Electric vehicles have become far more prolific in recent years, with charging stations popping up more and more across the world.
However, when you think of the word electric vehicle, the first thing that pops into your head likely isn’t a ‘65 Ford Econoline.
The phrase DIY probably doesn’t either.
That didn’t stop two Kimberley locals from taking one to the Sunshine Coast and back.
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Kevin Honeyman accompanied Berley Skate owner Jody Willcock in the van they’ve dubbed the “Econoleaf” — a ‘65 Ford Econoline converted to electric using Nissan Leaf parts, on a journey of over 2000 kilometres in 12 days.
The original point of the trip was to compete in a drag race in Creston, but they decided to just carry on all the way to the coast as they thought it would make a good story. Honeyman documented the trip and has launched a YouTube channel where you can follow the journey in all its wild entirety here: youtube.com/@ECONOLEAF
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Willcock originally bought the nearly 60-year-old Econoline in 1997 with the goal of making it electric.
“I always liked them cause it was the proper Scooby Doo van, so as a kid I always liked them,” Willcock said. “I got it when I was teaching in Prince George, but it’s just been a shipping container for me ever since.
“And then, it’s way easier to build electric cars now, so now is the time. It would have been a forklift motor, or super expensive DC stuff but now it’s just auto wrecker parts.”
The process to make the van electric only took Willcock about three months to complete. To say it gave the old Ford a new lease on life would be quite the understatement.
“It has way more horse power now that it’s electric — 107 horse power, 224 pounds of torque, but with the gear ratio it’s about 1500 full pounds of torque so it’ll boil its tires off. It’s quicker than a Nissan Leaf because it’s lighter.”
Before this trip, the furthest the Econoleaf had been was to Creston for a drag race, which was also the initial stop for this year’s trip. However, one rest stop charger was broke down, but Willcock “wanted to prove his point” so rather than turn around or call for a tow, he drove very slow and made it all the way to Creston without charging at Kid Creek on the remaining charge.
Knowing the charger would still be down on the return journey, Willcock arranged a tow home with a friend.
“So I didn’t really get to Creston and back, but I did get it to Creston, so yeah this was the first real, big adventure,” he said. “Other than that it just goes to Cranbrook, to go pick up plywood and stuff for the shop.”
The van, at 100 kilometres an hour, is “very inefficient” and “very scary”, Willcock said, so the key is to go quite a bit slower. He said that when doing just under 60 kilometres per hour through mountain passes they would get 140 kilometres out of a charge.
“Jodie had it all calculated everywhere we went, I wasn’t too worried,” Honeyman said. “My job was kind of trying to find a charger when we got to town.”
“I’m using I think it’s called a J1172 charger, they’re free everywhere,” Willcock added. “Most all electric cars can charge with that style, but they’ve now all stepped up to those fast chargers.
“I had one of those rigged up, there is one of them on it, but I tried to make it work the day we left and I was not successful. So we just went on the slow chargers and made a full journey. But if I would have got the fast charger working we could have charged it in 20 minutes and bumped there really quick, but there was enough free chargers, we could have done it for free.”
On the slower charger it takes about three to three and a half hours to charge the battery, but they didn’t mind. In addition to keeping them out of gas stations and away from all the pop and processed foods they contain, the trip with the Econoleaf had the two friends camping out in a lot of beautiful stops like wineries, parks and mountain summits.
They said they were a bit of a target for bylaw officers, however.
“We’d pull up in that van and they’d think it’s a bunch of vagrants taking up the E spaces, ‘cause they’re always the nicest spots too,” Honeyman said with a laugh.
After the success of this spontaneous adventure, Honeyman and Willcock both say they’d like to do more with the van, and have some more trips planned out and will continue filming along the way for the YouTube channel.
Make sure to check out the channel to learn more about this totally unique electric vehicle and see all the hilarious characters and situations it encounters along its journey.
paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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