What would be the benefits of a homemade Volkswagen VW Beetle Bug electric car? That is a very easy question to answer. Cost saving of course! If you own an gasoline driven automobile, your energy expense bill would have been inflated back in mid 2008.

Remember global crude oil prices was at a dizzying height of $150 per barrel? Stopping by the local gas station to fuel up was an expensive ordeal.

Why select a VW Beetle to be converted to a pure electric vehicle (PEV)? The idea of retrofitting a car to electric vehicle (EV) is to removed the internal combustion engine (ICE) and replace it with a DC electric motor.

When the ICE is removed, all its connecting components like gas tank, fuel lines, exhaust pipe, radiator etc. are redundant and to be removed as well. To generate torque, the electric motor is to be connected directly to the existing transmission unit. Since an old Bug is rear wheel drive, setting up the motor in place is much easier.

Well, the second reason why a VW Beetle is ideal to be an electric donor car is the cost. Old VW Bug us readily available. All you need to do is look into a local car “For Sale” listing.

If you can find a Beetle with a busted engine, that would be so much better. You can always negotiate with the seller for a lower price. Since no one in the right mind would buy a VW Beetle with a faulty engine…except an electric car retrofitter of course.

My guess is, most people would not have the skill or know how to convert an old VW Beetle into an EV at their home garage. In this case, it would be better if you were to send your donor car to a professional mechanic.

To be prudent, you should get some basic knowledge on VW EV Conversion. At least you will know when you are being overcharged.

Why would anyone want an electric VW Beetle Bug? To save money of course. Electric vehicle (EV) has been proven to be cheaper to run compared to a gasoline driven car. It is also much cheaper to maintain.

A conventional car has many associated maintenance cost such as regular oil change, oil filter, air filter, fuel pumps, oil pump etc. With an electric car, there are no such expenses needed.

Currently, the main drawback of an electric car is the high cost. Without economy of scale, EV manufacturers are unable to bring the cost of a new electric car low enough for it is affordable to the masses.

I am sure in due time, the prices will come down but for the time being, we would have to wait.

Many car enthusiasts are opting to convert a gasoline driven car to run purely on electricity through a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach from their home.

One of the main candidate for donor car is the Volkswagen VW Beetle. A Beetle Bug is popular because of its low cost and easily available. If you can find a Bug with a busted engine, it is so much better.

The idea behind VW EV conversion is to remove the internal combustion engine and replace it with an electric motor. Since the engine is jacked out, all the connecting components such as fuel lines, fuel pump, gas tank, radiator etc are redundant and to be removed as well.

The motor is to be bolted directly to the existing transmission unit. Lead acid batteries are used to supply power to the electric motor.

If you are not well versed with car maintenance, you can still enjoy the benefits of owning an electric VW Beetle. All you have to do is outsource the conversion work to a professional mechanic.

What you should do is get some basic information on homemade electric vehicle. At least you will know when you are being billed for unnecessary parts of work done on your car. Check out the VW Beetle electric car conversion guide review for more information.

The following is a list of processes required to convert a gasoline driven VW Beetle to run purely on electric. The list came about from my research and reading on electric car conversion guides.

The list is a guideline on the steps required for a DIY electric car retrofitting. Check out the list below.

1) To make the process easier, remove the car transmission and put in on your working place. Start by sliding the coupler onto the series motor and tighten all the screws. It is very important to make sure the electric motor shaft and the transmission center core lined up perfectly.

2) Using a floor jack or engine hoist, lift the motor and transmission setup and slide it into the engine compartment place. Tighten all bolts. Don’t tighten the bolts until you cut it.

3) Start building your battery racks or install preassembled battery racks. You can mount 4 – 6 batteries behind or under back seat of the Beetle and bolt or weld to the car frame.

4) Run the large Ga. cable from back to front of the VW Beetle. The cable can go under the rear seat and between front seats and through the firewall. Make sure one cable is marked with red on both ends for the (+) positive terminal.

5) Install throttle box in the engine compartment. It is easiest to use self-tapping screws and secure it right to the inside of the firewall. Measure the right distance and attach “L” bracket from the throttle box to mount the throttle cable sleeve. Attach cable to throttle box and adjust for proper range of travel.

6) Mount controller, contactor, fuse, and shunt at an appropriate location in the Bug engine compartment. To keep the cable short, it is best to keep all the parts as close together as possible.

7) Mount the amp meter and volt meter in appropriate location preferably on or near the dashboard.

8) Run all the cables from the batteries, controller, electric motor etc. This is a tricky process and you should have an electric car wiring diagram with you.

9) Run the light gauge wire to amp meter and volt meter. The electric vehicle can now be tested. Make sure it is in neutral with parking brake applied or on jack-stands when testing for the first time.

10) Wire main charger to battery pack. You can now start test driving your electric VW Beetle. After test driving the vehicle, plug it in to a power source and recharge.

I am assuming you understand and know all the components required for a VW Beetle Bug electric conversion. If not, you can get a copy of electric car conversion guide here. This list is not comprehensive. If you have any ideas, feel free to comment.

Recently, I have been looking at the statistics of my blog and I found there was a lot of interest on VW Bug electric car. I am not sure why this is so but since the blog readers like the subject of VW Beetle electric car, I will write more blog post about it.

Most of the information that I gathered from my research are from Les and Jane Oke’s e-book Convert 2 EV. I am going to write about how to choose the right VW Bug electric donor car.

Firstly, before you decide what type of Bug you want to get for your electric retrofitting, you have to decide what you want the car to do for you.

Do you want to carry passenger or do you want to carry cargo? If you want to carry cargo, how much cargo do you want to carry?

