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Cool :cool:

http://ecomodder.com/blog/2008/01/26/16-year-old-builds-electric-pickup-truck/


Andrew Angelloti, an Ecomodder forum member (http://forum.ecomodder.com/), converted his very own 1988 Mazda pickup to run on electricity last year, using $6,000 he had saved up from his part time job as a life guard. He built his truck using 20 flooded lead acid batteries to create 120 volts, which he couples to a 60 HP 9” electric motor.
How does it perform? Reaches a top speed of 55mph, has an acceleration of “not too bad…,” and can get up to 40 miles on a charge (which is more than enough to get him to work and back, and coincidentally, will be something similar to what the Chevy Volt is supposed to be able to do).
What’s even more amazing is that Andrew is now working on a second EV conversion. This time he’s doing the same with a 1992 Toyota Tercel, but with a much bigger motor for a lot more speed. He’s hoping to use a 120HP motor to have the top speed up to 80 MPH with a bit of sacrifice of the range.

Very cool. There were several small pickup based homemade EVs at the event I went to this weekend in Miami. There were also a couple cars built by high school kids. If only building EVs would get as popular as modding sport compact cars...

This link shows many examples of home built EVs: http://www.evalbum.com/

Phil

A truck is a pretty ideal candidate for an EV conversion - plenty of room for the batteries without putting them in the passenger compartment, which could be a safety hazard for a homebrew job.

I too wish I had been interested in that as a teenager instead of the sport compact arena.

I remember encountering a EV S-10 a few years ago at the first Altwheel festival in Boston. It made no noise and scared the hell out of me because I didn't notice it driving past behind me until the last second.