Reply to: Yes, You CAN Convert an Automatic to Electric by: Tim Beasley
Thank-you Brian for your excellent article.
Quoting your closing statement: "The point is, people have to TRY stuff to see if it works or not. If we'd never tried making tools - the "expert" apes probably said couldn't be done, either - we'd still be swinging from trees" this is completely true, people need to try different ideas and methods because this is how we make improvements, and all the improvements put together make a better vehicle.
I believe if you are going to convert a vehicle with the intent to give others the opportunity to own it(which is my intent), you need to make the vehicle as convenient, and easy to maintain and operate as possible.
The cost of the conversion components, the donor vehicle and your time, dictate the need to ask many dollars for a converted vehicle ($18,000 ??). It could be challenging to sell a vehicle which will only travel 50 miles on a charge, so the vehicle must be built from an excellent donor and be easy to operate and fully functional. An automatic transmission would make operating the vehicle much easier for an owner who may not want to "operate" a vehicle as much as just get in and drive. Brian, I would like to learn more details of how you control your automatic. How you deal with transmission oil circulation at a stop light (auxillary pump?) How you control your shift points. I'd like to hear how you determine your range (I guess that applies to anyone's vehicle) How did you find the data on your transmission and the mechanics of making it shift when an how you want. And finally how much time you spent on the conversion. Thanks again for the great article. Tim
