ICE vs. EV

I had a bad night and started looking for a 1600cc long-block engine for the Ghia. It's so hard to justify the additional cost and reduced capability of an EV. Stubbornly, I fired off a few more emails to the EV community and they immediately brought me back to my senses, a.k.a., delusional obcession. Roy LeMeur (NEDRA Northwest Regional Director) replied within minutes recommended two sources for Ghia motor/transaxle adaptors. He is working on the primary EV (vice secondary EV) that inspired my project.

1) Wayne at EV-Blue (316-283-7250) (new adaptor source)
2) ElectroAutomotive (Doug's source for motor & adaptor)
3) EV-Parts (too expensive)

Within minutes, Doug Teeple of Kamuela Hawaii, also with a 1972 Ghia, replied and said that he runs his Ghia in 2nd gear and that it is more quiet in 3rd gear. He runs with a flywheel and clutch, but recommends that one balance the flywheel using the starter motor, just prior to mounting the engine. Doug uses deep cycle marine batteries from Costco (liberal return policy & 3yr warranty) @ 120V. Roy uses a batch of surplus NiCads (possibly Saft) @ 240V.

If I were to buy the parts for an EV today, I would use Optima Yellow Tops from Costco, a Zilla 1K, Warp 9, and Manzanita Charger.