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Posted by: racunniff Aug 3 2007, 09:11 PM

Link: http://914ev.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-first-ev-video.html



This is the same 144 volt AC kit I'm (slowly) installing: http://volt914.blogspot.com

Posted by: scotty Aug 4 2007, 12:28 PM

A very slickly done install!

When gas hits $75 a gallon, I guess I'll convert mine.

I'm very tempted to find a roller and do this now though...it'd be a great project for my high school students. I'd want to go for power over range so we could dominate the high school drags (Woodburn or PDX)

...something like http://evcl.com/914/ would be very cool for my 5-mile round trip to work (as the teacher, I'd have to check it out )

Posted by: Bartlett 914 Aug 4 2007, 09:44 PM

I would love to do a conversion. I am a little concerned about sticker shock. What kind of budget have you planned for this project?

Posted by: racunniff Aug 4 2007, 11:30 PM

Not counting restoration work (ahem) I estimate I'm about 15,000 into the conversion - the kit was roughly 12,500 and the batteries are another 1,500, with another 1,000 misc costs (tools, etc.). You don't do this if you're doing it to save money

You can do it cheaper probably. But I wanted the AC kit for the following reasons:

1. Regen braking extends battery life for city driving
2. Regen braking adds to your stopping power (there are 1150 pounds of lead in there now...)
3. The AC kit seems to have a somewhat higher power to weight ratio than the DC kit (although that's a little debatable)

Some day I hope to replace the lead acid with exotic tech batteries (LiIon, etc.), but for now, that will cost you an *additional* 20-30K...

Posted by: Bartlett 914 Aug 5 2007, 08:57 AM

Thats about how much I suspected. Maybe these conversions will come down a little. I agree it's not about saving money. I just think it would be great to go to the office every day in a clean emission free cool car. Maybe down the way a bit this will be doable for me.