I’ve attached two of my classic car restoration projects.
Several years ago, I converted the 1976 Corvette to all-electric. Unless it’s raining, it’s my daily driver. I had a business restoring and modifying cars and this had been sitting around for about 15 years. I’d completed most of the bodywork and just couldn’t part the car out. Performance and restorations were “been there, done that”, so I decided to do something different.
In Jan., 2016 I made the first trip down the track at the Gainesville, FL Raceway. I launched the car in 3rd gear (BW T-10) and smoked the tires. I decided to modify the car for autocross racing, but I needed a way to get it to the track. At first I looked at flatbeds, truck & trailer…etc., but it just didn’t feel right to haul an electric racecar to the track under gasoline or diesel power. So, I decided to build an all-electric towing vehicle; hence the 1959 Mack Model B.
For Mack purists, don’t worry. I’m not a hack. Unless you look close or don’t hear it following you, you won’t know it’s electric.
The Mack photos are not recent. Should be moving under its own power (not road worthy) in late December or early January. Road worthy should be Feb., 2017. First car show in April. And the paint scheme? A giant yellow 10,000lb Tonka Truck.
-Keith Stegath
I would be very interested in converting a 1993 Mustang to all electric. Where can I find the instructions and components for something like that? I would hate to flip a switch and my skeleton show up like in the cartoons.
Hi Mick,
Here is the response from our experts:
Here is a link to a group dedicated to building electric vehicles of all sorts.
http://www.evdl.org/lib/index.html
Check out the album page too for a lot of pictures of some crazy rides.
Wrench Safe
Mark
Classic car Restoration Club
1976 Corvette daily driver unless it rains, you mean it shorts out in the rain, or you just don’t trust the guys around you …Mac…..oh, the future is here. I like dirty diesel to pollute the air. Or a cow farting is worse, all cows should take Beano.
Keith; Super impressed with your projects and the amount of effort and expense required to do two project of this size. I am a proud owner of a 2014 Tesla P85D with 56,000 miles, at a energy cost of less then $100. (photo cells and free Tesla superchargers) That car never ceases to thrill and amaze me every time I drive it.
My projects consist of RV4 homebuilt aircraft, (working on) a 1948 Luscombe 11A sedan (waiting restoration), 1946 Luscombe 8E (flying), a 1958 Edsel Ranger restored to 1960’s drag racing condition, and a 1958 Edsel Corsair (waiting). My problem is at 74, I no longer have the stamina to complete projects in a timely manner .
An amazing amount of work on these vehicles. Are you going into the conversion business ?
I’ll get serious when the eMack is driveable. The conversion process is not cheap and involves a lot of fabrication. I recently began uploading pictures to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/emack/albums
I think that it’s great that you are doing a electric Mack! I would like to do the same to a 46 Chevy truck that I have. Could you send me pic and info on where you got your electric parts from and maybe an idea of what kind of budget I’m going to need to pull this off.
Hi, David. Thanks for your interest in this unique ride! We’ll reach out to the member to get additional information.
Parts: There are half-a-dozen businesses that sell most of what is needed. Search the internet for “ev parts”. Do your research before buying anything – even books. There’s a lot of noise and confusion, but the reality is that there are not that many variations for the basic parts. The biggest issue will be your ability and need to fabricate everything!
There aren’t any “complete” kits. One of the more common conversions are the small pick-up trucks.
As far as budget: It’s not cheap. Spend as much as possible on the batteries. The Vette’s lead-acid batteries cost $5000. The Mack Truck: I bought two 2015 totaled Nissan Leaf’s for $4500 each and sold the shell for scrap. Ballpark numbers: Motor $3000, Controller $2000, Batteries $5000, Battery Cable $200, Misc. parts (vacuum pump, heater, 12volt converter, power steering, air conditioning, electrical “stuff”…) $1000 -$3000.
How can I follow your electrification project?
Thanks for your interest in these unique rides! We’ll reach out to the member to get additional information.
I’m not very good at updating the progress of the Mack. For more information on the Corvette, visit http://www.advanced-ev.com. I have not updated that site for about a year.
The “Vette” is different in a cool way, but the Mack is El Bizzaro different. What kind of trip distance do expect to get for a beast that big?
Hi, Dennis. Thanks for your interest in these unique rides! We’ll reach out to the member to get additional information.
I am from France and an old Classic American cars lover since, well, ever ! I owned 38 different cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now I’m retired, but I still have a ’77 Dodge Van B300 and I’m about to start the restoration of a ’51 Ford Vedette (car made in France by Ford SAF) which has the look of a ’49 Mercury, only a bit smaller. I didn’t decide yet but I’m contemplating electric power for this car and I’d be very gratefull to get some adresses of business selling the equipment to do the conversion. Thanks in advance for your reply. Sincerely, PhC
Hi, Philippe. We agree, this combination of electric powered vehicles is a first for us. Thanks for your interest in these unique rides! We’ll reach out to the member to get additional information.
How did you go about finding all the info and products required to build that vet?
Greg
Hi, Greg. Thanks for your interest in these unique rides! We’ll reach out to the member to get additional information.
Love the design! It appears you are using lead acid batteries, doesn’t that add a lot of weight to the front end? On the Mack, what kind of range are you hoping to get and how many batteries will you use? Please update as you build this rig! I would love to learn more about it!!
Here is some more information on Keith Stegath’s Corvette/Mack truck electric rides:
http://www.evalbum.com/2259
The Corvette: They are lead-acid batteries – 50lb each. Eleven in the front, and 12 in the rear. There was a truck scale not too far away and was able to weigh the front and rear. With me in the car (155lbs) Front: 1880. Rear: 2120.
The Mack Truck Version 1.0: I’m using two Nissan Leaf battery packs – about 1300 lbs. The range in stop & go traffic (without the Corvette on top of the truck) should be at least 120 miles. Steady driving at 60mph will be much less; maybe 60 miles.
Version 2.0 will have “Braking Regeneration” and should add about 50 miles to the range in stop & go traffic.