Man Builds His Own Electric Car

Patrick Roth Converts Ford Escort Into Electric Car

An Indianapolis man created his own alternative to being gouged at the pump.

Patrick Roth recently converted his Ford Escort into an 100 percent electric car, local television station WRTV reported.

"I have taken out all of the components to the internal combustion engine and replaced it with a big electric motor and a bunch of batteries," Roth said.

Roth said he got the idea while driving his Lexus hybrid. Since his Lexus ran partially off the battery, Roth thought he could get a car to run solely on electric power.

"I found myself constantly trying to trick the car to run on the electric motor as much as possible, which got me thinking," Roth said. "Why not just have a second car that's purely electric?"

There are electric cars on the market, but they often come with a high price-tag. After a lot of research, Roth tackled the conversion himself.

"It works great, actually. I've tested it on the highway," he said.

Roth said he checked with both his insurance company and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and found that his converted Escort is legal.

Instead of hitting a gas pump every week or two, he just pulls the car into the garage at night and plugs in.

"In the equivalent, it works out to what it would cost me if I were paying 75 cents a gallon at the pump," Roth said.

Roth spent about 10 weeks building the car, a project he contends just about anyone can do.

"If I can do it with no mechanical ability and no engineering degree, no electrician's degree, then certainly anyone else can do it with basic skills," he said.

Roth bought the car specifically to convert. The cost of the vehicle and the conversion was about $13,000.