Step 6: Repeat, Start over

My new AC Propulsion AC-150 motor did not arrive directly from AC Propulsion, Inc. of San Dimas, California, makers of advanced electric automotive drive systems, it was delivered in a parking lot in Mountain View, California, mounted inside a bright yellow Porsche 914.

So the white 1974 Porsche 914 with 4-cylinder 1.8L fuel injected engine bought with the intention of converting to electric was saved once again. The yellow car's AC-150 motor delivers twice the power, the white car has Monza exhaust pipes.

The white car needed brake work and a tune-up. The yellow car has the AC-150 mounted and mated to the transmission. I have a first-generation AC-150 controller, a small box of parts, and an instruction manual. It needs an electrical system, a vehicle-control computer, and at least 28 battery cells (338 volts).

The white car stays AWESOME for getting to work: the direct route (33.2 mi – about 37 mins), through Saratoga via Skyline Drive (81.8 mi – about 1 hour 54 mins), or through San Carlos via PCH (52.2 mi – about 1 hour 17 mins).

I passed through San Carlos for a stop at the House of Wreckers, purveyors of tow trucks and towing accessories, to purchase a set of car dollies. I remarked that I had never seen so many tow trucks. The guys in their shop had never seen a Porsche 914 carting off with four GoJak 6200 car dollies on the way to work (at forty pounds each, these fit two in the trunk, two in the passenger seat).

The car dollies let me put two cars in a one-car garage. The yellow car is still in Mountain View.