I want to hear about this project as you proceed, Jim.
IMOH, there is a huge need, so potentially a huge market, for well-engineered pure electric cars. Many people, esp. incl. old folks like my dad, never drive anywhere near as far as the easily-achieved range of even old-tech electrics. GM made a horrible mistake killing their electric program, in which they were the world leader. A couple of months ago, at an alternative energy fair, I got to see one of GM's pre-pre-production prototypes, an electric S-10 compact pickup. What an impressive machine! The owner told me that GM had leased out several hundred electric cars, then took them all back and crushed them when the program was cancelled. But they also had built a smaller number of these pickups, which they had sold to a few commercial fleet operators, and couldn't take back. There is a small outfit buying these up and reconditioning them for resale. I forget what the guy paid, but it was very reasonable for a like-new truck. The engineering in that rig was far beyond anything an amateur could do, which is not to say that a DIY vehicle wouldn't be satisfactory.
