This Quebec teacher's retirement project? Building his own electric car
Retired teacher from Témiscamingue region passes time on extraordinary hobby
Denis Carrier enjoys taking on ambitious projects. He already has two patents to his name.
But the retired high school teacher had never embarked on a project this ambitious before: building a working electric car.
"Yes, it's pretty original," Carrier says of his hobby with a laugh.
Once a technical studies teacher in Ontario, Carrier has spent more than a decade on his project. Working out of a workshop near his home in Notre-Dame-du-Nord, about 700 kilometres northwest of Montreal, Carrier was initially drawn to the electric car out of concern for the environment.
But he felt the electric cars currently on the market had too many drawbacks — they take too long to charge and can't be driven for more than eight hours.
So, he decided to make one himself.
Remaking the Ford Festiva
When Carrier retired in 2000, he spent between two and three years reading about electric cars. He then set about fixing their battery problems himself.
His solution was to develop a car that can handle replaceable batteries. Rather than waiting for the battery to recharge, drivers would simply pop in fresh batteries, much as one would with a flashlight.
"You can exchange a battery faster than filling up a car with liquid gas," he said.
Carrier tore apart a Ford Festiva to create his latest prototype, taking out much of the mechanics and labelling every wire.
"There are an enormous number of things to keep: the turn signals, the brakes, the heater, the radio," he said.
"You have to keep some functions and get rid of others. The headlights need to turn on. The brake lights need to light up."
Bigger problems
Carrier has a knack for invention. Along with his patents, he once restored an electric tractor and developed a device that notifies farmers when their cows are about to give birth.
But he says they don't compare to the task he's undertaking now.
"There are many, many bigger problems," he said.
He originally tried to modify a Spyder, a three-wheeled motorcycle.
But after driving 600 kilometres to pick it up, he realized that he could not crack into the vehicle's specialized programs and electronics.
He was not able to get all his money back when he returned it.
"That was a mistake," he said.
It was only one of many. For instance, his first attempts at remaking the Festiva left the car without a working speedometer or odometer.
Two-year timeline
Carrier says he simply wasn't conscious of just how big his 14-year project would be when he first set out.
"You have to be a bit unaware [in order to embark on it]," he said.
But aside from burning a few contactors — devices for making electrical circuits — he has never hurt himself.
As a former tech teacher, he says he is used to putting an emphasis on safety.
Now he has a model that runs at a top speed of 90 km/h on 64 lithium batteries. Although he still has problems to solve, he expects the car to be road ready in about two years.
He already has started the process of patenting his invention, and hopes one day a car maker will take an interest.
with files from Boualem Hadjouti