Re: Donor vehicle

[Mark Brueggemann <markb@abq.com>]

** Reply to note from Mark Farver <farver@texas.net> 
 
>    
> The search for a decent donor vehicle continues and it is getting quite 
> frustrating.   
 
<snip> 
 
> I've though of going to a few recyclers and trying to mix and match parts 
> to build one decent car, but this would require a paint job to match 
> everything up.  How much will a full repaint cost?  (Maaco has quoted as 
> low as $500.. but I've heard way too many horror stories) 
 
 
Wow, a lot of folks are missing the boat on this one. 
 
Okay, so you piece a truck together and paint it up.  What is your 
time worth?  A decent paint job will run you $1200 and up.  A $200 
Earl Scheib paint job you will be embarrased to be seen in.  I  
painted my truck myself, the paint alone was $450. 
 
Now, you've spent untold days or weeks seeking out and buying the parts,  
fitting them together, then getting the _missing_ parts and assembling 
the truck, then getting it painted.  All of this time and effort and 
you haven't even started the EV work yet! 
 
The point is, start with a car/truck you love.  So what if it doesn't 
have a toasted ICE?  Running or not the ICE is a liability to be  
dealt with, you'll be happy to be rid of it.  For some reason folks 
think it is a "waste" to convert a nice car or truck with a good ICE. 
By the time the ICE is toast, it's quite likely the chassis will be 
in decline too, especially in the rust belt states.  Would you rather 
work on a chassis that needs a quart of liquid wrench and a bolt  
splitter to deal with all the corroded fasteners, or a nice clean 
chassis that comes apart without cussing?  How about an chassis without 
sagging doors, torn seats, cracked windshield and shot bushings? 
Guess what, you don't see to many vehicles at the dismantlers until 
they reach this point. 
 
It's true, you don't see small trucks at the boneyard because if 
there's anything straight on them they get bought up.  So find 
a nice early 90's vehicle, pay $5-8K for it and be *done* with it. 
No trips to the paint shop, driveline shop, reupholsterer or 
glass place.  These trips will cost you the thousand(s) you would've 
paid for a cleaner, newer chassis, plus your time.  Not to mention 
all the tidbits they always seem to need like trim, clips, seals, 
bushings, and all the time it takes to put all that together. 
 
My truck ran like a watch when I took it apart and I never looked 
back.  Just making it electric won't make a car new.  The better donor 
you start off with, the better EV you'll end up with, and the more 
it will be worth as an EV.  You are giving that chassis a new lease 
on life as an EV, something that will be on the road for at least as 
long as it was as an ICE.  The newer the chassis you start off with, 
the less it will take to maintain it during it's EV life.  You will  
spend the same time and money converting it, whether it was converted 
from brand new or a 20 year old rustbucket.  Make it worth the effort. 
Making it an EV *assures* it's future value.  What's a running '82 ICE 
Escort worth? $300?  What's a running '82 Escort EV worth?  $2-3K 
at least.  You *will* get money back out of it if you keep it long  
enough.  The difference between EV's and ICE's is EV's are more 
expensive, but depreciate less.  You also pay the price for retail 
level, one-time conversion costs.  That's the dues for being in this 
hobby. 
 


===>Mark

Mark Brueggemann  KA9LXP
Albuquerque, NM   markb@abq.com
See my S-10 EV:   http://members.nbci.com/evalbum/009.html
23,000+ EV miles since 1998