This book is the leading how-to resource for electric car conversions. It combines Brown's years of professional automotive experience with down-to-earth language even an automotive beginner can understand. It is not written for the engineer in the laboratory, but for the home mechanic building his own car, and for the average person behind the wheel. Brown speaks to the reader as if talking to a friend in his garage. Before lifting a wrench, Brown answers the most frequently asked questions about electric cars: how fast will it go, how far will it go, how long will the batteries last, how pollution-free is it really, and many more. The conversion process itself begins with choosing an appropriate donor chassis, and stripping it of internal combustion components. Here Brown's experience provide numerous tips and tricks to make the later conversion process easier and more successful. Step by step, Brown leads the reader through the conversion. As each component comes up, Brown gives a little background on the different types available, and the pros and cons of each. He includes tips on layout, design and fabrication at each step, and discusses different approaches for different chassis, such as front wheel drive vs. rear wheel drive. By the end of the book, every part of the conversion process has been discussed. Brown wraps up with a procedure for testing and troubleshooting, and guidelines for normal driving, charging, and maintenance. The book is salted heavily throughout with photos and diagrams to illustrate its topics, and it includes a very thorough index. CONVERT IT has been chosen by the Department of Energy and by numerous schools across the country as the textbook for high school electric car conversion projects.
| ||||||||||||
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
Don't even think about converting it until you have read this book. -- HOME POWER, April/May 1994
If a booklet similar to yours had been around when my first gasoline car was converted to electric propulsion, the car would have been both easier to convert and more reliable. Your notes should be required reading for all members before starting construction. -- John B. Newell, past president, Electric Auto Association
This is a very readable and practical manual for the do-it-yourselfer. I heartily recommend this book for anyone who has ever contemplated such a project. -- Dr. W. Robert Kincheloe, Stanford University, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering
We built Mr. Brown's car and we won. -- Bruce Burk, St. Johnsbury Academy, winner 1991 American Tour de Sol Open Class
If a booklet similar to yours had been around when my first gasoline car was converted to electric propulsion, the car would have been both easier to convert and more reliable. Your notes should be required reading for all members before starting construction. -- John B. Newell, past president, Electric Auto Association
This is a very readable and practical manual for the do-it-yourselfer. I heartily recommend this book for anyone who has ever contemplated such a project. -- Dr. W. Robert Kincheloe, Stanford University, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering
We built Mr. Brown's car and we won. -- Bruce Burk, St. Johnsbury Academy, winner 1991 American Tour de Sol Open Class
From the Author
A lot of people make electric cars very complicated, and they don't need to be. I believe in keeping it simple. Over the years, I've learned a lot of tricks that can help the builder, and a lot of pitfalls that should be avoided. I want to share the benefits of my experience.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Convert it does not make to long process of car conversion a breeze, but it is an excelent resource. The book is full of excelent pictures that bring the informative writing to life. The information in this book can be easily appiled to every car conversion and is of great help.
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have an interest in all environmental solutions, but from a more technical side and I was searching for an economical mode of transport, which could also be an ongoing project for the future months. "Convert It" is a great read and it really shows you the basic rules and tips in both technical detail but in a user friendly layout. I would recommend it as a great starting block and as an essential library piece for any future electric car-converting enthusiast.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
(Sorry if you are from another language culture and didn't "get" the title, it's a play on Wealth/Wolf and Sheep/Cheap)
This book is a great step by step guide that pretty much any novice could follow to convert a petrol/gasoline car to full electric operation. It covers everything from selecting a donor car body to your first test-drive.
Starting at the basics, some material probably goes back over old ground, for those people who have experience being backyard tinkerers with old cars and electrical gizmos.
I've heard one complaint that this book is "just a photocopy" this is quite wrong. However the book has been published in a cheaper, lower quantity print-run style that some folks will be familiar with, similar to some in-house productions of workbook-readers or manuals used in a technical training college. A better looking presentation is normally expected for a book costing US $ 25, however the information in this book, although now somewhat dated, is organised and laid out clearly and with a limited number of photos and drawings, it is easy to understand and worth every penny to a novice converter.
I would look forward, at some future date, to a substantially updated and fully revised edition of this book, being published and bound in a better manner.
