Build Your Own Electric Vehicle | Bob Brant | Great resource for DIY electric car designers

Build Your Own Electric Vehicle | Bob Brant | Build Your Own Electric Vehicle - EXCELLENT!

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Build Your Own Ele...

	Build Your Own Electric Vehicle Bob Brant McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics, 1993 - 310 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Electric vehicles have many advantages over their gas-powered counterparts. They are ecologically sound, much cheaper to operate and require almost no routine maintenance. But they can also cost twice as much just to drive off the showroom floor. Ambitious do-it-yourselvers, however, can enjoy the clean-running convenience of an electric car for half the price of the most affordable Chevrolet or Toyota. This money-saving guide explains step by step how to build an inexpensive EV from a kit or from an existing internal combustion engine chassis. It begins with a look at the history of electric vehicles, from vintage tyrn-of-the-century Baker Electric automobiles to current international advances in EV technology, and a look ahead at the future of EV development. Then, Bob Brant embarks on a chapter-by-chapter building-block description of each EV component: motor, drive train, controllers, power supplies, chargers and chassis. Final chapters pull it all together with clear instructions for assembling an electric car from scratch or kit, with advice on where to find low-cost EV supplies and systems.

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Great resource for DIY electric car designers

I've read several books on Electric Vehicles and this is, by far, the definitive resource for the DIY Electric Vehicle designer. It provides details and pictures on every topic necessary to design and build an electric vehicle from an existing gas vehicle.

Build Your Own Electric Vehicle - EXCELLENT!

A good review of history of the electric car, best vehicles to convert, lists of sources for kits and parts, diagrams of how to do it, etc.
Highly recommended.

A must for the EV conversion project!

I am using this book as a research and knowledge base for my pending Plug In Electric Vehicle (EV)project. I am converting a 1992 Mazda MX-3 to a plug in fully electric auto.

This book is the best place to begin, it conceptualizes the whole environment surrounding the need for conversions providing historical back ground, economic understanding, and environmental impact information. Although the book was published in the early 90's it's predictions of the future for energy dependance and economic turmoil are right on. The Books prime function is as an excellent technical reference on the "how to" of EV conversions. This book goes into great detail about chassis selection, energy calculations, motor and component selection, range and speed expectations, and gives many examples, tips and techniques to use in building an EV.

This book also goes through from beginning to end a conversion of an auto conversion (a light pick up truck) from internal combustion engine powered to plug in electric powered. It is impressively simple to do and this book shows you just what to do. It also provides a great amount of contact information for parts suppliers and businesses already engaged in the conversion market place.

So if your sick of paying high fuel prices, want to do something personnally to reduce the effects of human impact on the environment, or are an engineering weenie who wants a fun and cool project to obsess over then pick up this book and start today!

Have Fun and Good Luck!

David Fink "Shade Tree Mechanic"
My first EV conversion project (1992 Mazda MX-3)

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Outdated, but decent basic information - OK place to start

A good place to start if you prefer to look at paper vs. the computer screen. Much more & better info available on the internet.

Does cover the basics - what exactly is involved in a conversion, batteries, controller, charger, motor & the "extras" - main contactor etc.

Others complained about too much math, but I found it was too basic to make any engineering decisions or judgments.

Build Your Own Crusade

The beginning of the book is "off target." It begins with politics and hyperbole: through the end of chapter 3 can be skipped without loosing context (chapter 3 may be of interest to history buffs). Chapter 4 and 5 can be skimmed -- 4 for its tables and pictures of conversions and 5 to get an idea of available sources. Chapters 6-10 provide a significant amount of conversion information: the reader will want to concentrate on these chapters. The last 2 chapters provide some areas of concern that one should think carefully about before a conversion is attempted.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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