Teen building his own electric vehicles - The Flint Journal - MLive.com (blog)
Andrew Angellotti spent nine months and about $6,000 to buy and transform his gasoline-powered 1988 Mazda B2200 pickup into an electric vehicle. Andrew said he was 14 when got the idea to convert a vehicle after reading about it on the Internet. He started his project in August 2006 -- using his own money to buy parts on eBay and over the Internet -- and finished it in May 2007. Out went the gasoline engine, the gas tank and exhaust. In went an electric motor, adapter plate connecting the motor and transmission, a control system, battery charger and 20 golf cart batteries (four are under the hood and 16 are in the pickup bed). "This will go about 55 (mph) on a good day," Andrew said Monday standing next to the red truck that features the words "Electric Vehicle" on the side. The truck with about 65 horsepower can usually drive 40 miles (though a little less in the winter) before he needs to plug it into an outlet in the family garage for a recharge, Andrew said. "I think I have about 2,500 or so miles on it as an electric," said Andrew, who plans to attend Purdue University in the fall to study aerospace engineering. In the Tercel, Andrew expects it'll have up to 120 horsepower, with four batteries under the hood and nine to 10 in the trunk. Source: blog.mlive.com
