Electric Car "Floats On The Road"

Electric Car "Floats On The Road" FARM HOME Cars 32-1-30 Australian tinkerer Grant Burke wanted a different kind of electric vehicle. Instead of a lightweight shell, he opted for a Toyota Camry wagon, which at nearly 2,800 lbs. was generally considered too heavy by most electric car creators. Not knowing much about converting cars to electric power, he went to Les Puklowski, an expert with the Australian Electric Vehicle Association. In Australia, electric conversions require an engineer's certificate. The engineer reviews the plan and advises on structural changes to the car before conversion starts. Puklowski started by essentially gutting the car. The five seater was turned into a two seater, and by the time the conversion was complete, it had gained nearly 900 lbs. In place of the original engine, Puklowski installed an Advanced DC FBI-4001 Series Wound motor with a Curtis 72-120V, 550A controller. The lost seat area was filled with 20 Trojan T-105 6V lead acid batteries. The charger is a Zivan 120V û 18A, NG3 with switch mode. The DC/DC converter is a 120V to 13.8V Statronics. "The conversion was completed last fall," Burke told FARM SHOW. "My first trip with it was to a field day for electric cars with about 1,000 people in attendance. Since then I've put on about 600 miles, generally around town on short trips. Driving it is like floating on the road." Burke reports that a 20-mile trip requires about 2 3/4 hours to fully recharge from a 10-amp/240V outlet. If parking someplace for an extended period, the lead acid batteries also rebuild any lost charge. The conversion cost for the Camry came to about $13,000 (U.S.). Burke says he's now looking at adding solar panels to his roof and hood with the idea of on-board recharging. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Grant Burke, P.O. Box 107, Regents Park, New South Wales 2143 Australia (burkeg@tpg.com.au; www.austinev.org/evalbum/981).

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