Hi Folks,

I'm not one for screaming for attention but I want to share my (classic?) 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia that I've finally converted to run on electricity. Here's some before, during and after shots:
(IMG:http://www.kiwiev.com/ThePlanetKiller.jpg)
Here's a shot of the engine bay the day I bought it. That engine was a gonner. "It's dead Jim".
It's taken 8 months and there's still a little tweaking to do here & there but it's finally gas-free. It's a good thing with the price of gas as it is.
(IMG:http://www.kiwiev.com/Installing%20the%20Motor%20-%20Motor%20and%20Bracket%20Installed%20and%20Looking%20Good.jpg)
That's a shot of the 100HP electric motor in place. Looks a bit bare in there...
(IMG:http://www.kiwiev.com/Cable%20Install%20-%20Front%20all%20Wired%20Up.jpg)
Aaaand, that's the "after" shot. Looks like an orange octopus died in there.
So after all that, the performance is the same as the original. In fact it's a little bit peppier than stock under 35mph, then it gets normal after that. The only downside is the low range of about 35 miles per charge up. I could only afford a $2000 battery pack (lead acid batteries) so it's only a city car with that range. If I win the lottery I'd chuck Lithium (laptop/camcorder) batteries in there and get 200+ miles per charge but money's tight.
Still, I worked out it's about $1 US to charge the car up from empty so $1 per 35 miles is still cheaper than the bus. :)

Everything still works, heater goes well (replaced hot water element with an electric heater element) and I want to fit it out with some decent sounds later on. But I'll need a bigger accessories battery for that.

If you're keen you can see the video of my first test drive Right Here and I make no apologies for my excited girly giggling as I was pretty damn happy to get the car running after 8 months!

Cheers from downunder everyone!
Gav

:trophy: :beer: Nice man. I wish I knew how to do something like this.

So how much does a 200 miles range battery cost?

Thanks mate! It's been heaps of fun and beleive me, if I can do it anyone can! I'm no mechanic that's for sure. I annoyed lots of others via the internet for most of the hard questions.
If I could afford Lithium batteries or NiMH batteries I would but I'd be looking at about $15,000 US for a decent pack. A battery pack like that would allow me to drive for 150 to 200 miles on a $2 charge-up. They're coming down in price slowly so give it time. I'll have to keep on using good old lead-acid for now. :thumbsup: