|
Manchester High school students Get look at electric Conversion
 | | Joe Gawlik (left) and Hank Trabold (right) explain their electric car conversion. |
|
MANCHESTER - Manchester Township High School technology teacher Joe Gawlik and his buddy, Hank Trabold, Navy Lakehurst retired, have become Internet celebrities with car enthusiasts for their Web video featuring their electric car conversion of a 1973 VW Super Beetle. They recently brought the car to the high school, explaining the conversion to technology students and giving them a close-up look at the car.
"We took a piece-of-junk car, fixed the brakes and shocks, took out the internal combustion engine and put in an electric motor," said Trabold. "I always wanted to try something like this. It's environmentally friendly. It only costs two cents a mile to run and can go up to 55 miles per hour." He said that the entire conversion cost about $3,700 and took about a month to complete. None of the parts were specially made; they were all available off the shelf.
Trabold showed the students the six lead-acid batteries, the kind used in golf carts, installed behind the back seat and three more in the front of the car, where the controller brain makes the juice flow from the batteries into the electric motor when the accelerator is pressed. To charge it, you simply plug it into the wall. The car can travel between 30 and 50 miles on an overnight charge. "The furthest we've gone so far is 27 miles, and we still had juice left," said Trabold.
Gawlik pointed out to his students how neat and organized everything is. "It's all very carefully organized so that it is safe. The very first time we tried it, it worked."
Trabold uses the car on a regular basis. When it runs, the only way you can tell it's not a regular car is because it is so quiet. It makes a slight whining sound when under acceleration, but is totally silent when the accelerator is not being pressed.
"This is not for everyone," said Gawlik, "but it's great for around town driving, which is what Hank uses it for."
The duo also demonstrated an electric scooter that Gawlik said was their test project. "We started with something simple, using the same principle as the car but on a smaller scale."
Their next project will be to convert a Geo Metro, which Gawlik said they think they can do for $600 to $700 less than the Beetle by shopping around for better prices on parts. Legally, registering the Geo will be a battle, though, since it will have to go through inspection, and there are no standards for such a vehicle, according to Gawlik. They got around the problem with the VW because it has historical plates and is not required to be inspected. "I'm ready to fight the system, though," Gawlik said.
Trabold has offered to donate the parts for Gawlik's students to take on a small conversion project like the scooter. "It will be a great learning experience for the students," Gawlik said, "We're hoping to be able to complete it by the end of the school year."
|
|
)