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Conversion Opinions Sought

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:32 pm
by Ian_Fearn
Hi there,

I'm currently researching this field in as much detail as I can. 2 weeks ago i didnt even know EV's really existed outside of the Milk industry!

Having seen the ARC village DVD I figured I could build my own EV. There was certainly nothing I couldnt do myself as a fairly well skilled home mechanic and i served my apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce.

ARC village use a Fiat 126. It seems to have a few things going for it
1. Very light
2. No brake servo or power steering pump
3. Remove the rear mounted engine and place the batteries on the rear parcel shelf to keep the weight distribution about right.
4. Very simple mechanics

I'd probably be dog meat though if i had a crash.

I've been offered a 126 dirt cheap but i've also been offered a pretty good Skoda 120L. I think i'd 'feel' safer in this and again it seems to make sense from a weight point of view.

I'd like somebody else's opinion of what i'd need to make a Skoda do 55mph and 50 miles.

I'm thinking i'd need a minimum of 96V (maybe even another 12?) but what sort of battery pack/batteries would I need to go for to get anything like my 50 mile target?

Thanks in advance, Ian

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:53 pm
by aminorjourney
Hi Ian,

Skoda actually made some electric skodas for a while... But other than that I'm afraid I'm helpless.

You may want to try to get a copy of the book Convert It!. It's very good and you can get a copy on Amazon.co.uk if you look :)

Nikki.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:11 pm
by Ian_Fearn
Hi Nikki, I bought http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own- ... 186&sr=8-2.

I've got a 4 hour wait on saturday so i intend to start reading it more thoroughly.

Is the 'Convert it' book better? Anybody got a 2nd hand copy they want to sell before i buy one off amazon?

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:12 pm
by Ian_Fearn
I joined the BVS this evening too so am hoping to get to some meetings at some point. When is the next gathering?

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:33 pm
by geekygrilli
Hi Ian - where abous are you?

I suspect that for a full 50 mile range you'll need to go for something more than Lead Acid, but I am no expert on this, a lot of people know a lot more stuff!

Best regards

Christopher

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:13 pm
by Ian_Fearn
The more research I do suggests range is quite limited on lead acid. Any less than 50 miles for my use would be pretty pointless.

So far i've not considered Li batteries but i guess i'm talking IRO £5000 which puts the project well beyond the budget.

EDIT: I'm in Derbyshire

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:05 pm
by Night Train
I want a Skoda 120L ! :x [stomps foot!] :wink:

Seriously, I think it will be a really good vehicle as a donor, see here. They handle better with some weight in the front, I used to have a couple of bags of sand in the front of the ones I used to run so a load of batteries would be good.

I would fit a motor cradle in the back and then fit a boot floor in there to load in some of the batteries. The rest can go in the front. There are no electric gadgets of any description to worry about