And so it begins...A S-10 will be converted to an EV
 

I found a good deal on a 1996 Chevy S-10 this weekend, and it was too good to pass up. (I'm $800 under budget :) ) So what have I gotten myself into now... :) I'm a little nervous, but know that it will work out nicely in the end.

It is a 5-speed manual and the body isn't too bad, but may need just a little work. Nothing that I couldn't take care of.

Are there any issues with ODBII computer control stuff? Will I have to take out a bunch of warning lights in the dash? What other things do you think will cause problems in converting this car?

Thanks for all the help I've received so far, I'm sure I'll be back with some more questions in the future.

Congratulations! I haven't heard of any problems with the car computer, you should be fine. Check out this s10 conversion for some pretty detailed info.

Weigh the truck. If you have truck scales around, they will weigh the truck for free. Do this before the conversion, after you stripped out the pickup and after the conversion. This will tell you how much you have gained or lost. Also see about weight distribution of the S-10.
Before converting, measure the space between the bottom of the fender above the top of the tire to the top of the tire. Do this for all four tires. After the conversion, you will want to keep the same space within +/- 1 inch. If it goes beyond that, your weight distribution is off or you need beefier shocks or springs.
Don't worry about the S-10's computer and instrumentation. All you need is the speedometer. Most of the instrumentation on the dash is warning lights to sensors that you will rip out anyway.

That S10 build on EVhelp was awesome. That guy really did a great job. He also spent $10,000. I have a friend who works on fork lifts and wants to do an S10 conversion. I'll be sure to hook him up with this one. Thanks mattW

The EVhelp build is good. I would have liked to have seen him use the old bed and hide the batteries under it like I am going to.


Here are two others in progress.
http://www.vehicleofthefuture.com/
http://www.northrim.net/wyanders/ev/

I'm going to pickup the truck on Saturday, but I am planning on the next two months on just prepping the truck, doing research, and shopping/making/looking for parts.

I will ask a guy at work about the truck scale and if there is one around here. (There has to be one someplace, but where is another question).

The next question is what should I do about registration/insurance. I am planning on this being in my garage until October at the earliest, December is when I could really start using it due to weather (and not being able to ride my bike). Plus my birthday is in Dec, so they would just change me the $55 for 2009. I'm not sure if they pro-rate it for the rest of 2008, or if I need to have it if I'm not driving it. I also can't remember if you need to show proof of insurance to get it. And I doubt anything will happen to it in the garage, but you never know. I'll have to call up my insurance agent to ask them about rates for storing a vehicle.

Getting ready to work soon, eh? Totally cool!

I picked up the truck today (I'll leave out the story about running out of gas since the gas gauge doesn't get to E...)

But, now the fun begins. I'm making up a spreadsheet with the costs and time estimates right now. Phase 1 is just repairs and interior/exterior modifications to bring it up to a presentable condition. I'm estimating it will be around $800 and will be done by August (I'm not the fastest auto mechanic and won't be in town very much next month.)

I'm still trying to figure out if I should stick to 120V or if I will need to go to 144V to get it to act like a normal truck. It looks like it will cost around $500 more to go to 144V.

Check with your state's DMV ... in California, you can have a "non-working car" registration that is much cheaper while you build the car. But, you can't drive it on a public road during that time (you can put it on a trailer and take it to private property and drive it there for tests!).