A long term project about to reach its concrete stage.... I always had this in the back of my mind when I first began to shop around for a microvan. They are ideal candidates! Now that I finally got one, it's time to engage the process. Last Spring, I started budgeting the conversion. Sadly, the overall cost was going to be way too high and the Return on investment equally too long - exceeding the batteries' life span. I just had to wait for battery prices to drop and for gas price to rise! Then, back in August 2012, I met a friend of a friend who happens to be an electro-mechanic engineer whom I exposed my project to. He winked and told me to visit him in October. I cannot go into many details out of discretion for my friend and the company he works for but basically, he was in the process of dismantling a fully functional electric prototype. He offered me to purchase the whole set-up at a fraction of the market price and something else that is priceless..... his expertise in his field. The ROI is now 18 months, only based on current city mileage and current mpg of our 1997 Subaru outback (awful on short journeys!) The Motor, drive, charger and batteries have been removed from the prototype chassis last week. I will begin removing all redundant, gas related components of my Libero in April. More soon.....
Wow, eagerly awaiting updates on this. The body-on-frame construction of the Libero makes it an ideal candidate if you can figure out a salt and water-proof battery box to bolt on where the gas tank, spare tire, and radiator currently fit. That would make for a nice low center of gravity too!
Cool ! Funny thing , before seeing your thread, the other day I was looking at this .............. http://www.evalbum.com/968 Don't know if you seen it before, or not.
It's a brilliant candidate with quite a few option to chose from. Each has advantages and disadvantages. I just need to figure out what is best for us for a family usage.
Yes I have. I even considered to buy a Citycat directly but a) they're rare and expensive, b) no sun roof & 2 seater. The technology is also dated. This EV album though is one of my favourite site..... lots and lots of great ideas and many may resourceful people. This Blue one looks really nice!
