Convert It! & Build Your Own Electric Vehicle - Book Review

Ok, starting off let's talk about electric vehicles (or EVs). I started getting on that bandwagon when I found myself with an extra vehicle that had a bad engine. Perfectly fine car otherwise that I could put thousands into to try to get it running as before, or.... why not convert it to electric? Being the home schooled self-study type, I decided to get some books on the subject. There are surprisingly few. I tried the library first and got nowhere, so I went online and found two main books that are sort of the industry standard: Michael Brown's Convert It!, and Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant.

Convert It! I found the material simple, easy to understand, but very basic and pretty outdated. Don't get me wrong, it was a good starting point, with lots of useful information. If you were converting an '86 VW Rabbit or a Chevy S-10 pickup you would have what you need start to finish. But let's face it, the book was published almost 15 years ago and a lot has happened in the industry in the last few years. If you're looking for a place to get started, this is a very straightforward approach with some good tips. You can get the book on Amazon.com or go directly to Brown's company web site at http://www.electroauto.com/. The web site also offers the companion DVD and other supplemental white papers on various subjects. I ordered the DVD, but found that it was just as outdated as the book and it was a bit dull in the presentation.

Build Your Own Electric Vehicle was originally published by Bob Brant in 1994, but for the Second Edition (2009) he got Seth Leitman to help bring the material up to date. I was pleased with this book. It has a much more professional feel and seemed a little more thought out. While the conversion plan always seemed to come back to the author's ideal chassis, the Ford Ranger, it included many helpful steps and calculations for planning your own conversion project, no matter what it was. Also, there were a lot of more recent examples and pictures of people's conversion projects, including some celebrities, like George Clooney. But, as is the problem with any book, as soon as you write it, publish it and print it, there are some things that are already out of date. For example, I felt that while the coverage of the AC motor and controller was very welcome, I don't feel it was given the focus that it deserved as a viable alternative to a DC motor, especially given the recent developments and success that people are experiencing with AC motors and for EV Conversions. It used to be considered too expensive for the average DIY project, and it still is more expensive, but given the longevity, performance improvements and built-in regenerative braking features, I think it's worth the extra money.

Something I found rather frustrating in both books is that they present a short but compelling argument favoring the use of a manual transmission rather than an automatic, and from there on the assumption is that you are going to take their advice. The vehicle I want to convert has an automatic tranny, and the reality I'm finding is that it's getting more and more difficult to find a decent conversion vehicle with a manual transmission. Oh, they're out there, for sure, but by making that assumption, I feel the authors are limiting your options and not really supporting the idea that you can convert any vehicle.

In short, I would say that Convert It is a good basic get-your-hands-dirty and "go do it" type of manual, while Build Your Own Electric Vehicle takes more of a design and think-it-through approach. Both are worthwhile, but I would say you get a lot more from Brant's book for less money. Both books are available on Amazon.com.

(I'm required to tell you that this post includes links to Amazon through my affiliate account, which means that when you buy something through that link, I get a little kickback -- and I mean a little).