DeLorean Electric Car Conversion - Electric Future

A lot has changed since Back To The Future was released in 1985. During these last 3.5 decades, we’ve seen a plethora of hybrid and electric cars enter the market – from the practical Toyota Prius to the industry disrupting Tesla. The EV revolution has also inadvertently led to a new era in DIY electric cars. With more electric cars on the road, Motors, inverters and battery cells, which used to be hard to come by, are now readily available on the after market.

John DeLorean’s DMC-12 – the car we all know and love as Doc and Marty’s Back to the Future Car was meant to be the definitive sports car of the 1980’s. The gull-wing doors and stainless steel exterior made it a unique curiosity for car enthusiasts. However, there was one big problem with the DMC-12, its small 6 cylinder engine put out a feeble 130 hp. But for one special DeLorean, a Buick Grand National Engine swap created, what was referred to as, the world’s fastest DeLorean. The turbocharged 4.3 liter v6 was tuned to 570 horsepower.

Jacob Graham and his weekend maker pal Jim Belosic purchased the DeLorean with restoration in mind. They had completed other notable projects like a steam powered car, right up the alley of Jay Leno, and a motorcycle-trike conversion.

Jacob and Jim now turned their focus to electric vehicle technology. Jim had successfully installed a Tesla motor in a 1981 Honda Accord he calls the Teslonda, and not to be outdone, Jacob was looking to make an electric car of his own. Jacob got his hands on a Nissan Leaf motor and inverter – the component that converts DC power from the batteries into alternating current for the motor.

Jacob decided to convert the DeLorean car to electric. The EV conversion project required many custom-cut metal parts. Jacob created mock pieces out of cardboard. He used AutoCAD software to design each piece and sent the designs off to SendCutSend a laser cutting company in Reno, NV. He cut housing to fit the 48 battery modules – 24 up front and 24 in the back. Salvaged from a 2012 Nissan leaf 24 kWh battery pack. Incredibly, the converted electric DeLorean is 256 lbs lighter than the original factory version, and has better weight distribution which improves handling, acceleration, and traction.

Jacob built the 300kw inverter from scratch for his DIY electric car. He found a good inverter power stage design from seasoned EV conversion guru Arlin Sansome, who’s famous for his electrified 1988 Honda CRX. Article: https://www.electricfuture.com/delore...