Electric Car Conversion Kit (for beginners)

If you're new to conversions, you may ask, "What's in an electric car conversion kit?" The answer is, "that depends on where you get it". The simplest conversion kits have only a motor and a compatible controller. You'll need a few more items before you're ready to drive your conversion down the road, items you may or may not have laying around the garage already.

There are AC kits, and DC kits, universal electric car conversion kits, custom kits, kits for specific types of cars (like the Porsche 914), basic electric car conversion kits, and deluxe kits. So which one's right for you?

Beginners, start your engines...uh, motors.

If you've never converted a gas-gulper to electric before, you'll probably want to use a DC electric car conversion kit, and you probably want to use a donor car that's got a custom kit already specifically made for it; the Chevy S-10, Porsche 914, Volkswagen Rabbit, and Geo Metro, for example.

Why go with a DC kit?

Well, because the DC (direct current) motor system is simple, cheaper, and readily available. There are some drawbacks (the range won't be as good in your DC conversion, you probably won't be using regenerative braking), but it's a good place to start. Just like most electric car conversions are using golf cart batteries, most electric car conversions are DC systems. This is probably you, too. (If you're an electrical engineer, ignore all that and just continue with the AC conversion you were already working on; )

Why get a kit that's made for a specific car (a custom electric car conversion kit)?

Because it will save you 150 hours or so of difficult, boring, enthusiasm-killing, machine-shop type work. If you're a tinkerer, know your way around a machine shop and don't mind spending time putting things together...then taking them apart...then putting them back together again and rewiring the whole thing...

...you'll love building your own battery box and motor mounts. Go ahead. But for the rest of us, especially the first time, you'll be happiest getting a kit that fits your donor car's dimensions perfectly - as close to "plug-and-play" as it gets.

Canadian Electric Vehicles sells a complete Chevy S-10 kit for about $9000 US that's probably the best electric car conversion kit available for beginners.

Randy from Canev says he ships at least 2 of these a month down to the US. He told me last week that his company sells other kits, but that he's so impressed with this S-10 kit that he talks people out of their Metro or Rabbit conversions into a Chevy S-10 instead; )

It's got:

• 9" Advance DC Motor;
• 9" Motor to Transmission Adapter (Retains Clutch);
• 9" Motor Mount;
• Controller Heat Sink and Mounting Plate;
• Curtis 1231C Motor Controller;
• Zivan NG3 Battery Charger;
• DC/DC Converter;
• Albright SW-200 Main Contactor;
• 400A Main Fuse and Fuse Block;
• Heinemann Main Breaker with Manual Disconnect Cable;
• Battery Boxes;
• Battery Cables;
• Battery Cable Ends, Boots, Heat Shrink, and Markers;
• Link-10 with Prescaler, DC/DC, and Shunt;
• 30A Charger Inlet with Mounting Plate;
• 25Ft Marine Charging Cord;
• Inertia Switch;
• Heater and Relay;
• Heater Box;
• Power Brake Vacuum Pump Kit;
• Power Brake Vacuum Pump Reservoir;
• Overload Spring Kit;
• Front Spring Spacers;
• Control Box and Connectors (not wired);
• CAD Wiring Diagram and Installation Manual.

Canadian Electric Vehicles will also provide pre-wired control boxes for a plug and drive system for an additional $1,200US.

Universal Electric Car Kit

If you've already got a donor car, and it's not on that short list of pre-made kits...

...you'll be needing a "Universal" electric car conversion kit. This is a kit that's designed for cars the approximate size and weight of your donor car.

If you don't have a pretty well-stocked shop with a lot of spare scrap metal bits lying around, you'll probably be happiest with a Deluxe Universal kit rather than the basic electric car conversion kit. The basic kit presumes you have the materials to do your own wiring and construct your own mounts and boxes. The deluxe kit comes with everything.

Electro Automotive's Deluxe Universal Kit (the DC version) comes with:

• Advanced D.C. motor (8");
• Adaptor - to interface with the existing transmission;
• Contactor - also known as the "ignition";
• Controller - the "dimmer switch" for your electric motor;
• Potbox - informs the controller what you just told the accelerator pedal to do;
• Circuit Breaker - for safety;
• Fusible Links - go on the battery, to break the circuit in case of a short;
• Amp Gauge
• Volt Gauge
• Shunt
• Charger
• A bunch of stuff for attaching the above to your car - like cable, lugs, washers...and they also thoughtfully provide cable crimper and shears;
• Battery-care items - like a filler and hydrometer...
• ...and finally, last but not least, they provide you with a copy of "Convert It!" to help you along.

Move on from "electric car conversion kit" to "EV conversion questions".