If you saw Gary and Linda Zerbst driving around Lopez Village, you wouldn’t know.

You wouldn’t know, that is, unless you caught sight of the “electric vehicle” sign on their rear view mirror.

Throughout 2010, Gary Zerbst entirely converted his 1995 Geo Metro into an electric car. It may lack the sleek modernity of the increasingly popular hybrids, but this little 90’s model does exactly what it is supposed to. Eschew gasoline.

Zerbst said he has always been environmentally minded. During his career as a civil engineer in the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and he always promoted the greenest solutions possible.

The idea of owning an electric car had been on his mind for many years, even before he and his wife retired to Lopez in 2004. The reason behind the idea fit perfectly with his longtime philosophy of living green, “(electric cars) just do less damage to the environment,” he said.

However this was not as simple as buying into the electric vehicle franchise. With time on his hands through retirement, and knowledge of mechanics, Zerbst decided to go one step farther. He decided to build his own.

“A part of the pleasure of building it myself was that it was a project, a challenge, and fun to do. The other part was it was cheaper then buying a store-bought car,” Zerbst said. Indeed, this car was not intended to be massively powerful or have off-island capabilities. “It’s our island errand car.” Zerbst’s journey into batteries and wiring received its own nudge from luck. At the beginning of the project he had been struggling to find a car body suitable for conversion.

His original idea of a VW conversion had not come to fruition. Then, following more research, Zerbst decided to find a Geo Metro. As luck would have it, he did not have to wait long.

Fellow Lopezian Mike Colylar happened to have purchased a Geo Metro, for parts, in October 2009. When Zerbst called Colylar to ask for mechanical advise, he mentioned the model he was looking for. Colylar lost no time in saying he just happened to have one, and the two came to an agreement.

“The deal was that I did the labor to remove the engine and the parts, which was a no brainer as the work had to be done anyway,” Zerbst said. After the car was striped down, Zerbst got to keep the body, free of charge. Now, with car stripped of everything to do with gasoline, the real challenge began.

The following year saw Zerbst navigate a complex maze of parts, process and practice. “There was a lot of head scratching,” he said.

The pieces he needed were purchased from Bellingham company Mac and Mac Electric. Although he received help and advise from the company and from other islanders, there were “problems to solve…there was no wiring diagram, no directions, just pieces,” Zerbst said. “I thought it would be a kit, but no,” Linda said.

However, despite problems and delays, Zerbst proceeded steadily and undeterred. “I was a little overwhelmed but like most things a large project is a collection of small projects hopefully arranged so that they dovetail.”

That dovetail came in late November, when Zerbst climbed in to the converted car to turn the key. The first time, it didn’t start. The second time, the wheels spun backwards. Linda described the humor and surprise when the couple realized they had left the car in reverse.

Then, on Dec. 2, the Zerbst’s electric vehicle took its maiden voyage; up their drive way and back. “I was excited the process was done and I was concerned about the range and power that I was going to experience …I am still learning that,” Zerbst said.

The car now sits beside the Zerbst household, a cable extending to the nearest outlet, charging up and ready for the next trip to the store or post office. The Zerbsts estimate they will get six years of battery life from the car, and that it can go approximately 40 miles before having to be recharged. In the summer, they hope, it will go farther.

As for how it drives, Zerbst said “It is just like a normal car, in many respects it’s like an automatic transmission…you put the car in gear and put your foot on the gas pedal.” Except of course, he added, it is no longer a gas pedal.