eBay Find of the Day: 1979 Unique Mobility Electrek
Click on the image for more shots of the Electrek electric car
Good old eBay strikes again with another unusual but very interesting electric vehicle up for auction. Before seeing this auction, we were not really familiar with the Unique Mobility Electrek electric vehicle at all. As usual, the internet proves our friend, as a test of the vehicle was done by the DOE way back in the early eighties, and it's been made available online. So, we know that the Electrek uses a Soleq controller, a specially modified General Electric shunt wound 32-hp electric motor, and 16 6-V Globe-Union batteries. Those lead-acid batteries have been removed from the vehicle, as they are rather old and needed to be replaced. A fiberglass body, which may not be the prettiest design in the world, lies atop a custom-designed chassis with a central battery-tunnel running the length of the vehicle. Top speed is claimed to be seventy-five miles per hour and the range, when new, varied between seventy-five and one-hundred miles per charge (at 30 mph or so).
Gallery: Unique Mobility Electrek
[Source: eBay Motors]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin Nugent 10:21PM (5/19/2008)
Well its not a Tesla roadster lol
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Bman 8:42AM (5/20/2008)
VW rabbit pedal cluster, steering column, and washer solvent container from pics.
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Bman 8:44AM (5/20/2008)
...and hubcaps.
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Jim McCullough 4:32PM (5/24/2008)
VW Rabbit tranny (note 4-on-the-dash shifter), +front and rear suspension parts...a conceptual front-runner to the GM Impact-EV1 of the 90’s (lightweight EV under 3000 lbs, about 33% batt weight, batt tunnel for best balance and center of gravity, regenerative braking for efficiency), but with removable battery tray for servicing or tray-swapping (Army did some 24-hr driving tests).
My experience: 66-80 mile daily round-trips, charged both at home and work. About 3 mi/kwh charge, 60-100 miles range do-able, over 50 miles on highway (60 mph), 0-60 mph moderate (mid-teens) with std 300a controller (400a opt avail), batt life 2-5 yrs or 20,000-30,000 miles. Did one 100 mi rally (range test
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Jim McCullough 5:02PM (5/24/2008)
..less than 40 mph). Did Pike's Peak hill climb (slowly, not raced). Regen'd downhill...cool brakes at the bottom of hill...and drove 25 more highway miles from the recaptured energy.
Here's a little more info..
http://www.uqm.com/about/history.html
..former Eletrek owner
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Stuart Updike 1:17PM (2/09/2009)
Hi Jim,
I'm looking for service manuals, wiring diagrams, etc.
If you can help, please let me know at
StuUpdike at mindspring dot com
Thanks
david dunn 5:08PM (8/01/2008)
Hey Jim, I purchased the car pictured here and would appreciate any and all info you can give me about it.
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Stuart Updike 4:07AM (2/10/2009)
Hello David,
Were you ever able to find any maintenance manuals, wiring diagrams, etc. for the Electrek?
StuUpdike at mindspring dot com.
Jim McCullough 2:43PM (2/11/2009)
Contact ref..
Jim McCullough
303-666-7781 voice, message or fax
jimmc dot 2 at netzero dot net
Stuart Updike 12:17AM (3/01/2009)
Hello David,
You might want to take a look at the Electrek / Unique Mobility Discussion group on Yahoo! at: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ElectrekSupport/ .
Have a great day!
Stu
Stuart Updike 3:33AM (2/09/2009)
Hello Jim and David,
I may have a chance to buy an Electrek. I would like to know what Jim thought of the car overall and why he sold it?
I would also like to know his experience with maintenance and obtaining replacement parts?
Finally, do you know where I might find information such as maintenance manuals, wiring diagrams, etc.
Dave,
I'd also like to establish contact with you about your car.
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