Living the electric dream

ELECTRIC CLASSICS
LIVING THE
ELECTRIC
DREAM
L
ove them or loathe
them? Fear them
or welcome them?
Classic electric
vehicle (EV) conversions arouse
strong emotions in enthusiasts.
Battery-powered classics have
been around for more than a
decade, but Prince Harry’s choice
of an electric Jaguar E-type
‘Zero’ for his first ride into
married life six years ago brought
international media attention
to EV conversions and propelled
a formerly niche industry into
mainstream consciousness.
The 2019 TV series Vintage
Voltage, which followed a team
as they converted classics as
diverse as a Fiat 500 and a Gordon
Keeble into EVs, attracted a global
can
JAMES
HALL-SMITH
1967 PORSCHE 912
‘I’ve owned a number of vintage and
classic cars during the past 15 years,’ says
James Hall-Smith. ‘They’re a passion in
my life alongside my career building
wind farms and solar parks. I’ve long
admired early Porsches’ iconic beauty
and thought what a fascinating project it
The shell was rust-free, but the car needed
a full re-build from the bottom-up, which
James did alongside Stuttgart Classica.
WORDS Richard McCann
Electric vehicle conversions
– future-proofed classics or
assault with battery? We check
out what’s involved and meet
enthusiasts who have taken the
plunge to get plugged in
audience and aroused passionate
supporters and detractors in
equal numbers. Rumours of a
petrol ban that would consign
classic cars to static displays have
been discredited and modern EVs
are now a familiar sight on our
roads, making some motorists
more comfortable with the
concept of converting their classic
to battery power. But can the
whine of an electric motor ever
replace the roar of a V8 or the
howl of a flat-six on full song?
As classic EV conversion
pioneer Lunaz ‘stops operating’
(CCW, 27 March), we talk to early
adopters of electric classics to
learn what life with a classic EV
is like and discover the highs and
lows of conversion and ownership.
would be to combine my twin passions
by building an electric classic Porsche.
I’m well aware that purists hate the idea
of removing the engine from a classic car,
so when this Californian 912 – which was
in need of full restoration and missing
its engine and transaxle – came along, it
was a car that needed to be saved and
represented the perfect project basis for
my needs.
‘The shell was rust-free, but the car
needed a full rebuild from the bottom up,
which I did alongside specialist Stuttgart
Classica in Blockley, Gloucestershire.
EV conversion was carried out Electric
Classic Cars, James being wooed by
their years of experience.
That part of the project took around 18
months, during which time I’d also been
identifying electric conversion specialists
and getting to know their work.
‘I finally chose Electric Classic
Cars because it was one of the early
movers into this space and its years of
experience means that it is well on top of
the technology, particularly its knowledge
of the most up-to-date control systems
– which is vital – so that gave me a lot of
confidence. The electrification part of the
process took a further 18 months. The
absence of the original transaxle wasn’t a
problem because the motor sits sideways
with direct drive to the wheels.
‘The best part of the electric classic
is its sheer practicality. It’s not my daily
‘I can just jump in
and go… unlike
with my classic
Lancia Fulvia and
Austin-Healey’
driver but it’s ready to go at a moment’s
notice and I drive it whenever the
opportunity arises. I can just jump in
and go – unlike my classic Lancia Fulvia
and Austin-Healey, which always seem
to exhibit some fault or another and
have caused me to spend far more time
at the side of the road than I care to
contemplate.
‘Electric classics are so simple and
reliable. Reliability has been a factor in
my wife’s reluctance to share my other
classics, so I’m delighted that my wife
drives it regularly, free from breakdown
worries. The Porsche performs like a new
car despite its age. The 160-miles real
world range is plenty for us, allowing easy
trips to the West Country and further
afield without range anxiety.
‘I won’t share how much I’ve spent on
the project but the good news for anyone
contemplating a conversion of their
own is that the cost of Lithium batteries
– which make up a sizeable element of
the conversion investment – is falling
significantly and rapidly.
‘I think that electric classic cars will
become far less expensive over time and
the conversion industry will grow.’
