[lazydfarms]

Hi,

I am a Canadian citizen who recently discovered Gav's conversion on Youtube and watched the whole buildup sequence. I was totally inspired by his build and now inquiring to do one of my own. By reading forum entries alot of my questions have been answered but two still remain. First, I see that manual gearboxes are the order of the day but I am wondering if an automatic is feasible? Second, my prefered candidate right now would likely be an older Ford Ranger pickup, however I have immediate access to the larger Ford F-series sold in North America. Is it too much of an expense to convert a larger vehicle? Has anyone here done it (I haven't had much time to read all the threads yet)? Thanks for your responce(s) and I look forward to contributing what I can to the discussion. My background is primarily restoration of older North American built cars although I do find world cars intreguing as well. Of course the mechanicals, body work and so forth transfer so hopefully I can contribute on those issues. Best to you all in making the world a greener place!!!

[Woodsmith]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There is a thread in technical that covers auto boxes here that might help you decide if you can go auto.

I don't the truck that you are considering so I can't answer that question but a lot depends on the size and weight of the truck and what performance you require from it, and how big a budget you want to have for the conversion. The budget can be mostly batteries.

[lazydfarms]

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking into the link you provided and also what vehicle size would be best based on my bankroll. Thanks!

[Woodsmith]

Originally Posted by lazydfarms

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking into the link you provided and also what vehicle size would be best based on my bankroll. Thanks!

How big is your bankroll?

Firstly you need to describe what your requirements are. Knowing what your range, speed, vehicle weight will help in seeing how much energy you need to have in your battery pack. Also the environment that you drive in will matter if it is particularly hilly.

The range will be a realistic idea of how far you generally drive each day allowing for charging over night or at your destination. Your speed will affect range and so if you can drive at slower speeds your range will increase.

My build is aiming at 70 miles range at a full 70 mph for my commute. However, when I am not at work I could look forward to 120+ miles or so at 30 mph.

[david85]

Welcome! Where in canada are you?

The ford F series also changed a lot over the years. What era are you considering? Something older than 2004 would probably be best simply because they were smaller and lighter. I'm partial to 1986, but thats because I have 2 of them (F150 and F250)

My suggestion would be a 1992-1997 2wd F150. They are light and fairly low to the ground while still being a fairly simple and tough open channel frame truck from bumper to bumper. But it really depends on what you have.

Motors needed to move 4000~6000lbs of steel brick down the road are not very cheap and there aren't many that can deliver acceptable performance. However there are some that are coming out now.

Cost is as always going to be your primary limiting factor no matter what your hopes for performance are. In theory you could utterly fill the truck with batteries and still have a decent range but cost and performance won't be very impressive.

[lazydfarms]

Hi,

Thank you David85 and woodsmith for you responces. I am currently living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada but am originally from and based out of Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. I grew up in F150s from the 60s-90s and love them all for different reasons. I am still midway through a 1978 F150 restoration after recovering if from the neighbor's shed after a 25 year hibernation. There was no rust except for the box floor which they had neglected to clean out before they parted it and was packed with inches of dirt. Overall it was too good not to bring new life to. Although the stock 460/C6 auto make me cringe when I think about filling it up after its restored. I anticipate a quick resale of that one after the restoration. I was born in 84 and we've had several 80-86s so thats quickly making itself my favorite era although I just love them in general.

For an electric conversion though I think practically and expense definitely turns me to the smaller ranger. I recently drove a later model one here to get a feel for it and the size and capacity appeals to me. Theoretically I would be looking to get about 50 miles range which shouldn't be too hard on our relatively flat terrian down home. I've contacted Canadian electric out of British Columbia to get a price quote on a warp 9 DC which I've read is well suited to the ranger platform. Speed is not really an issue I'd like to be able to go 65-70 mph at times but probably for no more then 30 miles. 50 mph for 50 miles would be more realistic overall I'm thinking.

Thanks for your interest! I'll make sure to check out your builds!

[lazydfarms]

Oh I forgot to mention although I have not confirmed a total outlay for the project yet I'm thinking 5000 Canadian (about par with american right now) would be the absolute most I could spend.

[gottdi]

If your savvy enough you could have a decent conversion. I am into mine to the tune of about $3800 now.

Pete

[TheSGC]

The EV Album has a few F-150s, like this one: http://www.evalbum.com/2567

Browse around and you will get an idea of what others are using in a similar setup.

[lazydfarms]

Thanks for the link. To answer the other comment I do all my own mechanical work, fabrication, wiring and so forth so 95% of the expense would be components. Thanks!