Introducing the Electric Duster Project

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One last point I'd like to make is that until I'm no longer physically able to put gas in a car, I'm not gonna like electric vehicles. Stubborn, resistant to change, narrow-minded...yep, all that.

I'm willing to spend the coin on gas because that's what I like. I'd probably sacrifice other things before I give up my choice of transportation. Even though as a country we're dependent on foreign oil, my car still defines a lot of who I am. I'm not ready to relinquish that bit of personal freedom just yet.

I'm thinking that with more electric and alternative-fuel cars, gas prices will eventually come down and I will be able to drive my gasoline powered car more cheaply. Again, I just hope that the regulators don't make it illegal for me to drive a car with an internal combustion engine.

Until that day comes, I bite the bullet like everyone else.
 
rmchrgr said:
One last point I'd like to make is that until I'm no longer physically able to put gas in a car, I'm not gonna like electric vehicles. Stubborn, resistant to change, narrow-minded...yep, all that.

I'm willing to spend the coin on gas because that's what I like. I'd probably sacrifice other things before I give up my choice of transportation. Even though as a country we're dependent on foreign oil, my car still defines a lot of who I am. I'm not ready to relinquish that bit of personal freedom just yet.

I'm thinking that with more electric and alternative-fuel cars, gas prices will eventually come down and I will be able to drive my gasoline powered car more cheaply. Again, I just hope that the regulators don't make it illegal for me to drive a car with an internal combustion engine.

Until that day comes, I bite the bullet like everyone else.
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Like ALMOST everyone else :)

Rmchrgr, as I said, I respect your opinion and expect that you represent a lot of true-to-the-core muscle car people. Thanks for discussing it in a civil manner. I know that there is a lot of passion involved in our love for American Muscle.

Not to try to get the last word, but I'd like to respond to one thing you said. Just a thought here, but is it really a 'personal freedom' to be required to purchase gasoline - at whatever price we're told to - in order to function in this country? I believe it is a form of control.

I sincerely hope you are correct that gas prices will come down and we won't constantly be reminded of the finite supply when alternative vehicles hit the roads in large numbers. I just can't envision it happening in my lifetime.
 
rmchrgr said:
I'm gonna chime in and say that it's a waste of a good Mopar. I think the negativity towards your project may stem from the fact that gearheads are born with gasoline in their veins. We spend our lives refining and improving the effectiveness of the internal combustion engine. That makes us outsiders to the mainstream, no one has a passion for these types of cars like a gearhead. I think many of us may not see a bright future for the gasoline engine given the current economic and environmentally-concerned climate but don't want to see it regulated out of existence by the green types. An electric Duster is blasphemy!

Hey, I'm all for American ingenuity and inventiveness and it looks like your project is well done, but I say leave the good old car bodies out of it, no matter what make.

In all honesty, electric cars kind of bum me out - they have no soul.
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I can't agree, with respect of course........

If gasoline becomes a rare commodity before we're able to adequately replace it with something replenishable, I'd rather be driving my Mopar than some sickly silly sappy sissified sample of a green-sucker-mobile........

I thinks that perhaps some of "yoose guyz" are still missin' the point.

My hobby requires that I actually DRIVE my Mopar.
 
Like others have mentioned, its not something that I would ever do, or want to drive. That being said, I think its great. Hey, its YOUR car. You love Mopars and wanted electric. Best of both worlds for you!!! Anyone can go along with whats tried, true, and accepted. It takes balls to do what you want eventhough you know you are going to hear about it over and over. God job and keep us posted!
 
Badawg said:
Like others have mentioned, its not something that I would ever do, or want to drive. That being said, I think its great. Hey, its YOUR car. You love Mopars and wanted electric. Best of both worlds for you!!! Anyone can go along with whats tried, true, and accepted. It takes balls to do what you want eventhough you know you are going to hear about it over and over. God job and keep us posted!
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Come on Badawg..............!!!!