Mark used a ‘Hyper9’ electric motor
along with Tesla Model X battery
modules for his Lotus ‘Elon’.
MARK
SANDERS
1969 LOTUS ‘ELON’
THIS WEEK p2-8 OUT & ABOUT p10-11 LIVING WITH CLASSICS p22-24 BUYING & SELLING p26-42 CLASSIFIEDS p44-59
Engineer, inventor and designer,
Mark Sanders, says that he has
always admired Colin Chapman’s
work: ‘I’d owned and raced eight
classic Elans right back from my
days as an apprentice – along
with Elises and Europas – and I
knew that 23mpg wasn’t uncommon for
a 30 per cent efficient Twin Cam. But I
was still missing my last Elan five years
after selling it., so I thought that the
tatty S4 I’d spotted rusting away at the
back of specialist Miles Wilkins’ garage
would be a perfect “lockdown project”
basis to apply Chapman’s “performance
through lightness” concept to and build
an updated 90 per cent efficient electric
classic that could be my fun, guilt-free
daily driver and still share the Lotus DNA.
‘I bought the car and sold the engine
then invested around £12,000 in
conversion parts – but of course I haven’t
costed in all my professional design time
or the 400 hours of blood, sweat and
tears engineering that it took to bring my
initial concept to reality.
‘Many people suggested that the EV
conversion would be too heavy, but it’s
true to Chapman’s maxim – in fact it’s
slightly lighter than before I converted
it so I lowered the springs, resulting
in horizontal wishbones allowing for
more accurate geometry. For the
technically-minded, the parts removed
– engine, clutch, ancillaries, exhaust and
downpipes, radiator and fan, fuel tank,
bell housing, spare wheel and 12v battery
Three batteries in the front and two in the
back maintain original’s weight distribution.
The ‘Elon’’s charging point is hidden behind the
original fly-off fuel cap. You’d never know it’s there.
‘Many people
suggested the EV
conversion would
be too heavy,
but it’s true to
Chapman’s maxim’
– saved 223.5kg, and the parts added –
motor, batteries, controller, cables and
cooling, adaptor plates, onboard charger,
DC converter and lightweight 12v battery
– added back 210.5kg.
‘I used a “Hyper9” electric motor along
with five Tesla Model X battery modules
– three in the front and two in the back
–to maintain the original’s ideal weight
distribution and balance. Maximum
power is similar to the Twin Cam – 118hp
against 115hp – although torque is greater
at 173lb ft, up from 113lb ft. Range is
around 180 miles, similar to the original.
I designed the electronics to include a
built-in charger and converted the original
speedometer and tachometer; I also
retained and re-built the original petrol
gauge to indicate the car’s capacity of
“alternative” fuel.
‘The reception from fellow enthusiasts
has been overwhelmingly positive. I
designed and engineered this car for my
own satisfaction and I’ve already enjoyed
more than 6000 trouble-free miles, so the
hatred from some diehard purists is more
than balanced out by the “likes” from
more enlightened observers.
‘Driving the Lotus “Elon” gives me and
my family joy, plus the satisfaction of
knowing that this classic has another 50
years of fun motoring ahead of it.’
Reliability is the
main attraction for
James when it comes
to his electricpowered
Porsche.
Electric conversion made far more
sense for owner Jeremy who was
faced with a £6k engine re-build.
JEREMY PACK
1980 LAND ROVER SIII ‘LIGHTWEIGHT’
‘I acquired this Land Rover when
I was a teenager – it’s been with
me for 22 years, now.’ explains
Jeremy Pack. ‘We had something of
a love-hate relationship for many
years; the pleasure of trips out with
friends and drives to the beach
were tempered by increasingly poor
reliability. Occasional breakdowns
can be an amusing anecdote, but the
car became a total pain when they
became much more frequent.
‘A combination of a lack of
performance, terrible brakes and
the increased likelihood that I wasn’t
going to arrive at my destination on
time – or at all – was making journeys
stressful instead of fun, so I was using
the car a lot less. Then the cylinder
head gasket blew one day and a
specialist garage told me that the
engine was finished and to set aside
£6-10k to put right everything that
Original engine needed a re-build, which is why
Jeremy elected to electrify his Land Rover with a
conversion courtesy of Clean Classics.
they’d found wrong. I’d already driven
a Tesla and I loved it, so those two
factors were the combination that
triggered my decision to go electric.
