Electric Fiat X-1/9 AC not DC

[kach22i]

FYI: I went to the Ann Arbor Rolling Sculpture Auto Show last Friday evening and spoke with a guy named Keith who has converted an X 1/9 to electric drive AC not the typical DC drive.

He gave me a couple of business cards including one with a link to this:
Michigan Electric Autos

He said it only cost him $2.00-$3.00 a day to drive to work (I recall it being a good hike too). I asked if his conversion cost around $7,000, he said yes but it could be less for others.

I told him if I ever blew up the engine in my 1977 911 I would go electric. He said using an old 911 body is a popular choice.

Now the X 1/9.
2011 Rolling Sculpture - Ann Arbor pictures by kach22i - Photobucket



2011 Rolling Sculpture - Ann Arbor pictures by kach22i - Photobucket






Keith is braking systems engineer and joked if we all went electric that he would still have a future because he installed regenerative braking on this vehicle and knows something about it.

[kach22i]

A few more images:

2011 Rolling Sculpture - Ann Arbor pictures by kach22i - Photobucket





2011 Rolling Sculpture - Ann Arbor pictures by kach22i - Photobucket

[Daox]

Did you get any info about the AC drive system he is using?

[dcb]

fyi, there is a fiat in evalbum from ann arbor that looks like it that has some details
Keith's 1974 Fiat Bertone X1/9

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by dcb

fyi, there is a fiat in evalbum from ann arbor that looks like it that has some details
Keith's 1974 Fiat Bertone X1/9

Cool, thanks for posting it.

[DJBecker]

An X 1/9? How do you make it overheat with an electric conversion?

(I had a good friend that with an X1/9. Despite years of working on it and intense love, it couldn't go more than a few miles without overheating. He loyally kept the registration current, confident that it was almost ready, just one fix away, for daily driving. It's a good looking car, and turning it into a short-range EV could only be an improvement.)