Recent updates

(6/23/04) Please see my video! The car is only driving on grass now because it doesn't have a street license yet, although it soon will. It is only running on 8% of the total power, because I have not built the rest of it, so it can only go about 10MPH.

Overview

This vehicle, a 1980 Renualt LeCar, is not powered by an internal combustion engine and gasoline. Instead, it is powered by an electric motor and batteries. Most homebuilt EVs (electric vehicles) have DC systems. This one, however, has an AC system. It is more modern and only a few homebuilt EVs in the world have it. Of those, I know of none whose owner built the controller from scratch as I did.

The car was originally to converted to DC electric drive by a corporation called US Electricar, and given the name 'Lectric Leopard'. I re-engineered the entire drive system to come up with what I have now. The new AC system is already promising to give better driving distance per battery charge, a big problem with EVs.

One advantage of the AC system is regenerative braking, or putting the inertia of the car back into chemical energy in the batteries. The batteries I use are similar to those used in lowriders; (4) DieHard 105/115Ah deep-cycle.

Since the AC system has better performance (a flat torque curve), it is much more difficult to build. It took me 3.5 years to get to this point. Although it was a long struggle, the car finally ran under AC power for the first time on June 6, 2004.

The AC controller is very similar to the homebuilt 700W audio amplifier I built for my 1989 Buick Park Avenue. The AC controller is about 60 times more powerful, however. More details and pictures of it and the rest of the car, especially mechanical modifications, can be seen at my personal/company website.

The second page has many more pictures.