How to Build Your Own Electric Car: Converting Gas to Electric

by Nicolas Zart (Artist), Aaron Turpen (Contributor)

With high-profile electric car manufacturers such as Tesla dominating the news, as well as the availability of other more mainstream offerings including the Chevy Bolt EV, the Nissan Leaf, the BMW i3, the upcoming Ford Focus Electric, and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, electric cars are more on the radar than they have ever been. Unfortunately, up until now many of these offerings are fairly expensive, primarily because they are all so new. There aren’t many affordable used models on the market yet, and the budget-minded electric car enthusiast has few inexpensive options available. So, what do enterprising automotive enthusiasts do when the market doesn’t offer them what they want? They build their own! In How to Build Your Own Electric Converting Gas to Electric , industry experts Nicolas Zart and Aaron Turpen teach you how to take matters into your own hands. Beginning with electric car history for context, Zart and Turpen take you through all the processes of building and converting your own electric car. Included is coverage of how electric cars actually work; how to source a decent candidate for conversion; a component review for proper selection of battery types; and choosing a motor and other essential components including wiring, controllers and accessory options for power steering, an air conditioner, a heater, and power brakes. Once you have this knowledge, you are ready to follow the step-by-step instructions on performing the conversion, including doing a clean sheet design, and perhaps having a little fun with high-performance options. Finally, a source guide will help you find all the components, tools, and gear you will need to perform a successful electric car conversion. If you want to go fast and go green, this book is a handy tool to get you started.

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2018