One of the most popular donor car for Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car conversion is the Volkswagen VW Beetle. There are many reasons why a Bug is chosen to be electric retrofitted.
The main reason would be its low cost and easy availability. Most old VW Beetle are rear wheel drive, has a manual transmission and ample storage space for the batteries.
Many VW Beetle enthusiasts are converting their car to pure EV. The process is not very difficult. It is sort of like "heart surgery" for the car. The idea is to remove the internal combustion engine (ICE) and replaces it with a DC electric motor.
Since the engine is gone, all its associated components such as gas tank, fuel lines, fuel pump, radiator and exhaust pipe are redundant and to be removed as well. To power the electric motor, a series of lead acid flooded batteries are used. Storage for the batteries would not be an issue since the Bug has ample space.
If you are not good with hand tools or familiar with the internal workings of a Beetle, it would be a better idea to outsource the conversion work to a profession workshop. As a car owner, you should not be ignorant though. It is recommended for you to get some basic knowledge on the science of an electric vehicle. With the information at hand, at least you will know when you are being charged for unnecessary parts or work done on your Bug.
Guide To Convert VW Beetle To Electric Car
If you are looking for an electric car conversion guide, you should check out Les Oke's Convert 2 EV. Les and his family has been living "green" for more than 20 years. Their goal is to have a living lifestyle which is friendly to the environment. One way of doing so is by driving pure electric cars.
Les has converted numerous gasoline guzzlers to EVs. Convert 2 EV is his knowledge and experience packed into an e-book. The e-book is actually written for beginners. You will be glad to know there are no confusing technical jargon in this manual.