Well for as long as I have been reading about how to do this conversion I have been thinking about what frame/chassis do I use.

There are major decisions related to:

• Size
• Weight
• Aerodynamic drag
• Cost

As a major source I looked at EV-Album and all of the links related to projects that were interesting. There is a significant number of people providing great information on their linked websites. These links to individual personal websites are excellent tools for people looking into converting an EV.

With this information digested I began watching Craigslist every night and morning to see what was available vehicle wise. Some of my possibilities were:

• small pickup (Chevy S-10, Ford Ranger, Nissan, Dodge Dakota or other small truck)
• Ford Probe
• Nissan Altima or maybe a – Z
• Toyota MR2
• Pontiac Fiero (which was originally designed to be an EV)
• Volkswagen – Karmann Ghia – Jetta

With the research I had under my belt I was leaning into a pickup truck decision. The primary factors effecting this choice were battery capacity, weight, ease of conversion and availability. They are everywhere in central North Carolina.

The others on the list were more of the type that it would be cool to convert but there are limitations on battery placement and anything with front wheel drive was more that I wanted to deal with when attaching a motor to a front end transmission designed for half shafts.

My final round of draft picks would be based on the following items:

• Chevrolet S-10, Isuzu Hombre, Ford Ranger or Dodge Dakota(maybe too heavy)
• 2WD
• Extended Cab
• Mid 90-s or higher
• Lowest Cost – Blown engines, bad transmissions, pissed off wives in the middle of a divorce

After dancing the Craigslist buyer/seller hoe down several times, I finally hooked up with a seller with a vehicle he wanted to sell.

The particular beauty that was purchased is a 1997 Chevrolet S-10 Extended Cab Pickup.

The major issue with the truck was the driveshaft’s inability to stay connected at the differential end. This failure led to the destruction of the fuel tank. While the truck did have significant mileage on it It did not seem relevant.

There are a significant amount of S-10 conversions here at CHEVY EV-Album Pages.

Mine will be posted to EV-Album soon.

Kevin L. Williams