I have tried to watch Vintage Voltage
honestly... i tried
I've not wanted to throw a heavy item at a TV for a jolly long time!
OK, I have driven and even competed in classic cars with modern engine upgrades - but that was motorsport and was about bhp.
I enjoyed more, competing in the older cars with the original engines
But... electric classics.....
makes me shudder!!
you?
Originally Posted by Advice Trinity by Knoxville
Mixed feelings.
I tend to like Italian cars, where the engine is a large part of the equation. Like in the old Ferrari build quality joke, you buy an engine and they throw in the car for free.
The conversion tends to happen on more interesting cars like E types that can cope with the torque of an electric motor. I imagine if you give a more typical classic car like the Morris Marina the electric treatment it will be straight off into the nearest ditch.
What I'm more hopeful for in the future is that the revolution in manufacturing from relatively affordable CNC machines and 3D printing where metal printers have dropped from costing millions to thousands might mean that we might go from now where the likes of BMW 3D printing replacement parts of old cars to a time where you can get an entire old car made with modern materials for not silly prices.
I'm waiting for someone to knock out the first Lister Bell Stratos replica with an electric power plant. If you can afford 30K for an electric drivetrain, then you can probably afford an interesting body shell. But then the Stratos is my weakness
OFC give it 20 years time and petrol might start getting hard to buy, and we won't have much choice.
I think its the way forward ultimately. You'll always get original cars but in the same way you no longer get leaded petrol I just don't think you'll be able to get petrol in 20 years time. There are just too many hard to maintain classics. I think its an effective way of keeping them on the road (And kind of fun). Also as someone who really struggles with heavy clutches I'm hopeful it means I'll be able to drive some more classic cars.
One good example for me is rover K series engined cars (yes less 'classic' but still old and one I know) - the K series engine really is ticking time bomb. The head gasket will fail no matter how well you look after it. So what should we do with all the MGF, Early Elise etc - bin them? If you're going to swap the engine why not just go electric?
(Also if you think Electric sounds boring just listen to the Volkswagen Pikes peak run)
Seems pointless - save it for the 're-imagined' models. Classic cars will become like horses, legally allowed on the road but best enjoyed on private land. Petrol will become expensive so people won't be running ratty old classics, they'll become even most the reserve of the rich (or very passionate).
I don't see the point - part of the charm of buying those old cars,is the engine and the way it feels. Also the fact the older cars can actually be worked on by a normal person in their garage. For example this YouTube channel has a whole series of trials and tribulations on restoring their bargain basement Ferrari 308:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHKJszIhgm4
I think it depends on what you consider a "classic car" ultimately.
Would anyone bat an eye at a Fiesta MK2 electric conversion and get annoyed about it?
Definitely with a Jaguar E Type conversion people would not be happy.
At the end of the day it's their stuff to mess around with, and a lot of the ones I've seen online are starting with knackered engines.
They might if it ends up doing 0-60 in 4 seconds
...straight into a tree.They might if it ends up doing 0-60 in 4 seconds
Of course, you can update the all the suspension and running gearing to cope with it, but it ain't a Fiesta at that point - it's an electric kit car wearing a Fiesta dress.
Last edited by Spreadie; 21-07-2020 at 06:15 PM.
I've always liked the idea of buying a VW karmann ghia. Beautiful car that looks like it's should be fast and fun to drive but with an old air-cooled engine that's just not going to be the case. An electric engine however.... Now that would be a good start
For reasons other posters hsve made, I'm in the shudder camp.
They have about as much appeal to me as a cheaply-built modern neo-Georgian blob of a house does, complete with plastic 'wood' beams. Just .... nasty.
A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".
For the most part, cars only interest me in them being able to function in getting me from A to B, with there being enough space and ideally not looking horrible (although that is obviously subjective).
I don't really care about the internal workings as I'm just a passenger, but the concept of electric conversions appeals to me as it obviously means less pollution (in theory at least, pollution is probably still made in the creation of the electrics) but with people still being able to have their car look like how they prefer it.
Either way, it's not a process I'd have any interest in watching though.
Whilst I have never owned one, back in the day I remember seeing the odd XR2 taking off down the twisty lanes like a scalded cat. They seemed to be the best handling of all the Fords of the time. You could call it an XR2e, would be some pretty cool retro!
No doubt they were great little B road blasters but, iirc, the MK2 XR2 had a 0-60 time of a smidge under 10 seconds. I seriously doubt the running gear is up to handling the car achieving that in 4 secs.
I'd entiredly agree with that. Back in XR2/XR3 days, 10 secs to 60was pretty quick. I owned several cars in that category, not to mention a few V6 Capris which were quicker still. More recently, I've had cars with well under 6 seconds to 60 and dread the notion of that sort of power in 60s to 80s cars (at least, modest level road cars). Those Capris were a bit chuff-end happy at the best of times, with 140-ish BHP, never mind 300+.No doubt they were great little B road blasters but, iirc, the MK2 XR2 had a 0-60 time of a smidge under 10 seconds. I seriously doubt the running gear is up to handling the car achieving that in 4 secs.
Car design has changed hugely, and anything in the 4sec category has everything from suspension and brakes to body\shell strength and integrity designed to cope.
To 'retrofit' one of those classics (which, by th way, I still very much like) to be able to cope would mean (IMHO) changing changing pretty much everything bar the paint colour.
The old classics are great because they are what they are. I only finally, and a bit reluctantly, sold my 70's Opel Manta a year or so ago.
If I were buying a new car now, I'd very much be looking at electric. Which, BTW, is why I'm not buying a new car now - I don't want to commit a major expenditure to dead tech (combustion engine) but for me, electric cars aren't there yet. Not unless you spend quite a bit of money, anyway.
But an electrified 'classic', to me, holds neither the efficiency, modernity and benefits of electric nor the sentimentality and sheer fun of a classic. They're a .... pastiche. And a travesty. All IMHO, of course.
A lesson learned from PeterB about dignity in adversity, so Peter, In Memorium, "Onwards and Upwards".
A Mk1 XR2? yes..I'd be gutted...and I hate...despise them. But they still deserve a 1.6 carb ford engine wheezing to 99bhp on pepper pots!
It should be possible to have a tweaked control circuit for the electric motor to give a power delivery that's more fitting with the capabilities of the chassis - just current (i.e. ~torque) limit it to a bit over what the original engine could do in first gear. It'll drive like an auto box, but a bit peppier
I've heard that one of the chinese brands who ended up wearing the flayed skin of rover group makes a K series head gasket that actually outperforms a wet paper bag. It's also not too challenging to replace a failed one, so long as you catch it before it overheats and warps the block.
My worry for older cars of that generation is the ICs - they're designed with generous safety factors for electromigration, but eventually (after many decades) the computers will brick themselves. Without access to the reprogrammer to get the remaining computers to accept the replacement parts you'll need a degree in embedded electronic engineering to keep them on the road
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