Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff lurin bog O Bomb here. Create motors and
Speaker 1: conversion kits are becoming popular options for breathing new life
Speaker 1: into classic cars, and the latest options are a little
Speaker 1: different as in their now available in electric That means
Speaker 1: that if you have a classic car you'd like to
Speaker 1: convert to an electric vehicle, you now have choices. In
Speaker 1: the United States, such an idea might be a novelty
Speaker 1: only for the most serious car collectors, but in Europe
Speaker 1: several cities are discussing or implementing plans to reduce or
Speaker 1: prevent gas and diesel powered cars from entering their city centers,
Speaker 1: So converting a classic diesel to electric power could be
Speaker 1: justified as a practical move rather than an indulgence. But
Speaker 1: before we get to that first, let's back up and
Speaker 1: take a look at exactly what a crate motor is.
Speaker 1: A crate motor or a crate engine gets its name
Speaker 1: because it's complete, brand new engine delivered in a crate.
Speaker 1: It's designed to make swapping out or upgrade geting an
Speaker 1: old engine relatively easy. You still need the mechanical skills
Speaker 1: to perform the work, or the money to pay someone,
Speaker 1: but you don't need to worry about salvaging the engine
Speaker 1: from another car, and you won't discover broken or missing
Speaker 1: parts while you're in the middle of the installation job.
Speaker 1: Create motors are especially popular for race cars and hot rods.
Speaker 1: If you have a classic or vintage car that you'd
Speaker 1: like to actually get running so you can drive it,
Speaker 1: and you have some cash to spare, an electric vehicle
Speaker 1: conversion might be the way to go. Electric motors and
Speaker 1: power trains have simpler designs than gas and diesel powered engines,
Speaker 1: which means installation and maintenance is easier too, as long
Speaker 1: as you are a shop in your area is familiar
Speaker 1: with the work. Electric drive trains can also offer advantages
Speaker 1: in torque and power, and in the end the car
Speaker 1: will run much cleaner. Some auto manufacturers are so enthusiastic
Speaker 1: about the possibility of converting their classic cars to electric
Speaker 1: they're offering ways to upgrade them. In fall of twenty nineteen,
Speaker 1: for instance, Volkswagen unveiled its factory conversion program and showed
Speaker 1: off its own project converted nine super Beetle to generate interest.
Speaker 1: The super Beetle was displayed at the twenty nineteen Frankfurt
Speaker 1: Motor Show and sported some exterior modifications as well, including
Speaker 1: a tailight design from older Beetles specially fitted to conceal
Speaker 1: the car's electric charging port. The standard cooling vents were
Speaker 1: also removed as they're no longer needed. The conversion used
Speaker 1: an electric drive, one speed gearbox and battery system based
Speaker 1: on the new VW E up electric car and was
Speaker 1: completed by the German specialist company E Classics. Thomas Schmall,
Speaker 1: member of the board of management of Volkswagen Group Components,
Speaker 1: said in a press release, the electrified Beetle combines the
Speaker 1: charm of our classic car with the mobility of the future.
Speaker 1: Innovative E Components from Volkswagen Group Components are under the bonnet.
Speaker 1: We work with them to electrify historically important vehicles in
Speaker 1: what is an emotional process. We are also providing Beetle
Speaker 1: owners with a professional conversion solution using production parts of
Speaker 1: the highest quality for now, though that's only available in
Speaker 1: Germany as the conversion is completed by E Classics near Stupgart.
Speaker 1: Aston Martin and Jaguar both announced similar programs in and
Speaker 1: the Porsche three fifty six is also a possibility, but
Speaker 1: VWS program probably has the most mainstream appeal, simply because
Speaker 1: so many Beatles were built over the car's lifetime. Volkswagen
Speaker 1: also says that electric microbus conversions are in the works.
Speaker 1: Prices vary widely, and few suppliers of electric vehicle conversions
Speaker 1: are openly willing to disclose those prices because it will
Speaker 1: often vary by vehicle and complexity of the project. As
Speaker 1: reported by The Verge, California based companies can charge as
Speaker 1: much as a hundred thousand dollars for a conversion, and
Speaker 1: people who join the waiting list now may wait at
Speaker 1: least a couple of years before their car is completed.
Speaker 1: As with anything that affects automotive culture, there are always dissenters.
Speaker 1: The International Federation of Historic Vehicles or FEVA, weighed in
Speaker 1: on the trend and said that any gas or diesel
Speaker 1: powered vehicle refitted with electric is no longer consider historic
Speaker 1: because it's been significantly altered. I FIVA prefers vehicles as
Speaker 1: original as possible. Though this stance makes sense on the surface,
Speaker 1: there are some well reasoned counterpoints. For example, if a
Speaker 1: classic Beetle is reworked as an e V using a
Speaker 1: kit designed and supplied by Volkswagen. Shouldn't the fact that
Speaker 1: the original automaker had a hand in the project count
Speaker 1: for something? What about cases in which an EV conversion
Speaker 1: is the only possible or practical way to get a
Speaker 1: car back on the road. Isn't that better for car
Speaker 1: culture than letting it rotten the field? We spoke via
Speaker 1: email with Eric Hutchinson, a founding partner of Electric gt,
Speaker 1: a California based provider of e V crate motors. He said,
Speaker 1: certainly there are collectibles that should remain preserved, collectible and untouched,
Speaker 1: but of all the vehicles produced from the nineteen twenties
Speaker 1: to nineteen eighties, there is ample opportunity to honor the
Speaker 1: heritage and keep more on the road well into the
Speaker 1: future with modern drive ability. Hutchinson says many of Electric
Speaker 1: GTS customers own modern EV alongside their classic projects and
Speaker 1: aren't typically worried about the effect on their cars collector value.
Speaker 1: He explained, they're investing more into the actual restoration and
Speaker 1: upgrades to complement the investment of the EV conversion. There's
Speaker 1: a big value on usability and drive ability. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was written by Sris three Wit and produced by Tyler clang.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radios, How
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