What cars make the best candidates for EV conversions?
Generally, the smaller and lighter the car is, the better. You'll get better performance, more range, and the conversion will cost less. It's a similar story to petrol vehicles, except there is a far greater economic advantage to keeping it small. It is not impossible to do heavier vehicle conversions but you will spend a lot more money to match the same performance as a lighter car. Generally look for the smallest car that will fit your needs. Aerodynamics will also play a significant role in the energy use of your EV, especially at higher speeds, so choosing a slippery car means it needs less power at a given speed and a smaller battery pack. It also makes sense to convert cars with relatively high mileage or even blown engines, since you can purchase them more cheaply, and greatly extend the useful life of the vehicle.

Here is a short list of possible donor vehicles for EV conversions ranked by weight
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Make/Model	Weight (lbs)	GVWR (lbs)	Weight (kgs)	GVWR (kgs)	CdA (square ft)	Economy (mpg)	Economy (L/100km)	Links to previous conversions
Honda CRX (HF)	1713	2240	778	1016	5.7	45	5.2	http://www.metricmind.com/ac_honda/main2.htm
Geo Metro (1st Gen)	1850	2590	841	1175	6.8	41.5	5.7	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/type/GEO
VW Rabbit/Golf (Mk1)	1900	2173	863	986	6.5	30	7.8	http://www.electroauto.com/gallery/vrabbit.shtml
Porsche 914	2085	2800	946	1280	6.5	25	9.4	http://www.electroauto.com/gallery/vp914.shtml
Honda Civic (3rd Gen)	2088	3020	949	1370	7.4	33	7.1	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/106
Mazda Miata (1st Gen, 90-93)	2100	3784 (lbs)	940	1716 (kgs)	7.0	23	10.21	http://evmiata.com
Hyundai Accent (1st Gen)	2100	3157	955	1435	6.6	29.5	8.0	?
Mitsubishi Tredia	2119	3100 (lbs)	960	1500 (kgs)	6.4	27	8.6	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/1114
Mitsubishi Mirage (4th Gen)	2156	3586	980	1630	5.9	31.5	7.5	?
Toyota mr2 Mk1	2300	2701	1043	1225	5.8	26	9.0	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/102
Toyota Corolla (7th Gen)	2310	3498	1052	1590	6.8	27.5	8.5	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/1078
Mazda RX-7 (1st Gen)	2335	? (lbs)	1060	? (kgs)	6.3	18	13.0	http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/047.html
Datsun 280z	2630	~3310	1196	~1502	~6.7	22.8	10.3	http://www.evconvert.com/article/joes-280z-ev
Transam GTA 89	3230	? (lbs)	1465	? (kgs)	6.4	23	9.7	http://www.veperformance.ca
Pontiac Fiero	2696	3650	1225	1659	6.75	30	7.8	http://www.evalbum.com/894

Notes for adding vehicles:
The weights of some of the above cars vary slightly depending on the year and options, please record the smallest weight for simplicity. The statistics have been sourced from a variety of unconfirmed internet sources and should therefore be used as a rough guide only.
For the mpg of post 1985 vehicles use http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
For the CdA of many vehicles try http://www.mayfco.com/tbls.htm, if the exact CdA could not be found record the Cda of very similar vehicles or previous generations and included a "~" to denote approximatly.
Also for weight conversions try: http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/converter.asp
And mpg to L/100kms: http://www.fadainc.com/mpg_100l.html

[mattW]

I thought i would make a disscussion around this thread, to discuss the accuracy of the information, usefulness of the topics and possible changes to the table. I am curious as to how useful you consider the fuel economy colomns, the theory behind it was that generally gas gussling cars become amp guzzling EV's but a lot of that purely has to do with the quality of the engine that you are removing and not to do with the weight, aerodynamics, Rolling Resistance etc. Do you think it is still worth having the fuel economy column for these cars? Also if there are any cars you wish to see added to the table but don't have the information for them or are unable to edit the wiki (i don't blame you, its pretty tricky) please post the car and any information you have about it in this thread and i will track it down for you.

[ev3k]

More useful to me (but not perhaps to others more experienced in the art of the conversion) would be a column which shows the GVWR of the vehicles included in the table. For me, the information on gas mileage is not as critical. I would rather see how much payload (above curb weight) a given vehicle is rated to carry, thereby telling me something about how much potential capacity I have for batteries.

Steve

[mattW]

According to your (and others') good suggestions i added some GVMR columns to the table, they're empty at the moment but it took me a good while to manually copy and paste them into the table. You have to do each cell individually and after doing them side by side i realised they would be better next to their curb mass (in metric/imperial) so i went back and re-did it. If anyone wants to add information just click edit and take a deep breath (the text will look a bit intimidating if you aren't used to programming). Find the name of the car you want and just replace the "GVWR (units)" with the appropriate data and make sure you preview it before saving. If you don't want to go to that trouble just post the data here or personal message me and i'll do it. It would be great to get a few more people contibuting so we can build on this resource.

[Vwbeamer]

You should consider adding the air cooled beetle. It is light and there are a number of companies that make kits to convert them.

[mattW]

If you look up the specs I'll add it for you. It takes a bit of research time but I'm sure it would be helpful for others...

[VDubber]

Originally Posted by Vwbeamer

You should consider adding the air cooled beetle. It is light and there are a number of companies that make kits to convert them.

+1

Also, the classic/super VW beetle (aka Type 1) has cheaper and easier to find parts then half of those other cars.

[Vwbeamer]

61-64 beetle

Engine: Horizontally opposed four, overhead chain-driven cams, two valves per cylinder, cast-magnesium crankcase and cast-iron cylinders and alloy pistons, 1,192cc (72.74 cubic inches)
Horsepower: 40 @ 3,900 rpm
Torque: 61-lbs.ft. @ 2,000 rpm
Induction system: Solex 1-bbl. carburetor
Gearbox: Four-speed manual, fully synchronized
Length: 160.2 inches
Width: 60.6 inches
Height: 59.1 inches
Curb weight: 1,720 pounds
0-60 mph: 27 seconds
Top speed: 72 mph


My own car, which has an aftermarket 2332cc engine, wieghs in at only 1550lbs, it has lost it bumpers, rear seat and running boards.

***The earlier 64 and back cars have a much stronger king pin front end. There have been reports of some ball joints front ends (1965 and later) breaking with heavy curb weights.****

Thanks for a great forum and resource!!

[VDubber]

How strong is the Super Beetle front end (MacPherson Struts)? If you like "newer car" handling, then you would be converting a Super Beetle, not a standard one.

Maybe that should be added seperate? Or perhaps just extend the year range to include 61-75 and add a note...

[mattW]

No I meant the specs as in matching the donor car section:
Make/ModelWeight (lbs)GVWR (lbs)Weight (kgs)GVWR (kgs)CdA (square ft)Economy (mpg)Economy (L/100km)Links to previous conversions