Teen Creates Electric 1971 VW Beetle
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 09.24.07
Bart Grabman, a senior at an Alaskan high school, has converted his 1971 VW Beetle to electric power, in order to save gas money and investigate ways to cut down on emissions. “We have a class called Passages, and in that course everyone’s supposed to pick a project or idea that they want to expand and do something big with, and so I thought, ‘What’s something awesome that I can do?’”, he said.
Grabman remembered hearing a speech by a man who had converted his own truck from gas to electric power, so he decided that this was a project he could undertake himself, and started to research the idea online, “There was a lot of research on cars, figuring out what I need to get, what I need to do, a lot of going on forums and talking to people.”
He managed to track down a kit online that contained all the parts necessary for the conversion for $3,500. “People have been pretty supportive of the idea. I’ve gotten a lot people who have offered to help and want to help out in any way they can, but mostly I just owe my mom a lot of money right now.”
It's impressive that Grabman decided to approach a problem this big, let alone that he has managed to pull it off. With a lack of knowledge and a bit of cash he has created a whole electric vehicle. "It’s been an interesting experience trying to figure it out, like, Oh, I guess I shouldn’t have taken that out. I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started, which is what kind of made the project so much fun. I’m not done with it, so I’m still learning a lot.” ::Tuscaloosa News
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Good job! Hopefully this inspires other people at how easy this is to do, and you don't have to wait on the auto makers to do it.
Note the lack of information about acceleration and range.
Almost anyone can dump in an electric drivetrain that's only good for a few miles and doesn't go very fast. Show me some numbers and maybe I'll ooooh and aaaaaah.
Lummox- so how far/fast does your electric conversion go?
This schoolkid got off his backside and did it himself, so good on him regardless of how it performs. I don't think he's claiming it's the definitive statement on the electric car.
My son and I want to convert a 68 beetle to electric. Where did you get your kit? Did it include batteries? I'd love more info! Thanks and good Job!