Back to this other life

I arrived back in Wellington at the weekend, having been away for four & a half months this time. Before I left, I took the battery lead off and covered the Valiant with her silver blanket. Yesterday I uncovered her, put the battery lead back on, & turned on the key ... but no knocking noise from the electric petrol pump told me the battery was flat. With the help of Lilicherie's car, she started easily, however the battery (now 5 years old) was really really dead & as soon as I stopped it there was nothing again. So this morning I called the AA who confirmed that the battery is on its way out. After a charge from the AA & a drive around the beautiful southern bays (unfortunately too overcast to see the Kaikouras looming out of the South Island) there is now enough charge to start her.

I called by my mechanics, the great guys at Newtown Auto Electrical, to book her in for her warrant of fitness & a new battery, and asked them what they thought of my electrifying project. Not surprisingly, Glenn and Rob were horrified. They've worked lovingly on this vehicle for many years now so the idea of tampering with such a classic beauty is sacreligious, scandalous and downright silly, in their eyes. Glenn assured me that it's possible to run a combustion engine on fuels other than petrol, such as water, for example. So I've challenged him to find out how I can do that. He's concerned that anyone who knows how to do it, mysteriously disappears off the face of the earth. Perhaps it will have to be a Secret Project.

Another Kiwi Converter

My co-conspirator in this project, Peter, has sent me the link of another kiwi converter, Gavin; Gavin's a lot further ahead than me - in fact, he's almost on the road - and his site is a treasure trove of useful information. Thanks, Gavin! It makes the whole idea seem much more doable, knowing that there's someone else out there who's already done it. It's daunting to see how much it's cost, but also good to be prepared; donations are welcome!

Gavin imported his motor (and various other bits) from the USA; I wonder whether there is a manufacturer in New Zealand who is considering building electric vehicle motors?

The Valiant

In 1993, I bought a 1964 AP5 Chrysler Valiant for NZ$1200. It was rust free, mechanically sound, and I was to be the fourth owner. The seller had used it to tow his boat, but he'd had to sell the boat to pay for his daughter's wedding, so now he had no use for the car.


Fourteen years later, I still own Lucy the Valiant, and in that time we've shared numerous road trips that have taken us just about all over the country. We've had some mishaps but we've never been stranded and often the mishaps have led to more adventures. When I've been overseas, she's sat patiently in the garage under her blanket for months, ready to roar into life the first time I start her on my return. I've had her engine reconditioned and over the years replaced whatever needed replacing, removed rust as it's appeared and given her a fresh coat of paint.

She's a stylish and reliable vehicle and to drive her is a real pleasure - but she's also a fossil-fuel-consuming pollution-emitting dinosaur. As the negative consequences of our dependency on oil have become impossible to ignore, owning and driving this beautiful machine is increasingly problematic. But I'm not ready to let her go.

Hence this project: The Valiant Electric. I'm going to transform her into an electric powered vehicle. I know it won't be easy - she's no lightweight - and it probably won't be cheap. But when the average life of a modern car is only 5 years and mine's done 43 and still going strong, it makes sense to keep her on the road.