A GARAGE in Frome is in the process of converting a petrol-based car into a fully functional electric powered vehicle.
Innertar Ltd, along with a helping hand from Frome Auto Electrical, have spent the last two months converting a petrol-based Ford Fiesta to an electric powered motor, for use by local councillor Peter Macfadyen.
Dan Chubb from Innertar Ltd said, “It’s a project that we are really passionate about. It’s not quite ready yet, but we hope to get the Fiesta on the road within the next month.
“We’ve entirely replaced the engine with battery cells, which should last around seven or eight hours. We also equipped the car with a self-charge mechanism, so there’s no need to run around and find a charge point. The Fiesta could perform pretty well, I think it will have a top speed of around 80mph.”
For Dan and the Innertar team, this marks the second car they have converted to electric power.
“We had a Fiat 126 in here recently and we totally converted it to electric, it’s a great runner” said Dan. “Preferably we would like to work on cars that are rear wheel drive, it’s a lot easier to convert to electric. I’m not sure if we could convert any car, but it’s worth a try.”
Peter Macfadyen, who commissioned the conversion on the Ford Fiesta said, “Having an electric car would be a great help and in keeping with my thoughts on green and renewable energy.
“The main incentive, as it were, is green job creation. We had a bit of a run down, old car and turned it into something useful. I would like to see if we can work with Dan to get a production line of electric cars on the go. The town council will soon install a charge point and solar panels at the Cheese & Grain, paving the way for a new, greener, era.”
