I took my son to the DC Auto Show on Saturday. The last thing I ever expected to find there was a 914, but there it was, in a display of plug-in electric cars.

It's a '74 that looks mostly original, a bit tatty, and has photovoltaics attached to both trunk lids. Is the owner a member here?

Click to view attachment

I would like to know more about this car.

In the photo, my son is blocking the url EVADC.org -- that plus a little Googling led me to this:
http://marylandev.org/charlie-garlows-amazing-ride/

So I've answered my own thread in part; still curious if he's a member here.

Here is the info on the car: http://www.evalbum.com/1273

I had the chance to meet him when I took my 914 down to College Park, Md , recently to get painted.

Mine is also electric and we had a chance to talk about issues in general.
Great guy and is not on the forum and really could use the help since he is below me on the knowledge pecking order and no one should be in that lonely spot.

Neither of us sacrificed a Porsche motor to do our conversions, and both runners would probably be sold for scraps had we not given them back some life.

He knows that he has a lot of work to do both as a 914 and battery-wise.
The photocells are nice but really can only help charge the 12 volt accessory battery.
Most of us use a DC to DC converter to keep the accessory battery charged from the primary pack.

He is president of their local EV society and I'll see he gets a copy of my response.

George
Wilmington, DE

So,

He bought it already converted....nice way to do it.
I would buy one if I could find one....

35 mile range....not cool.
Seems he needs to upgrade that a bit.

Rich

35 miles is not much. I wouldn't take a chance to getbitboit of the driveway. A little traffic and you are in trouble. I would live an electric car. I let one go last week because it was 50 miles (not a 914).
I think I would be comfortable with a minimum of 125 miles on a charge.

Double post -deleted

Incidentally, I was at the car show looking for what might be my next DD. My wife recently got a minivan, so I no longer need a big family car -- so I'm looking at downsizing to something economical. I might be ready to buy in a year or so.

Anyway -- one of the cars that actually impressed me most is the Chevy Volt. It's not new, but hadn't sat in one before. The interior is roomy and quite high-end relative to other compact cars. Given sluggish sales, they're discounting pretty generously... e.g $38K sticker, buy for $33K, minus $7500 tax credit... all with 48 months 0.0% financing.

The EV+range extender is a very appealing powertrain. Most days I'd stay within the EV range in my daily commute but know that with the gas engine I'd never be stranded.

The side of the car says "solar & wind", maybe he puts a sail up?

He uses Solar and Wind to charge the batteries! I am sure he means at his house!

One of the mistakes people make is that the conversion to electric is about the range, when it is actually about the challenge.
My own Ev conversion was about the challenge of doing something different from my daily grind. I never had worked on cars until 4 years ago and I am entering my sixth decade.
I only get 30 miles to a charge but I would never drive it under conditions that would leave me stranded. Part of the process is to devise a safe and reliable method to know when it is time to re-charge. This will vary depending on many factors other than just miles driven or volts remaining. It helps that my practice is 3 miles from home.

What I did not expect was to become a 914 fan. What a great car and what a great experience over the last 4 years learning about brakes from Eric Shea or having Dr. Evil work on my tranny when not checking prostates. I've probably sent many of the forum vendors on nice vacations from my never ending quest to improve the quality of my ride.

Hope to get to Hershey this year, but will have to tow it in. Just too far.
Please no booing if I make it,

George Ozer
Wilmington, DE

No booing. I would love to see your ride.

Yep, saw this one at the show also - had to take a look...

As for electric and hybrid, I'm not sold - most of what I have read claims battery production/disposal is a greater carbon footprint than comparable fossil fuel cars. And then the added cost for questionable return - from personal experience our grocery/dog hauler Honda Fit comes in at 33-35 MPG, our neighbor's Prius at 40-42, and a friend's Jetta TDI at 40-46.

But we do need options - oil won't last forever. And like all technology-based products, they take time to mature. So who knows, maybe this is the future, but do me a favor, make an electric engine sound like a flat 4 or flat 6!

Love to see the whole project, and is understand the quest....

Personally, I would go after lithium batteries and figure out that part of the challenge....money, space, heat etc....

I resemble that remark

I bought my 914 w/o a running engine for an EV conversion, and while saving more $$$ for those parts had my daily driver wrecked and chose to drop a 1.7 TIV w D-jet in. As I continue to save $$$, I've upgraded almost everything else to be lighter. My strategy is to continue to attend 1-5 AX races a year until I can kill this TIV!


It is actually a reliable ride w an ave 25+ MPG

I also did not expect to be a 914 fan. I purpose bought a 1.7 for conversion. Spent the next 2.5 years converting it, learning a lot about EVs along the way.

The 914 is a superb platform for conversion, with all of the trunk space and the big engine bay. Add in the use of the heating tubes for cables, and your system is that much safer.

For those thinking of conversion, please, please, PLEASE do not convert a 2.0. Please pick a 1.7.

Cheers, Peter

There is an electric 914 sans batteries stored in a hangar here at the airport. I'd like to take a look at it some day. I don't know the owner but hope to soon.