how do you convert a gasoline car to an electric car?

Question

I was wondering how hard it is to convert a car with a conventional gasoline engine to an electric car.

Answer 1

It is very hard to do.

First you have to remove the gas tank and the engine and toss them away.
Second you need to put in lightweight batteries, currently the best ones are lithium batteries and they are expensive.
Third you need to install a very large DC motor and connect it to the crankshaft.
Fourth wire it all together. You will need to convert the gas pedal to a "fly by wire" system and you will need to install a voltage gage on your dashboard.

This is just a rough outline of what you would have to do, and you would have to do a lot of this to turn your car into a hybrid. It would be cheaper to look into burning liquid petroleum.

Answer 2

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=converting+to+all-electric+car&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t500&x=wrt&vm=r

Converting a hybrid to an all-electric car
From csmonitor.com: Hybrids? Some opt to go all-electric.

Not long after Dan Kroushl got his new 2004 Toyota Prius, he began to wonder about the mysterious button on the dash. It didn't seem to have any function. Didn't boost the turbo or engage an ejector seat. In online discussions with other Prius enthusiasts, Mr. Kroushl soon discovered the button did have a hidden function: It could turn the gasoline-electric hybrid into an all-electric car - for a mile or so on limited battery power.

This "stealth mode" button works fine in Japan and Europe where it's handy for drivers to roll politely about densely packed subdivisions in the early morning and late evening. But the button has been disconnected for North America's Priuses.

Now, scores of Prius owners in the United States are activating the button on their own - despite company warnings that altering the car will void its warranty.

Some drivers, including Kroushl, are going even further: adding battery capacity - and a plug. The hoped for result: a high-tech commuting car that plugs into a socket at night and gets amazing gas mileage the next day.

In effect, these backyard mechanics have turned the hybrid car's appeal on its head. Instead of emphasizing gasoline over electric power and the convenience of today's cars, they're aiming to create less polluting higher-mileage vehicles that emphasize electricity over gasoline - even if it's a bit less convenient.

"One guy I know plugs his Honda hybrid into a windmill for power," Kroushl says. "It costs him practically nothing to drive." [continue] http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/002588.html

Answer 3

Cheaper to buy an electric car.

You would have to remove the engine, engire fuel system, modify the body, frame, suspension, wiring, computer system, drive shaft, etc.

Entire car would have to be redesigned from scratch.

Answer 4

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if you want a really good, fun EV that you can buy for a few thousand - that will do freeway speeds and handle your day-to-day driving for a couple of pennies per mile - buy a hobbyist EV - or convert an old gas car. These are not state-of-the-art electric cars. But they are cheap:
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Here's a guy that converts old gas cars to electric, and sells them cheap:
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http://www.grassrootsev.com/convert.htm
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Here's a couple more places that specialize in converting cars to electric:
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http://www.leftcoastconversions.com/index.php
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6063682615
http://labshelf.com/electric-car-conversion.html
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and here's a used EV board:
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http://www.austinev.org/evtradinpost/
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Of course, you may wish to do the work yourself. Here's a guide:
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http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/build
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Best of luck!
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Answer 5

the concern isn't the motor however the battery. we've common a thank you to do the motor section for over a hundred years. yet rather, a usable electric powered vehicle ought to be engineered from the floor up. and we have not yet found out a thank you to get respectable battery variety and warmth for wintry climate using.

Answer 6

You can't.