I want to convert a vehicle to an EV, but the question is, what vehicle?
In theory, something slim and sporty would be best, for aerodynamics and efficiency. But sports cars have a few drawbacks:
- Not much in the way of room to store batteries
- Not a lot of weight capacity for carrying batteries
- Expensive to buy.
I'd love to convert a Citroen, with their hydropneumatic suspension system making for a silky smooth ride, along with being able to carry the load. However:
- Rarer than solid gold rocking-horse excrement here in Canada
- Mechanically complex
- incredibly hard to get parts for.
- In pre-XM models, the hydraulic pump has to be powered too.
So, what will I do? The answer may surprise you.
A pickup.
Yes, that's right, a pickup truck. A small one, like a Chevy S10 or a Ford Ranger (Not a Dodge Ram or an F1/2/350).
"Why on earth would you do that?", I hear you ask.
There's a few good reasons.
- They're cheap to buy
- They have a high carrying capacity
- You can use the masses of dead space under the pickup bed to store your cells
- They're cheap to buy
- They're usually rear-wheel drive, so making a Direct Drive pickup would be fairly easy
- With Direct Drive onto the rear differential, the entire engine compartment would be virtually empty, more space for cells
- They're cheap to buy
- Replacement, and custom, parts are very easy to get hold of (and relatively cheap)
Yes, I know, I'm a cheapskate. But when you're broke 90% of the time, it's to be expected, really.
So, what am I going to put into this thing?
Hopefully the local ReStore has an ACIM I can snag for dirt cheap and use, and when PaulMHolmes gets his finger out and gets his AC controller plans working and available I'll grab those and make myself a controller for it. Then it'll probably be a matter of getting some 12v cells until I've stashed enough to splash out on a LiFePO4 pack (or something better – Kokhams maybe, or A123s?)
