It seems like he used the engines of electric "raiders" (ride-on lawnmowers, that is - small tractors). I cannot fathom why and how he used 3, but the tools in his shed suggest he can build anything. That's one impressive shed.

[–] Nougat@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It sounds to me like he swapped out the original engine for those three lawnmower engines on a lark, perhaps to charge batteries that run an electric motor (kind of like diesel-electric locomotives do, although I don't believe those have batteries). Then the solar panels were added, negating the need for the lawnmower engines, which haven't been removed from the system.

[–] perestroika 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

What I see on his photos are at least 2 (third one likely in reverse, where his finger is pointing) reasonably powerful electric motors on a ~~single toothed belt~~ pair of toothed belts.

image

I think there's no combustion engine left in that car. I suspect he combined them because the van wouldn't ride well with only 10 KW.