Maciejczyk has driven the now-electric VW Golf from his Milford home to the Stratford fire station for a couple of weeks.

"It was just a joke at first," Maciejczyk said. He was watching gas prices go up last year and thought, "Maybe I should build an electric car."

But the more he looked into it, the more he realized it could be done. With the blessing of his wife, who agreed he needed a hobby, Maciejczyk began his project.

"You don't have to be an Einstein," he said. "All I did was read."

To be fair, Maciejczyk has more than the average component of technical skills. He was a tool-and-die maker before joining the fire department 20 years ago.

He had to install an electric motor, a controller and a bank of rechargeable batteries and wire them together. All the parts can be purchased on the Internet and the batteries are basically the same kind as in gasoline-powered cars. However, newer, more advanced batteries are coming onto the market, which could add more power and increase the distance between energizing electric cars.

In December, Maciejczyk started to read and download plans posted on the Internet by hobbyists and companies that sell the batteries and other parts needed for conversion. By April, he was ready to start his project and bought the VW.

"I took out 400 pounds and put in about 400 pounds," as well as about 100 hours of work and $4,000, he said.

"I've had it up to 60 miles per hour on the highway."

Maciejczyk said he picked the VW after talking to a number of experts on electric conversions who suggested the VW Golf, another fuel-efficient car or a Porsche.

Generally, the fuel-efficient cars and Porsches have manual transmissions that work well with the electric systems, he said. They are also relatively light in weight, so it takes less power to propel them than other cars.

The VW has a temporary license plate and Maciejczyk has to go get his emissions checked to get permanent ones. He needs an emissions testing facility to verify his car is electric and doesn't have any emissions.

Maciejczyk said he thinks he may be able to turn this into a long-term hobby, or even a business. But right now, he's still playing with the VW's performance. He can safely drive 30 miles and back from home without worrying about running out of juice.

But even if he does run out, he can always just plug in to a regular house outlet somewhere. The car recharges relatively quickly depending upon how low the batteries were drained. It could be overnight or a few hours. He also carries his bike in the back seat, just in case. Eventually, he wants to install a generator that creates electricity from the wheels when they turn, which should also increase the car's range.

Maciejczyk said he received help from EVParts.com and several parts manufacturers.

Roderick Wilde, who appeared in a Discovery Channel special about drag racing electric cars versus gas-powered vehicles, owns EVParts. "They're a little more complicated than putting batteries into a flashlight," Wilde said of building an electric car, but mature and available technology makes it relatively simple.

Wilde sees building and driving electric cars as more than fun; he thinks it's also an act of sanity and patriotism.

Despite the recent drop in oil prices, Wilde said there are a number of countries and some pretty smart people out there who think the age of oil is nearing its end.

He said the concern is that we are approaching or experiencing the time of peak oil, the point when half of the world's supply of oil is tapped. This would force oil prices to rise dramatically because supplies would be dwindling. So it makes sense to shift to other energy sources for transportation and powering homes and business, according to Wilde.

Recognizing this, Germany and Japan have aggressive programs in place to generate more electricity from solar panels and wind generators, he said, while China has reportedly invested $200 billion to develop new batteries for electric vehicles.

The cost of operating an electric car varies by the size and efficiency of the batteries, Wilde said.

While helping the country become more energy independent is a nice benefit, Maciejczyk said building his car has ultimately given him a great new hobby, and a fun topic to discuss at the fire station. Rob Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216.