‘I spoke with Ollie at Clean Classics
and he shared my enthusiasm and
agreed to do the conversion for me.
Driving the car home again after the
conversion was a genuine revelation
‘Driving the car
home again after
the conversion
was a revelation –
I just couldn’t stop
laughing I was so
happy’
– I just couldn’t stop laughing I was so
happy. It’s surprisingly nippy and the
regenerative braking is so safe and
inspires confidence. The way it can
accelerate away from traffic lights if
I choose to is absolutely hilarious –
bystanders can’t believe what they’re
seeing. Clean Classics even retained
the car’s four-wheel-drive capability
and the weight distribution is just
how it was originally.
‘My children love to be taken to
school in the Land Rover now that
it’s reliable and we can now drive to
many charity events and balls with
our friends in the car, stress-free in
the knowledge that we’ll actually get
there – all great fun.
‘The real world range is only 50
miles or so, but that suits my needs
for local motoring and the range is
still plenty for getting to shops, shows
and the coast.’
22 years on it’s
a family affair.
CONTINUED P20
18 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 17 April 2024 Wednesday 17 April 2024 CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY | 19

ELECTRIC CLASSICS
JOHN
WOOLFORD
1972 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE
‘I’ve driven classic cars all my life;
most recently a Saab Turbo and
a Mercedes-Benz 280SL, and I’ve
owned my Beetle for 13 years,’ says
serial classic car driver and repairer,
John Woodford. ‘I happened upon
a video of Richard “Moggy” Morgan
driving a Beetle that he’d converted to
electric around four years ago and it
got me really excited, thinking what fun
it would be to do the same.
‘I’m an engineer by profession,
but my Beetle was getting used less
frequently because it was becoming
fragile and a bit impractical as a
daily driver. I decided that a budget
conversion would be a sensible route
for my first experiment. I wanted to
test the waters and see if I liked the
result, so I bought a secondhand
old-school DC motor via an electric
car forum. My self-imposed budget
didn’t stretch to buying new batteries,
so I took a huge risk by sourcing the
batteries on Alibaba!
‘Guess what? They actually turned
up from China; they were heavy, but
also cheap – and they worked! The
finished result cost me around £6000,
John’s Beetle has six
Tesla Model S batteries.
which is very low for this type of
conversion, and it was great fun to do.
‘I used the Beetle much more
regularly and liked it a lot. It was an
interesting experiment but no more
powerful than the original Beetle so
after a year or so I wondered about
making it more exciting to drive.
‘Having proved the concept I could
now justify spending more to engineer
something better. So I started ‘phase
two’ of my experiment three years
ago. This time I was spending a lot
‘There was a lot
of work involved
but the result
continues to
delight me’
Batteries and a ‘Hyper9’
motor cost around
£17,000, according to John.
more money – six Tesla Model
S batteries and a Hyper9
motor cost me around £17,000,
although I sold the old batteries
and motor for pretty much what
they’d cost me.
‘There was a lot of work
involved, but the result continues
to delight me. For anyone who
fancies a DIY conversion I’d say
that it’s huge fun; you’ll almost
certainly use your classic a whole
lot more, but you can’t justify the
cost in terms of saving money; I
did it for love of my car and for the fun
of it.It will take 90,000 miles of driving
before I save in petrol what I spent
on components, but that doesn’t
matter – I wanted to use the Beetle
a lot more and I now drive my classic
car all the time; it’s such a practical
proposition and I go everywhere in
it with never a thought about engine
wear or reliability.’
John now finds himself
using his Beetle a lot more
since the EV conversion.
Two ‘Hyper9’ motors were mounted in
series and mated with the original gearbox.
Tim decided to electrify his
Maserati when a ten-year
wait for a Ghibli engine
ended in disappointment.
