Gas prices are getting high, I only drive at most 20 miles per day, and I've got a perfectly good 96 firebird with a busted 3800 engine. I'd like to swtich to electric.

It looks like you can convert most cars out there to electric for about $5000-8000. The most expensive parts apear to be the motors, controllers, and batteries. (I'll give some links later)

The only problem for me would be that with my basic tools, I have no way to fabricate metal. I will need to make some sort of motor mount and some sort of connector to connect the electric engine to my existing transmission.

Has anyone had experience with converting f-bodies to electric or know anyone that has? I'm sure I could pay an extr $8000 to have someone do it for me, though I'm a do-it-yourself/cheap kind of guy

 

I think that with limited tools & experience you'd be much more likely to get the car running if you put in a 4 cyl diesel than the batteries. You could get one from a junkyard for say $300 & the install would be way way easier than configuring the batteries & electric motor. If you hooked up a 4 banger say from an Izusu truck or a VW van you would have say 120 ft lb of torque which is probably more than halfway to what the six had. That would give you Toyota like acceleration! If you did that with a T-56 & the lowest gears you could find to go in a 4th gen I bet you could get 40+ MPG.

Where are you going to put 2000 lb worth of batteries in a 4th gen? Plus add that to the 3800 lb of the car and 200 for a driver(me) & you're up to 3 tons. I think most experimental battery cars are in the 2000 to 3000 lb range. Not to mention what that extra 2000 lb is going to do to your springs.

Or better yet rebuild the 6 cyl to get good mileage (maxamixe torque: 4x4 cam, looong skinny headers, tiny intake & injectors, smallest intake valves-large exaust valve, high compression, econo tune on the ICU, skinny tall tires, etc) & you could probably get up to the mid 30s maybe knock on 40 MPG. The result would probably be a whole lot easier to maintain than the battery thing.

I've also seen several devices in Northern Mexico that lets a car run on propane & gasoline. Yep the stuff we cook ribs on. Basically they put a diffuser in the air cleaner lid. then they start the vehicle on gasoline. when the engine is running they open the diffuser & cut the gasoline pump off. about 5 years ago they were going for $500 for a set up. The engine has less power but the propane isn't taxed like gasoline so the cost per equilavent amount of work is less than with gasoline plus it burns cleaner. When I have a beater with MFI I'm going to try & run propane &/or LNG through injectors.

 

I'm not hurting for transportation and just want to make something that's much more economical to drive (in the long run).

For those that are interested in electric car conversions, check out these links:

DC conversion kit sellers:
http://www.beepscom.com/product_p/ki-conv-144-ic.htm
http://www.cloudelectric.com/vehicle...rsion_kits?b=1

Most effiecent batteries that I know of (with a heavy pricetag):
http://www.lionev.com/Battery_module_pricing.html

These will get you about a 50 mile range for every $8000 (in a firebird). Hopefully the price comes down soon. Normal lead acid batteries are much cheaper, but of course very heavy.

complete/work-in-progress conversions:
http://www.evalbum.com/

Step-by-step conversion of a ford ranger:
http://www.lionev.com/DIY_Ranger.html

You can already buy complete kits for ford rangers for about $5k, minus the batteries.

ev wiki:
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums...read.php?t=669

Room for batteries does not appear to be a problem for f-bodies (gas tank area, storage/hatch area, empty space in engine compartment, and even the back seat if needed). And after taking out the engine and other gas components, you should be able to easily stay under the gross weight rating, especially if you're using the high-efficiency batteries.

Many of the adapter plates (to connect the electric motor to your transmission) cost around $1,000-2,000, though you should be able to make your own for much cheaper if you work in a machine shop or know someone that does. Of course, no one makes one specifically for f-bodies that I know of.

As for my possible project, I may wait it out to see how battery prices turn out. And hopefully some time in the near future, someone starts making universal ev kits that include transmissions that are specifically made for electric motors. From what I've read, gas-engine transmissions are pretty poor at transferring power efficiently from the motor to your wheels.

 

If you're doing this for reliable-economical transportation, part out your fbody and buy a used subcompact for the money you were going to put into the conversion.

Seriously... Don't try it unless you have a lot of money to burn and you can afford to be dissappointed.