With US Senator!
OwnerLuke
(former owner, EV has been sold)
Owner's Other EVs1980 Jet ElectraVan 600
1980 Jet Electravan
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana United States map
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Vehicle1982 Volkswagen Rabbit
A stock Rabbit with bolt in kit from
Electro Automotive. We used this car in
South Dakota in the 1990's for about 7
years
MotorAdvanced DC Series Wound DC
No fan, never overheated, worked perfectly
DrivetrainVW 4-speed manual with clutch
ControllerCurtis 1221
Worked perfectly,no problems
Batteries16, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
We replaced 3 batteries after a year or so
and all the batteries at about 3 years in
the extreme South Dakota hot and cold.
System Voltage96 Volts
ChargerK and W BC-20
This charger would often trip the GFI in
any kind of wet weather and we'd have to
go wipe everything with a towel before we
could charge.
HeaterWe got a Russco heater that helped a
little bit. It pumped fluid through
the original heater core. Not powerful
enough for South Dakota.
DC/DC ConverterSevcon
The DC/DC converter did fail once or
twice, maybe due to not having a precharge
resistor back then?
Instrumentationammeter and SOC
Top Speed60 MPH (96 KPH)
AccelerationGot to 60 after a while...but no problem
driving in local traffic.
Range30 Miles (48 Kilometers)
We never did get anywhere close to the 50
miles that was a selling point of the kit.
Seating Capacity5 adults
Conversion TimeA couple months maybe.. I was 16 and had
never worked on cars before so it could
have been much quicker.
Conversion CostAbout $11k altogether, with a paint job.
I did my driver's license test in this car.

This was the only electric car in South Dakota that we knew
of at that time.

When I left for college, mom n' dad kept using it for a
while but eventually they needed something requiring less
attention.

We sold this car to a guy in Texas, who I belive also sold
it....I think I saw the ad for it when he was selling it and
the body had some rust problems by then...if anyone knows
where it is or if they used parts from it, let me know.

code by jerry