://www.evdl.org/ - The Ultimate EV Discussion List
• http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/ - DIY Electric Car Forums (The Leading Web-Based Conversion Community)
• http://www.eaaev.org/ The Electric Auto Association, national with many local groups. Membership includes local group dues.
  • http://www.eaaev.org/eaachapters.html EAA Index to clubs
• http://www.nedra.com/ National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA)
• http://www.evco.ca/ Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa
• http://www.veva.ca

Conversions and conversion guides

• http://www.evsupersite.net Electric Vehicle Conversion Supersite. Complete online diary of two electric vehicle conversions (1996 Saturn sedan and a 1980 Kawasaki motorcycle). This site contains hundreds of web pages, images, and useful links. See what an electric vehicle conversion is all about...
• http://jerryrig.com/convert/ Jerry's Electric Car Conversion. Complete and detailed with 45 pages and many images and diagrams. This shows the amount of work and attention to detail required.
• http://www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/Welcome.html A New Beetle Electric Vehicle Conversion
• http://www.socalev.com/ Electric VW Cabriolet (8 inch DC, 108 volt flooded wet cells) with detailed cost information
• http://web.archive.org/19990202063250/www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/4429/ A light truck 144 Volt DC conversion using AGM lead acid cells.
• http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1997_Febuary_March/The_Eternal_Engine/ Chevrolet S-10 pickup with front compartment and underbed wet cells between the frame rails.
• http://www.coate.org/jim/ev/et/ Jim's Electric Truck, a Chevrolet S-10 with tilt bed and 8 volt flooded batteries producing 176 volts,
• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/600.html 1996 Ford Ranger light truck, 132 volt.
• http://www.canev.com/Conversions/Echo/Echo.html 2000 Toyota Echo.
• http://www.e-m-w.com/ Porsche 914 with SAFT niCad batteries and Brusa AC motor.
• http://www.metricmind.com/ac_honda/main2.htm Another high tech amateur conversion, this of a Honda, employing a Siemens AC motor and LiIon batteries; supercapacitors are to be added for performance enhancement
• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/tech/balance.html From "EV Engineering Guidebook: Electric Vehicle Conversions for the 1980's", by Paul R. Shipps
• http://www.evconvert.com 1990 Ford Probe, 144vdc
• http://convert.jerryrig.com 1985 Mazda 626, 144vdc lead acid
  • http://www.pleiades-enterprises.bigstep.com/generic173.html - Electric Cars and Clean Air, What a Concept! VW Cabriolet
• http://www.qualiticonversions.com/ Vehicle Conversions
• http://www.amphibike.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?page=pages/3_wheels/mr2 Conversion of a Toyota MR2 with many details concerning motor to flywheel and transmission mating

News and Information

• • http://www.sonander.org/electric/index.html Two Cents Per Mile - news, videos, and other resources about Electric Vehicles
  • http://www.megawattmotorworks.com/ High performance electric vehicle news, links, and information
  • http://www.hybridcars.com/decision-process/top-7-issues-electric-car-conversion-25839.html 7 Issues to Consider Before You Start an EV Conversion
  • http://www.pleiades-enterprises.bigstep.com/generic182.html - FREE EV Commuter Conversion Class Video Download
  • http://www.twocentspermile.com - Informative website and book about more generally the history of Electric Cars

Research and development vehicles

• • http://www.calcars.org/ CalCars - converting a Prius to become a plug-in hybrid.

