Build Your Own Electric Vehicle [Paperback]

'Build Your Own Electric Vehicle' is an easy to read book, with a lot of good information on everything from the history of electric vehicles to estimating performance of your own EV. Where I was disappointed was with the, at times, heavy biases in Mr. Brant's writing. At times, his 'save the world by driving an EV' rants almost convinced me to return the book. Mr. Brant brings up many tradeoffs with EVs - buy/convert/build from scratch, 6-volt/12-volt batteries, truck/car/van, etc. In each case, he compares the pros and cons and proceeds to say 'The best choice is ...' If there are tradeoffs involved, there probably isn't a 'best choice'. Instead, a more appropriate summary might be 'If range is your primary concern, X is better. If acceleration is what you want, then go with Y.' Perhaps I would have a higher opinion of the book if I hadn't read it from start to end. If you are looking for specific information (How can I estimate the range/current draw for my EV?), this is a good book. If you want a general overview of EVs, I would look somewhere else.

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..

This book is a good read if you are into all af the technical data on electric cars but not too good if you are looking to build one.

Information on how to make an electric car is limited to the basics of what you will need to do. There isn't a lot on how to actually do it though.

The information this book contains is useful as a introduction to self building an electric car as it does give all the details on what you need but due to lack of instructions I wouldn't reccommend it to someone with no technical knowledge.

If Haynes made a manual it probably be better but I suggest buying this so you know what you are getting into first so you can decide weather you can do it or if it would be too much trouble. Either way buy it. I have and I believe I can do it even though I have never built a car before.