About Al
Hi everyone and welcome to my blog, Electric Car Conversion Blog.
I’m Al (sometimes known as Crazy Al) and I’m a car fanatic who spends a lot of time working on cars. I also drive a lot which means I’m forced to service and repair my cars a lot. I also like tinkering with Electric Motors and I currently own an Electric Scooter and have done an Electric Go Kart Conversion. I’ve also had a bicycle which had a modified starter motor driving the rear wheels. I’ve rebuilt my go-kart to run on electric using a modified Electric Starter Motor. This was my 2nd attempt at it. The 1st attempt resulted in the wheel turning (when the go kart was off the ground). As soon as the wheels hit the ground, the v-belt slipped (I did not use a traditional chain and sprocket drive as at that time, I did not have a chain or sprocket). My 2nd attempt has been a lot more successful and I’m developing my Electric Go Kart for various reasons which I will outline in this blog. The experiences and learning curve I gain from doing an Electric Go Kart Conversion will be used when I do an Electric Car Conversion.
My Electric Go Kart resulted in me being invited to exhibit my Electric Go Kart at the 2011 Canberra International Electric Vehicle Festival along side other notable Electric Car manufacturers such as Tesla, Nissan and Mitsubishi. The atmosphere at this event was fantastic and gave me greater networking contacts with others who have done Electric Car Conversions and Electric Vehicle Conversions.
I’ll be exhibiting my Electric Go Kart at the 2012 Summernats Car Festival where I have sponsors and friends helping me with various upgrades to my Electric Go Kart.
I test drive various Electric Vehicles and talk to the owners about their Electric Conversion experiences. I take pictures and grab the various specifications which I progressively post on this blog.
I’ve been interested in Electric Cars since 1994 after someone took me for a spin in his Electric Car which was a converted Daihatsu. I was amazed by the power and acceleration of this car. I rode in a few more electric cars after that. I thought that the car makers would start building them and some made various promises, but after 16 years many never came to fruition. I do hear of more promises being made, but I’m at a point where I’ll believe it when I see it.
So after thinking that the car makers would make an Electric Car that I would want I’ve decided to look at doing an Electric Car Conversion myself as the cost and maintenance involved in maintaining an Internal Combustion engine is getting expensive and time consuming.
As I drive around 32,000 miles (50000 kilometers) annually, it means that with Internal Combustion Engine powered cars, I seem to be adjusting valve clearances at least twice a year, doing an oil and filter change every 4 to 6 weeks, coolant changes at least once a year, changing spark plugs a couple times a year and so on. Also, add the cost and time of getting a cylinder head over hauled and doing an engine swap which I had to do in 2009. The time and money I spend maintaining an Internal Combustion Engine just so I can go to work and back has got me thinking that doing an Electric Car Conversion is a worthwhile exercise with the benefits being reduced maintenance costs and the reduction in time required in servicing my cars. Also, the amount of money spent on fuel is enormous plus the amount of money spent on additives just to make the engine last longer is another cost that adds up.
Also, in doing my own Electric Car Conversion, I can choose a car I like to drive and pack it with street cred and performance, rather than some of the gutless cars the big car makers want to pump out.
So, please bookmark and watch my blog and keep coming back to it as I research what is involved in doing an Electric Car Conversion and eventually going an Electric Car Conversion myself. As I research my findings, I will post it up on my blog so that others will be inspired and do their own Electric Car Conversion. I will also be posting my experiences with my Electric Go Kart, which has been a lot of fun to do.
Thanks
Al
