Electric Resto-Mods / Classic Car Conversions - Yes or No?

  • Thread starter Scaff
  • 47 comments
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Electric Resto-Mods - What do you think?

  • Brilliant

    Votes: 16 48.5%

  • Meh

    Votes: 11 33.3%

  • The Devil's Work

    Votes: 6 18.2%
  • Total voters
    33
Danoff
Electrifying old cars can make a ton of sense, but it can also completely miss the point. Especially when you start talking about cars that originally sold with crappy automatic transmissions, like a lot of Toyota MR2s, or an NSX, or any car where the engine was a real maintenance nightmare and not worthwhile, or where the transmission was a big problem, could be excellent candidates. Basically cars where engine/transmission swaps seem like a good move.

Edit:

E46 M3 SMG
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I think a transmission swap is more worthwhile in the case of the E46 M3 purely because the S54 is a gem of a motor. I think the perfect candidate would be something like an XJS V12. Beautiful car with a big lazy engine that doesn't tolerate neglect at all. An electric powertrain is perfect for the character of an XJS.
 
Eunos_Cosmo
I think a transmission swap is more worthwhile in the case of the E46 M3 purely because the S54 is a gem of a motor. I think the perfect candidate would be something like an XJS V12. Beautiful car with a big lazy engine that doesn't tolerate neglect at all. An electric powertrain is perfect for the character of an XJS.
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There were enough manual E46 M3s that unless we're talking CSL, the manual conversion is perhaps not worthwhile. Meanwhile, it's a beautiful car that requires a ton of powertrain maintenance (not just the SMG). Selling the engine could finance part of the project, and SMGs are cheap (or they were a year ago, I haven't looked) even in immaculate condition.
 
Eunos_Cosmo
I think the perfect candidate would be something like an XJS V12. Beautiful car with a big lazy engine that doesn't tolerate neglect at all. An electric powertrain is perfect for the character of an XJS.
Click to expand...
Funnily enough, i was thinking the same thing when i started this rough sketch/unfinished drawing, a few months ago.
I'd completely forgotten about it until i read your post above.

 
In English



According to a Dutch reviewer from "Autoweek", you still have to shift gears and use a clutch with this resto mod.
 
Four cars I'd like to see: E30 318is, Corrado(G60 or SLC), Golf Rally and an A2 16V Jetta. I just love the boxy shapes of the era. With the Corrado, it's just so perfectly stubby.
 
Now that my pickup has not much of an exhaust left, and even though it sounds great, it made me think about giving the Impala an electric drivetrain. It has to be a comfortable cruiser anyway, and having a lot of quiet power is just about the best you can get.
 
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Certainly. If you’d only get 140 miles on a tank :sly:, may as well. So much power under foot and longer range. Perfect cruiser. ;)
 
Eh, not sure I'm gonna like these until they figure out a better solution for the batteries. Packaging isn't exactly ideal on something that's not a dedicated EV platform.
 
On something that's body on frame I see no reason battery packs can't fill up all the wasted space there anyway. Monocoque vehicles, on the other hand present packaging troubles both for engine swaps and electrification alike. It's nothing creative hot rodders can't solve, especially with more experience.
 
1989 Renault 21 GTX Nevada by peterolthof, on Flickr
1989 Renault 21 GTX Nevada by peterolthof, on Flickr
L36 HBM (2) by Nivek.Old.Gold, on Flickr
r21txi.png


I would take one of these to e-restomod. Turbo is cool too but Nevada/Savanna retains coolness even with most boring engines. Basically taking off a defect of engine cooling with simpler battery (pre facelift especially), also simplifying electrics and improving rust protection . Even with these issues some have made it past 500k kilometres which isnt that bad like mk2 Laguna for which 350k would be gold.
 
A '64-66 Chevy Van with Volt running gear could be a cool thing.

20043100-1966-chevrolet-van.jpg


Sort of recreating the GM Electrovan less the hydrogen component.

GM-Electrovan-.jpg


Those Chevys and GMCs are my favorite of the early vans anyway, with the Dodge A100 and Econoline behind respectively.
 
Thinking about the "Premium Attitude" design study from French automotive materials and technology firm Faurecia which was created from a Tatra 603 and was showcased at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Faurecia-Premium-Attitude-01-lg.jpg

Faurecia-Premium-Attitude-03-lg.jpg

Faurecia-Premium-Attitude-02-lg.jpg


It's not likely to have moved under its own power--it had a pull-out rear trunk where an air-cooled V8 would have been as standard--but it's fun to think of it as an EV, especially given the "pixel grille" theme that appears at the front and inside.
 

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