Electric Vehicle (EV) conversion guides review and information from the web

If you are planning to do your own DIY electric car conversion project, selecting the donor car is the fun part.

This is where you get to see the actual electric car…well only the outer shell. There’s still a long way to go before you’ll be buzzing away in your EV.

When you are selecting a donor car, here are 5 tips you can consider to make your choice easier.

1) The GVWR.

GVWR is short for Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. This is the car ability to carry the extra weight of your battery pack without exceeding its legal limitations.

So what is the guideline for the right GVWR?

The key here is knowing how many batteries you will need. The number of batteries needed for your EV will depend on the power system you will be using.

The power system can be either 48, 96 or 144 volts. Therefore, the extra weight of the battery can ranges from 240 to 720 lbs.

Make sure the total weight of the battery is less than 50% of the GVWR of your donor car.

2) Aerodynamic.

One way to increase your EV driving mileage is to reduce its air drag. To do that, it is best to get a donor car with good aerodynamic.

How do you know if it has good aerodynamic features?

If it has rounded corners and shape like a tear drop on its side, air will flow through the car easily. If it is box shape, you might as well get an ice cream truck as your donor car.

3) Minimal rust.

Check your donor car for rust. If it has lots of rust patches or worst, holes on the body of the car you can see through, give it a pass.

Patching rust holes and painting it can be a pain and expensive. Why go through the hassle.

4) Manual transmission.

This is very important, get a donor car with a manual transmission. An automatic transmission does not work well with an electric motor. It needs constant high torque to spin the gears.

With a manual transmission, it is much easier and cheaper to bolt the shaft of the motor to the central core of the transmission.

5) Less electrical gadget is better.

You may want to get a donor car without too many electrical gadgets such as power steering and air-conditioner. This type of equipment will need additional power to work, which means you have to build a separate power unit.

You may have to compromise on some of the basic comfort of your donor car. If you live in a cold climate, there’s a way you can make a DIY heater for your EV.

Looking For Used Cars

The idea for this blog post came to me when I was surfing the internet looking for second hand car. I was looking at a couple of used car directories. I thought to myself “Where else can I find cheap used cars?” And then a “light bulb” flashes on my head, why not look at car auctions!

That’s what I did. I started looking for information about used car auction on the internet. Initially my thoughts were to get a car maybe 2 or 3 years old for myself. And then it dawned on me, the same car can also be used for electric vehicle (EV) conversion!

As you may have already known, you need a donor car for your Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car conversion project. If you are looking for cheap electric donor car, why not go to used car auctions. The more I think about it, the more excited I become!

There are many advantages of getting a donor car from auctions compared to a used car dealer. Firstly, the cars from auctions are generally in better condition. Some of the vehicles are pretty new but the owner has to give it up because he is unable to service the loan. As far as we know, the used car dealers may have gotten the vehicles from car auctions themselves and selling it for a profit.

Getting Used Cars From The Government

From my research, here’s what I found. Some organizations have no choice but to get rid of surplus cars on their books. This is especially true for some US government departments.

But here’s the problem, there are so many states in the country with hundreds of car auction going on every day. How would we know which one to choose? Here’s what I found.

There is actually a web site that gathers all the government vehicle auctions information on one central database. The web site is Gov-Auctions.org. The first time I saw this web site, I was really existed. The government is trying to get rid of cars at auctions. This means you have the potential to get dirt cheap vehicle as an electric donor car!

Government Car Auction Information Web Site

Here’s the catch. The government car auction site is not a free service. You have to pay them a fee to access their database of all the auction sites. Nonetheless, the fee is very minor. Just imagine if you were to find a great deal at the auction, the money saved would have been more than enough to cover your investment. Check out the screen shot below on some of the cars up for auction.

Ideal Candidates For Electric Donor Car

I don’t know about you, but I am really excited about this! I have never done any bidding at car auctions before. It is a good place to learn. I will do more research on this. If you are in the process of searching for cheap electric donor vehicle for EV conversion, check out Gov-Auctions.org.

Related web sites:
1) Convert 2 EV and Electricity 4 Gas Guides Review – Top Electric Car Conversion Kit Manuals

2) Electric Car Motor – Choosing The Right Motor For Your DIY EV

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If you have already decided to start your own electric car conversion project, the next step is to find a donor car. A donor car is a conventional vehicle that you will be stripping out the internal combustion engine (ICE) and replacing it with an electric motor. There are a few other things that you have to build into the donor car such as battery racks, electric controller, adapter plate, meter gauges etc.

Locating Cheap Donor Vehicle

One thing that most electric car enthusiasts want to know is where to find a cheap donor car. There is one place where you can do your research and it is at www.autotrader.com.

Autotrader.com is one of the largest new and used car listing web site on the internet. You can utilize the Autotrader search engine to help you to find the perfect donor car for your DIY electric car conversion. Here’s what you need to do.

First, go to Autotrader main web site. You should see a search box on the top left. Click on the “Any Make” pull down menu and choose the model of donor car you like. To find a cheap donor vehicle, it is recommended for you to select Volkswagen.

Autotrader.com web site

Next enter your zip code and click on the “Next” button. This will bring you to a page where you can narrow down your selection. Select “Used Cars” for the “Search for” category. Then you can select the search area within your area.

Next, select any body style and choose Volkswagen as the model again. Choose the year range for the donor car that you want. If you are looking for cheap vehicle, you may want to select year 1981 – 1990. The next step is to enter your price range.

Get Better Deal With Private Sellers

Here’s a trick you can use to find inexpensive donor car. Select “Private Sellers Only”. You will find better search results because you do not have to pay any mark up fee to the Dealers. Finally, press the “Search” button.

Autotrader search engine will then list down all the car listings as per your requirement. There is a disclaimer though. When anything is cheap, usually the vehicle needs some repair. Make sure you communicate with the seller and really find out the condition of the car. If you want to find cheap donor car for your homemade electric vehicle, you have to do some leg work. It is a good idea to be prudent.

Listings of cheap Volkswagen donor car models

There are many ways you can save on your DIY electric car conversion project cost. The trick above with Autotrader.com, I learned it from Les Oke’s Convert 2 EV. If you want to know more tips and strategies to find cheap parts for your EV Conversion, check out Convert 2 EV e-book.

==> Click here to visit Convert 2 EV now!

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