The Start

John and Brandon over at Elemental Energy contacted my friend Paul about an electric vehicle conversion project they had started.  Paul asked me if I’d be interested in joining the project, and of course I said yes. 

 

Electric cars are starting to make inroads in the public consciousness. Electric cars and solar generated electricity are the definition of complimentary technology. Electric vehicles don’t generate pollution at the point of use. Their pollution depends on the source of electricity used to charge up the vehicle. If the grid in your region uses coal, an EV may produce the same amount of pollution as a vehicle that averages 35 MPH. In the Pacific Northwest, we get a lot of our power from hydro, which is much cleaner (an EV produces the same pollution as a gasoline car that gets 94 MPG). But what if you generated your own electricity, on your roof, from the sun?

For this project, we are going to be converting two vehicles. The first is a 1985 Volkswagen Transporter Double Cab or Doka.

The second vehicle is a 1965 Austin-Healey Sprite.

 Stay tuned, this is going to be fun.