Australia’s only electric powered Commodore could go on forever
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
Pic: Les Cook in Cairns with his electric powered VT Commodore
An ageing Holden Commodore is not the sort of car that usually turns heads or starts conversations.
But Les Cook gets plenty of both wherever he takes his dark green VT model. Les owns Australia’s only electric powered Commodore.
Holden launched the VT in 1997, with V6 and V8 petrol engine options. Les runs his on sun.
“Anywhere I go, when people see what I’ve got, they want to talk. What is it? How did you do it? What does it cost?
“And I say to people, driving past petrol stations and not having to stop, that’s an enormous advantage.”
Like many, Les balked at the hefty purchase price of electric vehicles when they first appeared on the Australian market.
He put his mechanical skills and inquiring mind to work on a five-year project to convert his Commodore to electricity.
The final work was done in Townsville in 2019. After years listening to the deep rumble of the Commodore’s original petrol engine, Les was amazed at how quiet the drive home was.
“I could hear a motor running. I looked around, and it was a tractor, ploughing a paddock 300 metres away. I could hear the tractor motor.
“The Commodore doesn’t make much noise. It’s got 60 kilowatts of charge. According to the textbook, that’s 300 kilometres of range, but I might do a bit better, because the car lost weight in the conversion, about 200 kilograms.
It was a significant investment, but Les says the savings paid off the cost within three years and there are significant longer-term benefits.
“If you get out of having to pay for your electricity and your fuel, then your cost of living goes right down.
“First thing you do is get solar panels on the roof of your home. Store what you generate in a good battery set-up, you can use car batteries. It’s cheaper.
“You’re already saving on the cost of electricity, and then you can recharge your car.”
There’s a growing number of older cars on Queensland roads that have been converted to run on electricity. The Australian Electric Vehicle Association has an active Queensland branch with members across the state.
There are predictions of dramatically increased lifespans for converted older vehicles and their component parts, due to reduced wear with electric power.
And some of the many old cars rusting away in rural areas could be brought back to life through conversion.
Newer cars are not good candidates, due to their complex computer and sensor systems.
Les recommends pre-2004 vehicles. He says people are happy to share their experiences, and registration inspectors give good guidance.
“They told me about not making the car heavier, don’t change the weight distribution, don’t tamper with the chassis. And you’ve got to maintain the structural integrity.
The electric Commodore “goes alright” on the steep, winding roads where Les lives in the hills west of Cairns, but he’s planning a performance improving modification.
“It’s direct drive, it doesn’t have a gear box, so my heavy car is slow to take off. But there’s a new gearbox on the market with a 12:1 ratio, better than a Tesla.
“If I want to be young and silly again, I might be able to spin the wheels at the lights.”