Until that does happen, (if ever) I'd have no hesitation in recommending this as one of the several texts that any novice car converter should read before starting their first Electric Car conversion project.
Catherine Jemma, Outback Western Australia. (Experienced car and electric tinkerer.........novice future EV converter)
This book is a great step by step guide that pretty much any novice could follow to convert a petrol/gasoline car to full electric operation. It covers everything from selecting a donor car body to your first test-drive.
Starting at the basics, some material probably goes back over old ground, for those people who have experience being backyard tinkerers with old cars and electrical gizmos.
I've heard one complaint that this book is "just a photocopy" this is quite wrong. However the book has been published in a cheaper, lower quantity print-run style that some folks will be familiar with, similar to some in-house productions of workbook-readers or manuals used in a technical training college. A better looking presentation is normally expected for a book costing US $ 25, however the information in this book, although now somewhat dated, is organised and laid out clearly and with a limited number of photos and drawings, it is easy to understand and worth every penny to a novice converter.
I would look forward, at some future date, to a substantially updated and fully revised edition of this book, being published and bound in a better manner.
Until that does happen, (if ever) I'd have no hesitation in recommending this as one of the several texts that any novice car converter should read before starting their first Electric Car conversion project.
Catherine Jemma, Outback Western Australia. (Experienced car and electric tinkerer.........novice future EV converter)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
covert it
its the best book out there for anyone wanting to convert to electric easy to understand and good plans would recomend it to every one
Published 3 months ago by jacques meloche
5.0 out of 5 stars
Convert it by Michael P Brown
Convert it. Michael P Brown
This book is informative to those with the dream about EW convertion It kill some ideas and create realistic attitude to the project
This book is informative to those with the dream about EW convertion It kill some ideas and create realistic attitude to the project
Published 3 months ago by Bergur Ketilsson
2.0 out of 5 stars
BEWARE! - Outdated, expensive information
I tried to order this book first from the copyright holder and authors, Electro Automotive. After I sent off my order, I e-mailed a question about the resources here in Hawaii. Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. DURHAM
3.0 out of 5 stars
convert it manual
This book offers some good insight into what's required in converting an automobile from gas to electric. It was, however, published in the 90's and should be updated.
Published 15 months ago by tigertom
5.0 out of 5 stars
interesting
The reason why I chose this book is that I have a plan to build an EV for my commuting and errands. This book is really practical, as the author says. Read more
Published on June 29, 2009 by Koichi Asaka
4.0 out of 5 stars
Outdated but still the best up to 2009
Convert It is the best of the EV conversion books.
I built an EV last year ([...]) and not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I asked and read all I could online and visited... Read more
I built an EV last year ([...]) and not wanting to reinvent the wheel, I asked and read all I could online and visited... Read more
Published on May 31, 2009 by D. Lynn
1.0 out of 5 stars
Less informative than my first Web Search
I bought this book and a couple others looking for more in depth information on converting a gas vehicle to an electric. Read more
Published on February 23, 2009 by Spork
5.0 out of 5 stars
Convert it! - Your starting point for EV's
This was one of the first Electric vehicle conversion books we bought and it by far the best.
While it looks dodgey with its simple binding the information is simple to... Read more
While it looks dodgey with its simple binding the information is simple to... Read more
Published on November 23, 2008 by J. Benger
4.0 out of 5 stars
Convert it Review
I found this book very informative, easy to read , the pictures clear. Missing were wiring diagrams of battery connections. Read more
Published on October 3, 2008 by Robert G. Shaver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Convert It
Excellent book! Anyone wanting to convert a gas using vehicle to electric will benefit by reading this book. Read more
Published on September 7, 2008 by G. WHEELER-BROWNLEE
Citations (learn more)
5
books
cite this book:
- Electric Dreams: One Unlikely Team of Kids and the Race to Build the Car of the Future by Caroline Kettlewell on page 111, page 135, and page 162
- From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel by Joshua Tickell in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Bob Brant on page 125
- How to Make the World a Better Place: 116 Ways You Can Make a Difference by Linda Catling on page 96
- Math Workbook for Foodservice/Lodging, 3rd Edition by Milton C. McDowell on page 50
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
|
|
