[puddleglum]

I've been dreaming of building an electric car for years now (and probably will for a few years more till I can complete one) but I took a first step and put in a offer on an old Datsun forklift. They want more than I offered, but still reasonable. The drive and pump motors are both 11" 48 volt 10kw motors. I couldn't drive it much, but it did drive and wasn't making any funny noises so I think they should be okay. As near as I can tell, the drive motor is about the same size and weight as a Warp11(not as efficient I'm sure) so a little heavy for a commuter car, but isn't too big better than too small? I found one other guy using the same motor at 144 volts in a pickup. I would appreciate any thoughts as to whether I'm on the right track in buying this.
Since my driving needs are different than a lot of people, I spent the last six months tracking all my in town trips to see what I would really need in an EV. My must have's are: a 4dr vehicle that seats 4 adults comfortably and/or 3 adults with at least a full grocery cart's worth of stuff; a 15 mile min. range, but 25 miles would be better; a top speed of 60mph, cruise at 40-50mph and have normal acceleration to 45mph; it must be easy to drive, comfortable and reliable so my wife will drive it. If it was fast off the line that would be a bonus, I would like to have a little fun factor.