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78 Build Your Own Electric Vehiclethe safety aspects have already been handled for you. When you roll your own design,dealing with the safety issues becomes your responsibility. While licensing your one-ofa-kind“Starship Electrocruiser” will consume less time with the local Motor Vehicleauthorities than would getting the certifications for a production run from multipleagencies, you are still going to have to convince someone that the wheels aren’t goingto come off before they permit you to cruise anywhere except in your driveway.Building to someone’s plans is a logical step towards saving time and hassle. Youstill have to provide the muscle and the bucks, but there’s someone who has alreadyblazed a trail before you in terms of licensing and construction shortcuts. In addition,you have someone to write or call if you get hung up on a construction detail.Putting a custom kit on an existing internal combustion–powered vehicle chassissaves you yet more building time and hassle, but still requires an extensive laborinvestment on your part and additional out-of-pocket cost. The advantage is that younot only have someone to call or write to for help, but better instructions typically makethat help less necessary. Pre-fab parts also go a long way toward ensuring that yourfinished product looks like a professional job.There’s also a hidden problem with custom-, plan-, or kit-built electric vehicles; itoccurs if you decide to sell your creation. With new and do-it-yourself conversions usinginternal combustion engine vehicles—even if quite radical in the electrical department—the prospective purchaser comes to look at it and the first impression is, “Yeah, it’s aFord” or “OK, it’s a Honda” and so forth. The prospective buyer mentally catalogs themake and model of the body, then moves on. With custom-built electrics, you might dealwith a lot of questions on the body, such as “How safe is it?” or “Does it leak much whenit rains?” or “Will this crack here get much wider?” It can go on and on.Building an EV from scratch today involves thoroughly planning what you are goingto do in advance (Will you make or buy parts, and from what vendors? When will partsbe needed? Where will assembly happen? Which subcontractors will help?), then pursuingyour plan (leaving room for contingencies, problems, and any bargains that come yourway). If you can scrounge, barter, or scavenge used parts, so much the better.Custom-Built Electric VehiclesThe advantage to custom-building an electric vehicle is that you can “go where no onehas gone before.” In practical terms, it means you can build something like DonMoriarty’s custom sport racer (see Figure 4-3), which is an excellent example of themeticulous attention to design and construction detail that results in winning entries.With the custom-built approach, ideal for high-speed or long-distance race vehicles,you are free to make the design and component trade-offs that optimize your vehicle inthe direction of your choice. But this approach also assumes you have the skills, talent,resources, and money to accomplish it.Electric Vehicles Built from PlansThe best example of building from plans is the Doran three-wheeler electric (shownfront and rear in Figure 4-4), whose plans are typically offered by mail-order. With theDoran construction manual and plans you get excellent body, mechanical, and electricalinstruction. They result in a less than 1,500-lb. vehicle (motorcycle classification) thatgoes 80 mph and has an around-town range of 60 miles from its recommended Prestolite28-hp DC motor and 108-volt (nine 12-volt lead-acid) battery string. But to build eventhis small, simple vehicle requires mastery of fiberglass-over-foam-core body