If you are environment friendly and mindful of your cost of driving a gasoline powered car, you will surely be planning to buy an electric car. Electric cars cost a lot but if you can convert a gasoline car into an electric car yourself, it will cost only a fraction of what a new electric car would cost.
Since an electric car uses only electricity to run, cost of driving an electric car is very negligible when compared to the cost of driving a gasoline car. The following are the steps involved in converting a car into an electric car.
1. Choose a suitable donor car.
The car you are selecting for conversion into an electric car must be very light. Light electric cars can run more miles than heavy cars. They can also attain higher speeds than heavy ones.
However, if you choose a very small car, you will find it difficult to accommodate the battery and the motor in it. A pickup truck is the ideal donor vehicle for conversion.
2. Avoid a car that has automatic transmission.
Converting a car that has manual transmission system is much easier than converting a car that has automatic transmission system. You don’t have to worry about the transmission because your electric car will not have a gear box.
3. Check the condition of the donor car.
Check the donor car very thoroughly to ensure that the car is in good working condition. If you aren’t able to do it yourself, take a mechanic with you who will check the car for you. If the car doesn’t function well, whatever expenses you are incurring on converting the car will be futile. The life of the donor car should match the life of electric components you are going to mount on the car.
4. Search for a used car.
To bring the cost of your electric car down, find a used car for conversion. There are cars whose engine is badly damaged and the owners of such cars will be willing to sell the damaged cars at throw away prices. Possible places where you will find them are local junk car dealerships and advertisements on the internet. An engineless car is of no use to the owner but of great value for your car conversion project.
5. Remove the engine of the car.
Your electric car doesn’t need the gasoline engine. You can remove it with the help of a few of your friends and the basic tools. If you find it difficult for you, hire a mechanic. If you allow the mechanic to keep the engine for himself, he might do the engine removal free of cost.
6. Use a conversion guide.
This is the final and most important step. Since you are not a professional in car conversion, you need help at each and every stage and a good electric car conversion manual will be of great help in this regard. The manual will not only help you to fix the right parts at the right places but will also tell you where you can find the parts at cheap rates.
A conversion guide may cost $50 at the maximum and if you follow the instructions carefully, the cost of your DIY electric car will be around $4500.
Compare it with the cost of electric car conversion kits which cost around $6000. So, converting a car into an electric car is not as costly and as difficult as you might think.