Has anyone been thinking about building an electric car (home-made) for themselvees any time soon? Options

[shawnbem]

I just read of how a man in Los Angelese has converted an old Porsche 914 to an electric car with a 60 mile range for $18,000 (24 lead acid batteries)
I thought to myself that's a good idea. Probably better to buy an electric scooter though, if you don't need to take the freeway often as is the case in L.A.

I'm now doing some investigation into that idea and I hope to begin building my own electic car also. Does anyone else have similar plans?

I have heard about how its actually better to convet old small pickup trucks (Ford/Toyota/GM) to electric pickups because the box can hold more batteries and the springs are easily upgraded to hold the extra tonnage. Lead acid batts are heavy but they're cheap, so that's why Lithium Ions are shunned for now.

[messix]

there has been several that have been done

[Chris914n6]

Today $18k buys 150,000 miles of gas in a 914.

Lithium batteries have come down in price and will continue to do so. You may pay more but at least you'll have some trunk/bed space left over when you're done.

[budk]

New member asking about EV..... There are a lot of EV forums that cover using a 914 but small pickups seem to be preferred. Btw, the trucks I have seen mount the batteries under the bed so the bed remains functional.

If I had more money than I knew what to do with I would be all over building an EV just to do it. Financially, it's does not make sees.

[Big Len]

I believe I have seen this car on FB.

If you feel so compelled to piss money away on a project like this, fine, but don't chop up a perfectly good classic car like a 914 to do it.

[r_towle]

http://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info...products_id=223

[mepstein]

One of the members living near me has converted his 914 to electric. I think his daily commute both ways is less than 10 miles. I'm pretty sure he spent around 9-10k on the conversion. Cool car but range and speed limited. I would buy someone's project for cheap but not interested in paying retail for the parts.

[stugray]

Now that full EV cars are becoming more popular, they are starting to show up in junk yards.

I would find a prius or a volt that has been totaled and see if the parts can be used to build a "modern" 914 EV.
And I wonder what Tesla does with its old batteries?
Maybe find the company they use to recycle their used batteries and buy some "used" but still functional?

Or just wait until jwalters (with the groundbreaking discovery) comes out with his self-powered wind turbine 914.
He was positive that it would be taking the world by storm any day now.

[jtg]

Here's some info on mine:

http://www.evalbum.com/3439

I've got over 4 years of trouble free driving. I checked on the internet and so far there are over 48 914's converted to electric power in the US.

Jim

[mepstein]

Now that full EV cars are becoming more popular, they are starting to show up in junk yards.

I would find a prius or a volt that has been totaled and see if the parts can be used to build a "modern" 914 EV.
And I wonder what Tesla does with its old batteries?
Maybe find the company they use to recycle their used batteries and buy some "used" but still functional?

Or just wait until jwalters (with the groundbreaking discovery) comes out with his self-powered wind turbine 914.
He was positive that it would be taking the world by storm any day now.

I remember that thread. Make more power than you use by driving down the road to power a wind turbine, or something kooky like that. Hi larious.

[Big Len]

Here's some info on mine:

http://www.evalbum.com/3439

I've got over 4 years of trouble free driving. I checked on the internet and so far there are over 48 914's converted to electric power in the US.

Jim

I say BS.

I say your range is optimistic at best. Hell,the Nissan Leaf or the BMW I3 can't do more than 100 miles.

You've added 500 pounds of weight in places it was never intended by the original designers. Fun to drive? I doubt it, especially if you add the low resistance, skinny ass, low grip tires.

It cost you $20K (if believable) to degrade the performance of the car with little hope of ever recovering such costs.

Sorry for getting so serious, but to me, sacrificing a classic car to fulfill your whims of being a "greenie" strikes me sacrilegious. There are plenty of shitty Corolla's out there you can play Dr. Frankenstein with.

[r_towle]

Here's some info on mine:

http://www.evalbum.com/3439

I've got over 4 years of trouble free driving. I checked on the internet and so far there are over 48 914's converted to electric power in the US.

Jim

I say BS.

I say your range is optimistic at best. Hell,the Nissan Leaf or the BMW I3 can't do more than 100 miles.

You've added 500 pounds of weight in places it was never intended by the original designers. Fun to drive? I doubt it, especially if you add the low resistance, skinny ass, low grip tires.

It cost you $20K (if believable) to degrade the performance of the car with little hope of ever recovering such costs.

Sorry for getting so serious, but to me, sacrificing a classic car to fulfill your whims of being a "greenie" strikes me sacrilegious. There are plenty of shitty Corolla's out there you can play Dr. Frankenstein with.

No need to represent and reinforce the reputation of east coaster being blunt.
Let anyone do what they want to do with the car they own.....no one can tell anyone what to do with their property...

[Chris Pincetich]

A well done 914 EV can be way faster 0-40 mph than a stock 2.0 TIV or most any other TIV. They get better every year. Someone posted this year about dropping a Tesla motor into a 914 EV, one that had been trouble free for years and now was going to be faster than before. Due to the amount of negative comments, I am not surprised they stopped posting here.

I see a lot of 914 projects on 914 World I don't agree with, but rather than criticize and "call BS" I prefer order more parts and work on mine, making it the way I want it to be, not they way anyone tells me it should be (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Mueller]

A well done 914 EV can be way faster 0-40 mph than a stock 2.0 TIV or most any other TIV. They get better every year. Someone posted this year about dropping a Tesla motor into a 914 EV, one that had been trouble free for years and now was going to be faster than before. Due to the amount of negative comments, I am not surprised they stopped posting here.