In this case, you can start to source for VW Bug Pickup for your electric car conversion project.

When you are choosing a VW Beetle electric donor car, find one which is light weight. Reason being, a light weight vehicle will give you more mileage per charge. It is basic science, the lighter the body, the less power you will need to propel the car forward.

The next important point to remember is to choose a donor car with manual transmission. A donor car with an automatic transmission is not really suitable for electric conversion. An automatic transmission would need the internal combustion engine to be running constantly to pump transmission fluid into the transmission.

An electric motor will stop turning when it is at rest therefore making a VW Bug with automatic transmission not suitable.

Most of the information I’ve gather about electric car conversion are common sense. But if you would like to do your own research on electric car, you can check out the review on electric car guides on the web below.

Click Here for Electric Car Conversion Guides Review

The following are a list of reason why a VW Beetle is a great electric donor car:

1) The Bug is simple.

There is no fancy electronic controllers or fancy circuitries.

2) It is a light weight vehicle.

A quick query on the search engine shows the Beetle has a curb weigh of 2100 lbs. An EV with less weight means less baterry to move it forward.

3) No power steering.

Less strain on the battery.

4) No power brakes.

Again less strain on the battery.

5) Manual transmission.

Great for low revolution DC electric motor and easy process to hook it up to the drive train.

6) Has a custom tow bar.

Very handy for towing purposes just in case the batteries ran flat.

The list is not comprehensive. If you have any thoughts on why a VW Beetle is a great donor electric car, please feel free to comment.

A lot of people have driven a VW Beetle but not many people have ever seen a VW Beetle electric car. A VW Beetle is actually quite suitable to be converted into an electric vehicle. If you are not well versed with car parts and maintenance, a Do It Yourself (DIY) conversion project may no be recommended. If you are good with hand tools and you are familiar with the working of a car, you may consider converting your gasoline driven car into a pure electric vehicle. All you need to get started is a good electric car conversion guide book.

Check out the VW Beetle electric car videos below.

I have been looking through the web and researching the best car model to be used as a donor car for a DIY electric car conversion project. A few of the sites that I have visited mentioned that a Volkswagon Beetle is pretty good to be retrofitted into an EV. Check out the blog post below:
classic euro economy cars: vw beetle

the volkswagen beetle,officially known as the type 1, is an economy car produced by the german auto maker volkswagen (vw) from 1938 until 2003. although the names “beetle” and “bug” were quickly adopted by the public, it was not until …

8/13 — Electric Beetle

Thomas Birkeland with the 1974 VW “Beetle” he has transformed into a fully electric commuter car. Click on (View Movie) to see a video tour of the vehicle. – Photo and video by Paul Dols. WHITE BEAR LAKE — The ignition key is turned and …

How Parked Cars Could Power the Future

Caption: A modified VW Beetle supplies power to the grid in this 2002 demonstration. Credit: AC Propulsion. Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday LiveScience examines the viability of emerging energy technologies — the power of the future. …

Electric car conversions are a great way to make use of alternative fuels without purchasing a commercial electric vehicle. One of the best cars to use, since they’re readily available and light weight,is an old Volkswagen Beetle.

Unlike the new Beetle, these cars don’t contain complicated circuitry and computers, making it much easier to convert them into electric cars.

Beetles newer than 1995 are difficult or impossible to convert, due to their computers, but older ones are entirely appropriate for an electric vehicle conversion.

Here’s a quick overview of the VW Bug Electric conversion process – of course, no short article can ever tell you all you need to know for an EV conversion. This is just the basic information you’ll need to get started.

Using VW Beetle Electric Conversion Kit

There are a number of kits you can purchase for Volkswagen VW Beetle conversions, depending on what you want out of your electric car.

The least powerful offer around a twenty to thirty five mile range and a top speed of thirty-five to forty miles per hour, creating an electric car that’s useful for short trips on smaller streets and roads.

A slightly higher power system will bring speeds up to forty-five to fifty-five miles an hour and extend the range to twenty to fifty miles, depending on the speeds the car is driven.

If you’re interested in highway driving, you can choose a 120 volt or greater system, offering speeds around sixty-five miles per hour or more with a range of sixty miles or greater.

The more batteries you include with your VW Bug electric car, the greater your range will be.

Driving more slowly also extends your range.  However, more batteries means a greater expenditure and more weight on the car.

Pay attention to the suspension in your vehicle when you choose your kit or components.

Manual Transmission Beetle Is Better

Conversions will work with vehicles that have automatic transmissions, but they’re not recommended.

That’s because an automatic transmission is much less efficient than a manual, and will drain your batteries more quickly.

You’ll want to remove the clutch, flywheel, pressure plate and related parts of the car, since most electric conversions use a clutchless system.

Batteries are usually installed in the engine compartment and front storage compartments of a Beetle, with additional batteries installable behind the back seat, under the back seat, and in other cases.

Construction of battery racks may be necessary, depending on where you’re going to put your batteries and how many you need to store.

Most conversions should use no more than twelve batteries to avoid needing to replace the car’s suspension.

A Volkswagen VW Beetle is a great choice for an electric car conversion. Check out all your options and see what’s available for the way you’d like to drive.

You’ll be surprised at how easy and inexpensive it could be to enjoy the benefit of an electric vehicle of your own.

Doing Your Own EV Conversion

If you are planning you own VW EV conversion, check out Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book.

It’s a step by step e-book with 11 High Definition (HD) instructional videos. For more information, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Electric Conversion Made Easy!

Related web pages:

1) 10 Reasons Why VW Volkswagen Beetle Is A Great Electric Donor Car

2) VW Electric Conversion Cost

3) Electric Car New Zealand – Taking Things Out