Two Electric Motors – Not Operational
Transmission by Chain
4-Wheel Drum Brakes
Torsion Bar Independent Front and Rear Suspension

*Dean Edmonds Pet Project Electric Vehicle
*Cosmetically restored by Manfred's Automobile Specialties, Naples
*A Novel Alternative Power vehicle
*For restoration, or completion

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

One of the last expressions of Dean Edmonds' perennially active mind was this Volkswagen Type 2 which he spent considerable time and a great deal of money converting from its standard gasoline driven power unit to be an all-electric vehicle.

The base car was purchased from Benny Purkey of Waynesville, Ohio and had previously been with a Jeremy Burch of Walton, Kentucky. It arrived with Dean Edmonds in 2002 and was shipped up to the Boston area.

His co-conspirator on this project was a Lawrence R. Sulak II, a young graduate of the firm of Silver Cloud Contracting in Brookline, Mass. whom Mr. Edmonds employed and partnered on the project. His file notes are extensive, as inquiries were made to purchase electric motors, design the circuitry and so on. When this aspect was ready, the car was shipped down to Naples where Manfred Krukow would take over the remainder of the job. Reviewing the bus, it was found to be in need of considerable structural work and a donor shell was ultimately sourced to aid the build. The bodywork was entirely refinished to the high standards of Manfred's Automobile Specialties in black, and as ever, the details extended to even the modification of a brand badge to read Volt-Wagen with a blue lightning strike in the middle.

Nearly a decade of trials and tribulations would precipitate, while Professor Edmonds persisted with his own theories on how the electrics should be set up and all the while eschewing principles which had been used since the teen era on electric cars, or indeed modern principles. His sons attributed the failing to be largely due to his rather dangerous series set up of common solenoids to determine how many batteries were used to supply power to the motors. The issue being that the relays could not handle the current and invariably would weld themselves together under load, causing short circuits within the battery rack and then the batteries to boil violently! As this occurred poor Manfred would be tasked with disconnecting the leads while they gassed and boiled. He would eventually abandon the venture.

Not operational in any capacity today, the bus avails the future owner the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Professor Edmonds or re-appropriate a different power source.