We’ve been hard at work building exceptional new electric vehicles. At the moment, we have a 1960 Bugeye and a 1974 Midget both undergoing conversion, and you can see a few progress photos here, as these cars come together.
This Bugeye is from Iowa, where owner Bruce rescued the car from the crusher. It was a heavily modified car that probably had a V-8 engine in it most recently, and was then abandoned. We completely restored the transmission tunnel and brought back all its original strength while fixing a multitude of other issues. Now, we have a wonderfully sound chassis that we’ve loaded up with electrical componentry and a new dashboard to give this car a new lease on life. Bruce will paint the car later in Iowa… our job is to make a great electric driver.
For all those who are opposed to EV conversions, please keep in mind that this Bugeye never would’ve come back from the dead if Bruce hadn’t rescued it for this purpose.
In the photos below, you can see the layers of parts being added to the engine bays… most recently the electric motor and radiator have been placed, along with the front bracket for the Tesla batteries, which will be added shortly. This car will be driving soon and represents one of the most delightful ways we can make a reliable old British car. They’re really fast and smooth, and perhaps most importantly, don’t leak any oil!
This ’74 Midget is called “Elsa” and will be heading to a new home in Oregon. She will be converted with the exact same electric kit that we’ve used on our previous vehicles with Tesla power.
This will be our first non-Bugeye installation, and as such requires a few more custom mounts for the batteries in the trunk. It’s a little bit more difficult to fit everything under the hood as well, but of course, Midgets are quite plentiful and often in need of engine/carb/transmission refresh, so this electric conversion is very attractive for these easily attainable classics.
Above we have a few progress pictures for the bonnet compartment, showing the process used to slowly coordinate the components and where they have to go to fit under the less spacious Midget bonnet. The Midget is a bit behind the Bugeye… next the motor will be mounted in the Midget, the same way we did so in the Bugeye.
You can also see below the progress with which the interior is taking shape. First, everything comes out. Then the wires go back in.
We should have both of these cars running and driving later in March, and we will put a bunch of test miles on them before they head to their respective new homes. It’s very exciting to us for us to be able to deliver a reliable and satisfying classic British car, whether powered by batteries or gas!
People have asked for electric kits… but these are difficult to build and best done here by our experienced team (unless you have prior electric car building experience). We are happy pick up your car and to convert it to electric power! Call or email for more info!
