A DIY EV Conversion Already At A Junkyard

[Gregski]

well here's something we don't see very often, thought you would enjoy, maybe recognize the build

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

Interesting! But I suppose not surprising that conversions of that era (based on the motor I'm guessing it was likely done in the late 2000s) have started to be junked. I am surprised that it looks largely undamaged, just missing major components. Its not like this got wrecked, more like it was parked and then parted out.

It does look like a DC motor, and based on the size of the empty trays in the front it may have had a Soliton controller (in the drivers side smaller tray).

Someday there will be a fascinating history project on the waves of EV conversions, and what happened to the first/second generation, around the time of this one. I've seen some get upgraded to new batteries, but it seems that a whole bunch have been parked or faded into obscurity.

[Gregski]

in case some of you have not discovered EVAlbum.com here is a teaser link, pretty sure it's not the same car, but close enuff


1998 Saturn SC2 “Coupe de Volt”

[P.S.Mangelsdorf]

in case some of you have not discovered EVAlbum.com here is a teaser link,

Thanks for sharing that link. Definitely a lot of that late-2000s era conversions in there. A shocking (no pun intended) number near me in Raleigh, especially as I have never seen another conversion in person. Some of them must still exist, would be cool to run into one. I've heard that there is another Tesla swap running around in the area, and it was at a show I didn't attend.

[MattsAwesomeStuff]

Someone posted this on Reddit back in May, and I went through the internet with a comb and didn't come up with anything that matched either.

Repost:

I found several red saturn conversions, but, not this one.

Ken Norwick's, that he converted waaaay back in 2004!: http://www.evalbum.com/13 and created a website for that's since net-rotted: https://web.archive.org/web/20040407133 ... ion170.htm

Morehead High School's 1997, which is similar, and keeps getting rebuilt, but, the battery mounts above the motor don't match: http://www.evalbum.com/3132

John Blair's 1994, but with the wrong color bumpers: http://www.evalbum.com/3354

Possibly Greg Straeffer's 1998 "Coupe de Volt", from Massachusetts (at least has a hope of getting to presumably Virginia where the junkyard is maybe in?): http://www.evalbum.com/3131

Maybe Don Alston's 1991? http://www.evalbum.com/780

I would not have expected the answer to "how many red, late 90s Saturn EV conversions were done?" to be 6+. Rather remarkable.