Electric Car Conversion Kit (for beginners)
There are AC kits, and DC kits, universal kits, custom kits, kits for specific types of cars (like the Porsche 914), basic 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 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 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:
They can also provide pre-wired control boxes for a plug and drive system for an additional $1,200US. 
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. This is what
Electro Automotive's
Deluxe Universal Kit (the DC version) comes with:
...and finally, last but not least, they provide you with a copy of "Convert It!" to help you along. Here's a
link to a conversion blog
done by one of Electro Automotive's kit customers. Got a conversion question? Read other people's questions, see the answers they got, leave a comment of your own...it's all here.
O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.
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