Are you tellin' me that if given the choice between THIS project car and not drivin' at all (for shortage of gas, for example), you would not want to drive it??

I understand your feeling if we still have the gas and all is fairly well out there........I'd rather have my 360 any day........BUT, "what if" ?
 
Once we figure out batteries for electric vehicles, I think this this type of retrofit will really take off. Once battery technology advances, range and power will increase. Projects like this are what's needed to get companies serious about battery R&D.

Right now, electric conversions are in thier infancy. Imagine if resourceful American companies really got into this and put out electric "crate motors" to pop in whatever vehicle you could think of. You could put up a solar/wind charger on your garage and drive for free.

These cars may not have what most of us associate with "muscle" cars, but did anybody race slot cars when they were kids? I think there is the potential for some bad *** speed.
 
Original post by rmchrgr
Perhaps if you could wire up a speaker to mimic the visceral sound of a healthy V8 in there, I might be more hip to the idea.8)

Post by RedFish
[/quote]
Poker cards in the spokes for me.
Only the uptown kids got Varooom motors. :)[/QUOTE]
_____________________________________________________________________________________

I had playing cards too.
Kids today however, can have this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHdN2zdhUpI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuB0-9XBtww
 
ABodySickness said:
Not to try to get the last word, but I'd like to respond to one thing you said. Just a thought here, but is it really a 'personal freedom' to be required to purchase gasoline - at whatever price we're told to - in order to function in this country? I believe it is a form of control.
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Unfortunately, I sort of agree with the idea that gas prices can be a form of control but that's for another discussion altogether.

I'm just trying to separate the die-hard gearheads from the rest of the driving masses by saying we are the stalwarts of the internal combustion engine and kind of 'need' gas to do what do. I'm saying that sadly I'll put up with high prices to be able to keep doing what I do. I'm glad the high prices have spurred you on into action, most people like me just keep paying and never do anything to the contrary. We just buy more parts to make the engine use more gasoline!

If you can get your electric car to go 10 seconds in the 1/4 mile, then I think you've really got something. But until it gets to the heart of the matter which is speed, noise, wheelstands, tire smoke and seat-of-the-pants sensation, then electric cars probably won't find a wide audience with the muscle car crowd. But you realize that.

By nature, hot rodding is the mother of invention. It's great to do something different though and the fact you've accomplished this on your own is quite commendable. Really, I'm not really arguing to the contrary here, just kind of playing devil's advocate and putting forth my own opinion to spur the conversation.

The poser's edge. Hilarious.
 
Charger70, Ouch, but that's some funny stuff right there! :-D

rmchrgr, WRT speed, I think that is in the not too distant future. This guy did 11.88 / 109mph in the quarter mile. http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/whitezombie.php

However, speed and acceleration just does not seem the same without the sound of power. I wouldn't call his car a muscle car.
 
Personally, I think this is about the most exciting thing I've heard in Mopar A-Body lore since I found out you could get 300HP from a slant six. I posted a link about this over at slantsix.org after reading about it on Jalopnik.

I'll agree that most electric cars we see have no "soul," but this is not your grandma's electric car. All I see here is potential for immortality. Eventually, and it could be beyond our lifetimes, gas engines will go away, and the sooner we start developing systems for updating these classic rides, the more we can save from being sent to the crusher. I'm all about 12 second cars and roaring V-8s, but let's be practical here. Less and less people are able to stow a gas guzzling car for the occasional weekend jaunt. 56 bucks to drive 80 miles in your big block Barracuda kind of muffles the call of the road.

This is pure innovation. We have classic soul AND the ability to give the finger to the oil companies. The engines lack range and speed, but we're just getting started. I know I'm going to get rocks thrown at me for this analogy, but this is right in the spirit of the So Cal hot rod scene of the 50s and 60s. A generation of bright young people with a ready access to dirt cheap cars and dirt cheap gas changed the automobile as we know it. Now, coming from a generation that grew up on radio controlled cars that could be customized with burnout-inducing, wheelie-pulling power, I'm excited to see what happens as bright minds start putting this kind of creativity into full size hot rods.

