Build Your Own Electric Vehicle

Review by for Build Your Own Electric Vehicle
Rating:
This 310 page book is more than its title implies. It is an
excellent source of information, even if one is just
interested in learning more about the subject of electric
vehicles. Mr Brant’s credentials include a degree in
engineering, and having worked on the Lunar Rover.

He begins his book by exploring the appropriateness of the
electric vehicle from an environmental standpoint. He
then quickly reviews the history of the EV, from the
mid 1800′s to the present. He does a good job of surveying
the current (as of late 1993) crop of electic vehicle
producers, as well as the plans of the major auto makers
for electrics.

Brant devots a chapter to the options available to the
person who wants to own an electric vehicle today: Buy
a ready to run car from a manufacturer or converter, have
one built or converted for you, or do the conversion
yourself. One option that he seems to largely discount is
the option of buying a used EV. Although such vehicles
can be somewhat hard to find, especially away from large
cities on the coasts, they can put a person into an EV
for much less money and work than any other alternative.

As you might expect from the book’s title Brant favors
the self-conversion option. He compares the various types
of motor vehicles as conversion options; passenger cars,
vans, and small pickup trucks. His conclusion, that a
small pickup truck might be the easiest to convert, while
giving the best range, seems a valid one, as long as a
small pickup meets your needs, and suits your style.

Chapter 5 is an excellent reference listing suppliers,
EV clubs, and various converters and manufacturers.

With Chapter 6 Brant begins the real meat of the book.
He presents formulae and charts that allow you predict
the performance of the vehicle you choose for conversion,
and pick the size of motor and batteries that you will
need.

The next chapters are devoted to each of the unique
systems of an EV in some detail: Electric motors,
controllers, batteries, and chargers. To this reviewer,
these chapters are the most valuable, and make this book
useful to anyone with an interest in Electric Vehicles.
The current state of the art is reviewed for each of these
systems in some detail and with an eye toward practical
maintanence and selection, and upcoming technology is also
covered.

Surprisingly, only one chapter of the book covers
the actual conversion process. Although there is probably
enough detail here for the experienced home mechanic or
mechanically inclined individual, someone who has never
pulled an engine out of a car, or done other major repairs
on his own, will probably need more help; especially if
his conversion is not of a small pickup truck.

All-in-all there is a lot of good information in this
book, and it is a vital addition to the library of any
would-be electric vehicle converter, owner or pipe
dreamer..

Review by Alan McFarlane for Build Your Own Electric Vehicle
Rating:
I think Bob Brant really wants to help you build an electric vehicle. I feel, however that his engineering background causes him to “talk down” to the reader, who thinks ” It can’t be really as complex as all this ! All these formulas , etc ! ” How do we know the “flux level” for a motor we buy at a garage sale ? I am too old to get an engineering degree !
Lots of “shade tree” mechanics ( like me ) will have to look further for more practical information.Such as – a 10 HP motor in a Geo Metro will be fine for trips to the grocery store but no good for highway use. Also errors have crept in, and the schematic diagrams are incomplete and puzzling. Of course, the book was published nine years ago, and technology has advanced in the EV industry, as in everything else

Review by James Clements for Build Your Own Electric Vehicle
Rating:
This is an exceptional book for anyone looking to get the initial know-how on how to convert a gas vehicle to an electric vehicle (EV). It’s full of resources to help you find the parts you are looking for to do your EV project, and it actually does a conversion in the last chapter. There are a couple things you don’t hear much about in the book, such as the insidious re-wiring of the dash board, and it sort of glazes over a couple minor issues, but all in all, it’s the best resource I’ve found yet for converting to an EV. The history buffs will enjoy the detailed history of the EV, and if you work for NASA, there are a ton of great physics problems (15, I think) to keep your brain moving. Don’t let the math scare you, I discovered that “eyeballing” it works most of the time, and if it didn’t work, I would just pull out the old calculator and scratch pad. My advice would be that even if you aren’t planning on “Building your own EV”, you should buy this book. It’s full of great stuff.