A couple of years ago, we started thinking about electric cars. Thinking
about them led to talking about them which led to researching them on the
internet. We learned that you can build your own electric car. Wouldn't
that be cool to build your own electric car and charge it with your own
wind turbine, which you also built yourself! Well that was it! We started
keeping an eye out for a suitable car to buy that we turn into an
electric.
As time went by, and we got busier and busier here helping people build
wind turbines, the idea kind of got put on the back burner. We still
wanted to build one, but it would have to wait till we had more time.
One day, while we were checking out electric cars on the internet, we
came across a web site that had a section in it for people selling
electric cars that they had built. Most of the cars were from California
or some other place that was too far away. Then, low and behold, was a
picture of an electric car from Ontario. Not only was it from Ontario, but
it was within driving distance from where we live!
After some discussion, and coming to the realization that we might not
be able to find the time to build an electric car ourselves any time in
the near future, we decided to go and have a look.
We made the trip to a rural area near Barrie Ontario, where we met a
wonderful couple, who had built the car. They explained how they had built
the car from parts sourced locally and over the internet. They gave us all
of the history about the car and a ton of technical information. The car
was in excellent condition considering that it is a 1987 model. Only a
couple of little rust spots which could easily be repaired. The price was
right, so we decided to take the electric car plunge!
So far, we have not driven the car a lot since it was getting on
into fall by the time we got the safety check completed and we didn't want
to drive it in the winter. However, it has proven, even with the limited
amount that we drove it last fall, that it will be a great little car to
get us back and forth to work. As soon as the weather gets better, we will
be driving it daily and we can give a better report on the performance.