Finally, in regard to it being a 71 Duster, I think it's a great choice! It's a simple base without all the tacked on business you get from a later model car, lots of custom options, AND a good looking body that's still common enough to not warrant sacrilege (like those photos Useless posted. Yeesh.). You're not going to entice anyone to try this with a K-car or a 74 Valiant. It's a great poster vehicle for anyone with the dream to try this. It can be done. It can look good. And most importantly, it can be both without destroying the integrity of the car. (I have yet to see a Duster that didn't need a new trunk pan anyway.) :p

My current goal is to get a decent performing slant six that gets 25 miles per gallon. Something like this would be an excellent choice for my next option. Thanks for the inspiration, Bruce. I just might join you over there someday.
 
armyofchuckness said:
Personally, I think this is about the most exciting thing I've heard in Mopar A-Body lore since I found out you could get 300HP from a slant six. I posted a link about this over at slantsix.org after reading about it on Jalopnik.

I'll agree that most electric cars we see have no "soul," but this is not your grandma's electric car. All I see here is potential for immortality. Eventually, and it could be beyond our lifetimes, gas engines will go away, and the sooner we start developing systems for updating these classic rides, the more we can save from being sent to the crusher. I'm all about 12 second cars and roaring V-8s, but let's be practical here. Less and less people are able to stow a gas guzzling car for the occasional weekend jaunt. 56 bucks to drive 80 miles in your big block Barracuda kind of muffles the call of the road.

This is pure innovation. We have classic soul AND the ability to give the finger to the oil companies. The engines lack range and speed, but we're just getting started. I know I'm going to get rocks thrown at me for this analogy, but this is right in the spirit of the So Cal hot rod scene of the 50s and 60s. A generation of bright young people with a ready access to dirt cheap cars and dirt cheap gas changed the automobile as we know it. Now, coming from a generation that grew up on radio controlled cars that could be customized with burnout-inducing, wheelie-pulling power, I'm excited to see what happens as bright minds start putting this kind of creativity into full size hot rods.

Finally, in regard to it being a 71 Duster, I think it's a great choice! It's a simple base without all the tacked on business you get from a later model car, lots of custom options, AND a good looking body that's still common enough to not warrant sacrilege (like those photos Useless posted. Yeesh.). You're not going to entice anyone to try this with a K-car or a 74 Valiant. It's a great poster vehicle for anyone with the dream to try this. It can be done. It can look good. And most importantly, it can be both without destroying the integrity of the car. (I have yet to see a Duster that didn't need a new trunk pan anyway. :p

My current goal is to get a decent performing slant six that gets 25 miles per gallon. Something like this would be an excellent choice for my next option. Thanks for the inspiration, Bruce. I just might join you over there someday.
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Thank you for this post! Yes, come on over to 'the Dark Side', :-D
BTW, It DID need a trunk pan, which I had even purchased before deciding to do this.
 
ABodySickness said:
Thank you for this post! Yes, come on over to 'the Dark Side', :-D
BTW, It DID need a trunk pan, which I had even purchased before deciding to do this.
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You're quite welcome, Bruce. I'm bracing for the arrows and stones, but I'll stand by what I said. The rumble of an ICE is great, but if it means my car and other great old Mopars are sitting out back under a tarp rotting away, then forget it. Show me where to plug in.

Also...I totally called that trunk pan needing replacement. Awesome!

This really is exciting stuff, Bruce. I'll be following this very closely.
 
convert to hydro car would be alot cheaper, but.... everyone has got to have a hobby. That being said like it or not at least your doing nice work.

carry on.

