A growing group of enthusiasts are converting their vintage combustion engines to electric vehicles.
Some use parts from Teslas that have been involved in an accident.
Conversions aren’t new, but some are becoming easier as EV technology advances.
There is a growing group of collectors and enthusiasts who want their classic Antique car and old muscle cars in fast electric vehicles rebuild.
“It’s a huge, growing market.”
“It used to be really just a backyard hobby that people got killed in Teslas and took the parts out of them and put them in some kind of rebuilt hot rod, be it a ’69 Camaro or whatever,” Mike Spagnola, CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association, told Business Insider. “We are finding that the next generation of hot rods are increasingly asking for an EV conversion. It’s a huge, growing market.”
The proof? Spagnola’s organization needed a massive 1,860 square feet of space at its annual conference last year to accommodate the companies that battery packselectric motors and other components required for the conversion of vehicles.
The auction platform “Bring a Trailer” has started making classic vehicles to sell that on electric drive have been converted, such as one Porsche from 1975 and one BMW by 1974. And two well-known “hot rodders” working on those projects told Business Insider that business is booming.
The conversion from petrol-powered vehicles to electric drive isn’t a new concept, but it’s gained traction, largely because the technology for e-mobility has evolved. “The real game changer came with Tesla,” said Greg Abbott, who goes by the name of Reverend Gadget and is the CEO of conversion company Left Coast EV.
So how do you convert a combustion engine into an electric car?
According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center When converting to an electric car, the engine must be removed and installed Akkupaket, electric motors, high-voltage cables and measuring instruments are installed. It is important to ensure that there is enough space for these parts and that the original chassis can carry the additional weight.
Gadget, who starred in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car, always begins by removing batteries from accident victims Teslas. He started with two or three conversions a year and has now reached a dozen.
“If it’s a freshwater flood car, then there’s no problem. If it’s a saltwater flood car, it’s probably junk,” explains Gadget, “if it’s in a Accident involved, such as a head-on or rear-end collision, it’s fine. In a side impact, the Battery be damaged, so you have to take a risk. But the cars are so well built that I would say 95 percent of the time the batteries don’t have any problems.”
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In addition, there are still a lot of structural, electronic and technical tasks. “We can’t just take the parts out of one Tesla take it out and use it,” said Gadget, “it’s not just cut and paste, it’s a lot of work. Part of that is installing the systems.”
The converters cannot simply convert every car
Gadget jokes that for him only vehicles with plastic parts are out of the question – seriously: He prefers classic from the 1960s and 1970s. A conversion makes more sense for certain vehicles than for others. A conversion makes sense, for example, for vehicles that cult status and whose value is appreciated, or those that would otherwise be unroadworthy, says Michael Bream, CEO of EV West.
He founded the company in 2008, building electric hot rods, project cars and race cars, taking them to events and shows and using that experience to develop conversion products. Bream has worked with collectors such as Jay Leno and Tony Hawk.
“There is no money in the world that can buy a modern Porsche rebuild from 1965. So if you want to keep that experience, one of the only alternatives is this electrification‘ says Bream, ‘in other cases it makes perfect financial sense. If you’re trying to maintain an old Porsche, it’s going to be a lot more expensive than a Tesla drive.”
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A conversion is sometimes suitable as a second vehicle enthusiasts. Despite misconceptions about electric cars, speed and weight, they have significant power and drive.
Either way, it’s going to cost you: The two experts estimate it will cost between $20,000 and $30,000 for parts and a similar amount for time and labor, up to $50,000 ) or more. That depends on the power and the speed of the vehicle depends on how demanding it is and how modern the customer wants his vehicle to be.
They are car fans
Not all enthusiasts are up for converting fully electric vehicles on board. Rick Drewry, a classic car restorer and collector car and motorcycle claims specialist at American Modern Insurance Group, expects hybrid conversions to gain traction.
“You will see that electric cars Petrol cars with the same power right off the bat, but if the vehicles are absolutely still, some people will get off,” said Drewry, “that’s really the whole point: people love the sound and the roar of the engine and it’s hard for them to get rid of it.”
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For Bream it’s really about the legacy of the Autos to extend. “I think what people are missing is that we are drivers. We’re not trying to do that to anyone Petrol take away,” Bream said, “All of a sudden I can enjoy hot rodding with my son the way my dad enjoyed it with me when I was young.”
“We’re here because we’re hot rodders and love to do slow things fast,” added Bream. “In our quest to build super fast cars that are fun,” he said, “we inadvertently created cars that are seen as more environmentally friendly.”
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