Battery Vehicle Society

OK, in terms of putting together an electric vehicle I can find a suitable donor vehicle to use, that is relatively easy. I can buy batteries from a variety of sources depending on what sort I wanted/needed.

Where would I go to buy a motor and controller and the other slightly more obscure components that would be required?

I am still looking at range as my primary objective and have figured that I am going to end up with something like an Astravan or Escort van stuffed with batteries. It may not be the best solution but it may be the easiest.

I have also finally joined up and sent through my membership fees.

Thank you.

Fleabay,
Members on here,
Various on line EV suppliers,

Farnell, RS or Rapidshare for odd components

That's about it.

Motors and controllers are often available directly from suppliers. For example, Agni (http://www.agnimotors.com/home/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=47), LMC (http://www.lemcoltd.com/) and Mars (http://www.marselectricllc.com/) motors are all available directly from them, and a couple of the well-known controllers (Kelly http://www.kellycontroller.com/shop/ and Alltrax http://www.alltraxinc.com/) are also available directly. Kelly also sell useful things like contactors, fuses etc, their online shop is worth a look.

Jeremy

Thanks for that.
It gives me a chance of planning how I go about this properly now.

Some more questions on getting started:

1) Would the usual method be to prep a donor vehicle and then start sourcing motor batteries etc?

A part of me wants to have all the bits available first so that they can go straight in the vehicle once the oily bits come out. It also means I don't have a non runner on the drive for a long time. However, I guess I would need to know what the electric bits are going into first.

2) Should I get a runner and keep it road legal throughout the conversion (which may take a while) or can I leave it on SORN until it is done and then tax and MOT it as electric?
I can put more time then money into the project initially and can easily strip and service the donor to prepare it for conversion.

3) I know I should avoid auto boxes, electric windows and aircon. What about airbags, antilock brakes, electronic stability control and other electronic safety and handling? Are they worth having or should I try to avoid them to reduce the electrical load?

Thanks again.