School project conversions

• http://www.evchallenge.org/03-04/hs_webpages/s-durham/ The Crimson Shocker - Durham North Carolina Southern High School's conversion of a 1993 Ford Probe.
• Commercial conversions and restorations
• http://www.lionev.com/DIY_Ranger Ranger conversion with extensive step-by-step conversion images
• http://labshelf.com/electric-car-conversion.html Electric Car Conversion
• http://www.theenergyguy.com/MoreTEGsCar1.html A light vehicle, a 1980 Renault "Le Car" commercial conversion restored by the owner.
• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/602.html Three Solectria conversions with Lead Acid, NiCad, and Lithium Ion batteries.
• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/608.html Solectria S-10 light pickup, dual AC motors, single speed, 288 volt gel-cell PbA

Custom vehicles

• http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/ EV3P0 - a well illustrated article on the construction (links provided as some browsers do not display the home page links)
  • http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/The%20Race.htm About the race - a rally in Costa Rica
  • http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/ev3po%20specs.htm Specifications
  • http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/pictures.htm Pictures
  • http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/The%20beginning.htm Story from the beginning with links to following pages
  • http://home.roadrunner.com/~ev3po/Update.htm Latest updates
• Commercial conversions with additional owner modifications
  • http://www.aracnet.com/~rmerwin/prizm/ 1993 Geo Prism
• Racing conversions - street legal
  • http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/035.html 1972 Datsun conversion, dual motors with controller bypass contactors, 240 volt AGM pack.
  • http://www.northampton.k12.nc.us/shocker2/ev.html An electric autocross campaigner (1985 Ford Escort)
• Drag racers
  • http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/592.html Circuit Breaker, 135 mph (217 km/h) in 1/4 mile, 9.44 seconds
• Albums
• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/ The Electric Vehicle Photo Album

A chapter of electric vehicle conversion - Resources

Technical information

• Forged wheels information
  • http://forgedwheels.ca - information about forged rims for electric cars in Canada.
• Battery information sites
  • http://www.a123systems.com/ Next Generation of Lithium-Ion Batteries (manufacturer's site)
  • http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm/ Solar power site with much information concerning batteries of various types
  • http://www.cyb.com.au/industrial/Motive_PS/Technical_Advice/Theory/default.htm Theory of Electric Traction Batteries (various types)
  • http://www2.ald.net/~roden/ev/pages/saft.htm Comparison of cost effectiveness of SAFT NiCad batteries against other types
  • http://www.trojan-battery.com/Tech-Support/BatteryMaintenance.aspx Flooded lead acid battery care (Trojan Battery Company)
  • http://www.usbattery.com/pages/usbspecs.htm/ Flooded lead acid battery care (U. S. Battery Manufacturing Company) Note: website requires plug-in (Flash?) Some browsers require navigation from home page [1] - use "Specs" button
  • http://www.saftbatteries.com/120-Techno/10-10_produit.asp?paramtechno=Nickel+systems&Intitule_Produit=STM SAFT wet NiCad (manufacturer's site)
  • http://web.archive.org/20011220205834/members.aol.com/brucedp/evbatt.html Extensive lecture notes and follow-up commentary concerning PbA batteries, service life, range calculations, charging cycles and battery break-in effects.

Note: Trojan and U. S. Battery are the major United States manufactures of flooded wet lead-acid batteries appropriate for use in an EV conversion. These may also be sold under other "house brands" at major discounters, but one should be careful about using off brand batteries, which may be similar in appearance but which may not be built to the same quality and durability standards.

• Battery charging, water recovery, and charge balancing equipment
  • http://www.geocities.com/sorefeets/balancerland/ Free open source schematic and construction tips for a charge balancer (highly technical)
  • http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/environment/alternative-energy/energy-resources/homepower-magazine/archives/11/11pg37.txt Use of catalytic water recovery caps
• Brake systems
  • http://www.california.com/~eagle/figs/vacpump/vac.html ICE production vehicles with factory vacuum pumps (for junkyard scrounging)
• Instrumentation
  • http://www.qsl.net/k5lxp/ev/evgauge/evgauge.html A simple battery "gas" gauge using crossed meter movements.

Electric Vehicle Conversion Index

1. Technologies
2. Powertrain
3. Battery disposition, security, and wiring
4. Auxiliary systems and control
5. Chassies, suspension, and running gear
6. High power electrical
7. Controls, interlocks, indicators, and alarms
8. Conversion of concrete vehicles
9. Resources