TIM HOW
1967 MASERATI GHIBLI
‘I owned an MG ZA Magnette in the
mid-Eighties, then a 1972 Lancia Fulvia,’
says Tim How .‘Upon returning from
overseas with the Army in 2000, I was
walking past a car dealer in London and
saw the Maserati… for about ten per
cent of today’s prices. I discovered that
it didn’t have the correct engine until
much later, but I hadn’t bought the car
as an investment, so it didn’t bother me.
‘It was so unreliable and always had
problems with its brakes, exhaust,
starter motor, clutch, cylinder head
gasket, cooling fan… I finally took the
car off the road when the cylinders
turned out to be way down on
compression. But I could not get the
– incorrect – engine to hold its new
cylinder liners, so I decided to buy a
correct Ghibli engine after two failed
attempts. It took almost ten years to
finally find one… but when I called
about it it had already been sold.
‘So, in 2019 I started researching to
see whether electrification was viable.
I visited Electric Classic Cars and we
discussed the nature of the car, the
technical challenges and how I wanted
to retain as much of the car’s character,
look and aesthetic as possible. Two
Netgain ‘Hyper9’ motors were mounted
in series and mated with the original
gearbox, with battery packs split
equally front and rear, giving the same
performance but with better balance.
The old dials were re-purposed and
some bespoke new ones made – none
of this touchscreen, digital nonsense! It
all takes time and patience and it’s not
cheap; it’s also important to take a longterm
view because the e-classic market
is not mature.
‘The Maserati is 50 years-old and still
requires my full attention to drive; I’m a
pretty average driver. In many regards
the driving experience is very similar to
before with the notchy gearbox, heavy
steering and the sense of anticipation
when climbing into the leather seats
and gripping the slender, wood-rimmed
steering wheel. But I can now hold a
conversation in the car with ease and I
don’t miss the jeopardy of setting off on
a journey not knowing whether I’ll make
it to my destination.
‘The 160-mile range is good enough
for what I need – basically doing
weekend fun stuff. I’ve enjoyed a drive
in Wales, and a day out with a French
‘It’s important to
take a long-term
view because the
e-classic market is
not mature’
Tim reckons that his Ghibli drives exactly as
it did with its old ‘Indy’ engine in many ways.
film crew and I’m excited about what
the future holds. The car has already
been with me for nearly 25 years,
and will one day be handed on to my
daughter, Ziggy. My wife Sarah and I
used it at our wedding, so Ziggy can use
it at hers one day – we’re thinking about
the next 50 years.
‘The response from fellow enthusiasts
has been overwhelmingly positive; even
those who are skeptical understand
that electrification looks like a pretty
sound decision if the alternative was
another ten years sitting unused
in a shed. There are some who are
determined to hate the idea regardless
and offer nothing positive, but they’re
the minority.
‘The engineless Maserati was going
nowhere without electrification; now
it’s out on East Anglia’s sweeping roads.
You can make your own call, but mine is
to get in and drive.’
THE CCW VIEW
‘The idea of removing the engine
from a piece of history is as
unfathomable to some classic
car enthusiasts as modernising
an antique table with Formica.
“Desecration and vandalism” they
cry. But there’s now a new tribe in
town that wants to rescue classic
cars by replacing their obsolete
hearts with modern tech.
‘EV conversions have now
evolved from impractical
experiments into daily drivers and
while DIY kits are still the domain
of only the most skilled DIY-ers,
better and cheaper batteries are
now making people re-consider
the electric option, particularly
when restoring a car with a
damaged or missing engine.
‘Turn-key conversions from
established specialists represent
the easy route but often at
prices that rule out grass-roots
collectors in favour of those with
deep pockets. While such a major
purchase may be self-justified
as a car for life what will the
depreciation be like come re-sale?
‘And with car manufacturers
developing next generation
alternatives such as hydrogen
fuel-cells and sustainable
synthetic fuel made from wind,
solar and hydropower, will current
EVs lay the foundations for what
will become the mainstream?
Only time will tell…’
RICHARD
McCANN
CONTRIBUTOR
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Have these enthusiasts’ conversions inspired you to consider an electric classic or should old cars retain their original technology? Share your views by emailing us at editorial@classiccarweekly.co.uk
20 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 17 April 2024