What Kind of Car Makes The Best Electric Conversion?

by Richard
(Tigard, OR)

Chevy S-10 conversion featured in "Home Power" magazine

Question: Which kind of car is best to convert?

Hi, Richard!

According to electric conversion specialist Randy Holmquist up at Canadian Electric Vehicles in BC, there is only one answer to this question: the Chevy S-10 with manual transmission. The conversion kit that went into the truck in the picture above came from Randy's shop, and you can read this (PDF) "born to be wired" article on the conversion process.
Canadian Electric Vehicles sells a conversion kit made especially for the S-10 for about 9K (not including batteries) and ships a few into the US every month.

Light pickups are a favorite electric car conversion choice because they're aerodynamic (enough), there's a lot of room in the bed for a battery box, and they've got the bone structure to handle a load of heavy batteries.

Regards,
Lynne