Convert It!

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 128 pages
• Published by: South Florida Electric Auto Association S F
• Edition: 2nd Edition November 1993
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1879857944
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1879857940
• Book Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Weighs: 9.6 ounces

Reader Reviews
First, the copy I got in 2007 is 126 pages with a color cover, bound with the kind of black fabric binding material they use at Kinko's. The pages are in order and all but a couple of the photos are perfectly clear. Oh, and it has an index; that's a nice touch missing from some books. First published in 1989 but updated in 1990, and 1993. In *my* experience this makes it a very recent book on this subject. The electric car fad peaked back in the 70's and most books date from that time. Brown actually attempts to take you through the step-by-step of converting your car to battery power. He includes component selection, wiring techniques, advice on battery boxes, etc. There's a lot of detail here. He does skimp in some critical areas however. The machining of the mounting plate that adapts the electric motor to the old flywheel is kind of glossed over. I'm not sure your friendly local machine shop will help you with this, but I may be mistaken. And since he lives in California, the fact that the resulting car will have no heater, no defroster, and no air conditioning doesn't matter to him. Oh, and you'll be adding 800 pounds to the weight to your selected vehicle. I just don't see anyone actually doing this in 2007. You'd do better to buy a Prius or Insight, and maybe get one of the "plug-in" kits. Then at least you'd have a real car at the end of the day. No one's ever sold a modern mass-produced battery powered electric car at a reasonable price, and I think with all the hybrids on the road, the sun has really set on the idea of a short-range battery only car. What I REALLY wish he'd write about is how to convert a riding lawn mower to battery power. That's a project more of us could tackle, and you'd actually have something better than the original when you were done. Comments (2) | | (Report this)