Dad enlisted help of young daughters to build his own BMW electric car during lockdown
- Car enthusiast dad converted BMW car from petrol to electric during lockdown
- Daughters aged six and nine helped him with mechanics
- Dad now has another electric conversion project on the go
A LEVENSHULME dad built his very own electric vehicle over lockdown with the help of his family.
Inspired by his daughters’ love of cars, father-of-two Tom Cheesewright gained an interest in ‘60s BMW roadsters.
The car are very expensive to buy new, so Tom decided to build his own.
He describes the car as a “Frankenstein’s monster” but saw the potential to create the car of his dreams.
Tom said: “The car itself was a very cheap purchase off Gumtree. It was an MOT failure and it turned out we had to do a lot of remedial work.
“My daughter did quite a lot of welding on it.
“Then we ripped out the engine and the exhaust and sold those off along with the ancillary parts, recouping most of the cost of the car.
“I began buying bits and trying to smash them together following advice from YouTube and forums.
“We then welded them all up and eventually 15 months later it passed its MOT.”
Tom and his daughters aged six and nine worked on the car during lockdown.
The girls keenly followed their dad’s instructions having inherited his passion for engineering learning, as well as giving their creative input into the DIY project.
Tom had to make his own engine testing rig as well as a workstation to convert the electric car.
This was built in his back garden with machinery put together during the long months when no one was allowed out.
Electric vehicles emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than petrol or diesel cars.
This won’t be the last we have heard from Tom, he promised.
He said: “I’ve bought a second one. This one is the summer version inspired by a ‘60s Maserati being a soft top, and then the hardtop will be for winter and I’ll rotate them out of the garage.”