I see a lot of 914 projects on 914 World I don't agree with, but rather than criticize and "call BS" I prefer order more parts and work on mine, making it the way I want it to be, not they way anyone tells me it should be (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Teslas dyno to the rear wheels over 400ftlbs of torque, that is nothing to discount or thumb your nose up to....any real car guy should get tingly when talking numbers like that!

I've ridden in Otmars electric 914, I think if he programmed it full amps it would be in the 900ftlb range.

After the ride in Otmars car I had a grin ear to ear for an hour, it was a blast how quick the car was and how it pinned you back.

In an ideal world perhaps having one electric 914 to tool around the neighborhood
and one for real back road blasting about.

As for "ruining" a 914 to convert to electric, one could argue at least someone could be saving one from the wreckers, as much as the value of these cars have gone up, there are people out there that don't know or care about the 914 and would let it sit and rust or give to pick n pull.

[mepstein]

http://www.ebay.com/motors/Parts-Accessories/6028/

$180 BIN on ebay. Seems like a good base for an electric conversion.

My wife doesn't know it but she's glad it's not located nearby.

[Big Len]

A well done 914 EV can be way faster 0-40 mph than a stock 2.0 TIV or most any other TIV. They get better every year. Someone posted this year about dropping a Tesla motor into a 914 EV, one that had been trouble free for years and now was going to be faster than before. Due to the amount of negative comments, I am not surprised they stopped posting here.

I see a lot of 914 projects on 914 World I don't agree with, but rather than criticize and "call BS" I prefer order more parts and work on mine, making it the way I want it to be, not they way anyone tells me it should be (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Teslas dyno to the rear wheels over 400ftlbs of torque, that is nothing to discount or thumb your nose up to....any real car guy should get tingly when talking numbers like that!

I've ridden in Otmars electric 914, I think if he programmed it full amps it would be in the 900ftlb range.

After the ride in Otmars car I had a grin ear to ear for an hour, it was a blast how quick the car was and how it pinned you back.

In an ideal world perhaps having one electric 914 to tool around the neighborhood
and one for real back road blasting about.

As for "ruining" a 914 to convert to electric, one could argue at least someone could be saving one from the wreckers, as much as the value of these cars have gone up, there are people out there that don't know or care about the 914 and would let it sit and rust or give to pick n pull.

Tesla's were designed to be EV's from the start. Your comparison to a classic car is apples to oranges.

I don't doubt it would be faster 0-40. Most cars are, but then, the 914 was never about 0-40 or quarter mile times.

I'm not buying that this car can get 160 or 120 miles per charge. Not in the real world anyway.

Would you EV a Lotus Elan or a 2002 tii? How about an Alfa Spider or a '74 GTI? Those cars, like the 914, are more than a 0-40 time. They're about the sound of the motor directly behind, the blip-ping of the throttle during a gear change, the inherent lightness of a car that was born to change directions quickly and the tactile feel of the road.

That will never happen in your EV experiment.

[JRust]

Despite your negative comments. The 914 is a great platform for an electric conversion. It's his car to do with as he likes. I know of 2 done in my town. One of which I sold to Greg to do it with. The car is not butchered & could easily be put back to stock should someone desire.The 2nd car is Otmar's that Muellar mentioned. That car flat out hauls ass & while the weight of it isn't to my liking. Otmar is putting a Tesla EV into his stretch Vanagan as we speak.

Obviously I'm no purist as I love a good conversion. Water cooled or a porsche 6 I'm good with whatever. I would recommend looking up Otmar at Cafe Electric to get more info on an EV conversion. Dude is a straight up genius when it comes to them

[Chris914n6]

I'd do a Fiero before I'd do a 40 y/o rust prone Porsche parts pricing 914.
But I have a 200hp 914 so I'd do a small truck as a daily + truck things if it was cost effective. Alas I drive too little to even do a diesel swap to run biofuel with a decent return.

[eyecolor]

Guilty as charged.
I was fortunate to have mepstein over to visit my electric 914 and after 4 years of work I can agree with almost every opinion offered.
Financially it makes no sense but the feeling of accomplishment is awesome, especially for someone who does eye exams all day and knew nothing about brakes or transmissions until I had the good fortune to work with Eric Shea and Dr. Evil.
The car came with a non-working non-porsche motor and was probably one step from a parts car.
However, now its been saved and I hope to get it to Hershey this April. The right person can restore it to its formal glory, but not until I've stopped grinning.
Egg throwers will be tolerated
This group has been an excellent source of knowledge,goodwill, and inspiration.

George
Wilmington,DE

[mepstein]

Guilty as charged.
I was fortunate to have mepstein over to visit my electric 914 and after 4 years of work I can agree with almost every opinion offered.
Financially it makes no sense but the feeling of accomplishment is awesome, especially for someone who does eye exams all day and knew nothing about brakes or transmissions until I had the good fortune to work with Eric Shea and Dr. Evil.
The car came with a non-working non-porsche motor and was probably one step from a parts car.
However, now its been saved and I hope to get it to Hershey this April. The right person can restore it to its formal glory, but not until I've stopped grinning.
Egg throwers will be tolerated
This group has been an excellent source of knowledge,goodwill, and inspiration.

George
Wilmington,DE

I think that's what it's all about. Having fun.