-RPM
 
rmchrgr said:
Personally, I have a hard time associating a muscle-era vehicle with anything other than a cast-iron internal combustion engine in it. I guess that's my lack of vision and narrowness of view.
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Does this mean an aluminum hemi is sacreligeous as well? :snakeman:

Look at a the Tesla cars....

http://www.automobilemag.com/new_and_future_cars/2008/0803_2008_tesla_roadster/index.html

"here are a few things you ought to know about the Tesla: With the equivalent of 248 hp and 211 lb-ft of instantly available torque, the car we tested surged to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds - in damp conditions."
 
Useless said:
Far worse has been done to mopars in the past........

logo
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whats wrong with this? thats BITCHIN! would look better without the scoops though
 
spikekid999 said:
whats wrong with this? thats BITCHIN! would look better without the scoops though
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Eh, looks all out of proportion with the chopped top. "Why who put this '69 'Cuda roof on here?" I would dig it with a targa top though, and ditch that back side window.

With the exception if the VW Beetle (and maybe tri-5 chevy), you can't really chop the top on anything post '54 and it look decent. I know I've seen an A-Body with a chopped top, but I couldn't find the pic.
 
i like it, id roll that every day. just loose the scoops and add a set of 14" cragars wraped in white wall
 
pastortom1 said:
Come on Badawg..............!!!!

Are you tellin' me that if given the choice between THIS project car and not drivin' at all (for shortage of gas, for example), you would not want to drive it??

I understand your feeling if we still have the gas and all is fairly well out there........I'd rather have my 360 any day........BUT, "what if" ?
Click to expand...


If there was no gas anymore, or even if it would ever get to the point where its $30+ a gallon Id pull my motor and put an electric engine faster than you can say go. Thats why I gave Bruce credit for having the balls to do it.
 
Need all the details as i see the writing on the wall. Don't have to hit me in the head with a bucket of gasoline to wake me up. Oh sure i have the gas guzzeling 440 A bodies and enjoy unique rides so give me the details so i can convert one of the 35 A bodies in the "Field of Dreams" over to electric. Sounds like a show winner to me and very economical. It does need glass fenders, hoods, and bumpers so as to drop as much weight as one can. Rear seat delete and anything such as light weight glass. Should be some tax credits here also. Maybe a little funding for conversion. I'll check with the electric coop here and see what they say. Give me more details sickness.
 
Small Block said:
Need all the details as i see the writing on the wall. Don't have to hit me in the head with a bucket of gasoline to wake me up. Oh sure i have the gas guzzeling 440 A bodies and enjoy unique rides so give me the details so i can convert one of the 35 A bodies in the "Field of Dreams" over to electric. Sounds like a show winner to me and very economical. It does need glass fenders, hoods, and bumpers so as to drop as much weight as one can. Rear seat delete and anything such as light weight glass. Should be some tax credits here also. Maybe a little funding for conversion. I'll check with the electric coop here and see what they say. Give me more details sickness.
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Hey Small Block,

I would recommend first purchasing a book or two. I have the Michael Brown book "Convert It". The Bob Brandt book is supposed to be a good one as well. You can get either of them here.
http://www.evparts.com/cat-Publications+%26+Books+...+Street+Vehicle.htm#77

Also, for A-body specific information, you might want to look at my blog. I have tried to document everything beginning from the idea & planning stage. The address is in my signature but I noticed it hasn't shown up in my last few posts. It is located here: http://electricmopar.blogspot.com/

The links on my blog have some good info too.

I'd be glad to try to answer any questions you (or anyone else) might have. One word of caution while planning, many of the parts have long lead times (like 2 months).

Welcome to the Dark Side,
Bruce
 
Personally, I think this is a very cool project. As someone else has already mentioned, it makes a much better vehicle (pun partially intended) to demonstrate that there are alternatives to friggin' Honda and Toyota that have style.

I'm eager to see battery technology make some huge advances. That'll probably have the single most significant impact on these conversions. I'm still toying with the notion of running on alcohol and/or gasoline that's blended heavily with alcohol for reasons similar to your own. The thing I just can't quite get past about the electric vehicles is the range.

In any case, your car will turn heads from a distance and perhaps more so from close-up.
 
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