Dude, you're talking to a gearhead, and a Mopar gearhead at that :) I appreciate your comments and I understand, and to a certain extent agree with what you have said. I have 5 A-Bodies and 2 B-Bodies, so I know of what you speak! I have had serious psychological issues doing any modification to my classic Mopar - and have mentioned that in my blog about the project.
When I decided to build an electric car, I first had to decide what vehicle to convert. I could not envision being happy with just any car. My life revolves around Mopar cars. It seemed like driving a Honda or something similar was the real blasphemy. I wouldn't have one with or without it being electric.
So as I was deciding which car to purchase to convert, my thoughts turned to what I already owned. I love the feeling I get when I am able to drive one of my Mopars somewhere. The Duster always attracts a lot of attention. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got about using it for a conversion vehicle. It's actually a natural, and I wrote about that in the blog as well.
Rest assured, this was not a perfect, numbers matching Duster. It took a lot of work to bring it back from the dead in the first place. I don't feel that I am destroying the car. Yes, there is a certain soullessness about having an electric motor in place of the rumbling V8. However, the rest of what the car is, and stands for, will be out on the road being enjoyed. Maybe the soul will live on - we'll see.
