Electric Duster - Yeah, I built it.

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M

MoparGarage

Winter Sucks!
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Hey guys! I'm the one that built the electric Duster. Yeah, I'm still a member here - used to be ABodySickness. I don't post too much but I still read a lot here. Just thought I'd check in to see if people were talking about me and found a couple of threads. lol.

To answer some questions:

The car was (hand painted) green/black and kinda rusty when I bought it. I spent a couple years making it into a nice 360 muscle car. When I got pissed off over oil & gas prices in 2008 I decided I didn't like the "Man" telling me what, when, and how much I could drive. So I decided to convert something to electric. I researched and saw what types of crap cars people were converting. I am a Mopar guy from day-1 so I couldn't see myself messing with a ricer or something like that.

I have quite a few Mopars so I decided to use one of them for this project. I didn't do it to be "green" or for any other PC BS reason. I simply didn't think gas prices would come back down and thought it would be cool to commute to work in a Duster. With $4.00 per gallon gas, this would have paid for itself pretty quickly.

Anyhoo, I had no idea that what I was doing in my garage would cause such a major disturbance in the world, lol. I just thought it would be cool and didn't really care (or think about) anyone else. I blogged about it and people started reading and the word spread - and expressing opinions.

Man, what a ****-storm this project has caused, lol. For whatever reason, this car incites people to voice their opinions. Lots of people think this is the coolest thing ever. Some think it is sacrilege. Believe it or not, it seems to run about 95 percent positive. But for some, it really touches a nerve... and I kinda feel bad about that. My own feeling is that this is closer to its Mopar roots than anything Foose builds. But that's neither here nor there.

Just FYI for my FABO Mopar brothers and sisters, I built it to be able to return it to the 360 Muscle car it was. It already needed a new trunk pan. Nothing else major was cut. The complete engine is still sitting in my shop. The car is on eBay because over the past 2 years some people have expressed interest in owning this car or building something similar. I wanted to see if anyone was serious about it. As I said in my eBay ad, I'm giving it one chance to sell before I dismantle it and return it to what it was. Either way, it is a money-losing project for me but was a great experience in many ways and I have learned a lot doing it.

Bruce
 
Bruce,

I think what you did with your Duster was vey cool and very innovative. Glad to see you kept the drivetrain available so you can satisfy the traditionalists. Sorry to see you won't take this project further.

I posted this link in another thread, but what do you think of the White Zombie?

http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/
 
The car and idea are cool. For those of us that generate our own electricity it makes perfect sense, especially if our commute to work is within 40 miles.

If I could get the performance of a Tesla roadster it would be even cooler.
But one is not in my future because it costs too much to convert it. One day batteries may be cheaper, ev motors and controllers are cheap enough but the batteries kill the project.

It sure beats commuting in a Prius!
 
Its a very interesting car. I posted its link for others to see and share what they thought. You did nice work but its just not the type of car for me. Still, nice work on it. Main thing I thought was the hood picture and you pull into a show and pop the hood and theres nothing there. I thought hat would be pretty funny.
 
I don't understand why people would be so upset by one person's idea for a project. My how our culture has changed, you build something with your own hard work and sweat and then get judged for it! Back in the '70's my Dad built an electric car from an Renault Dauphine that had a blown engine. He just did it for the experience and because it interested him, the same reasons you did your Duster. You shouldn't have to justify what you're doing to anyone....it's your car....not like it's the last Duster left on Earth. This is crazy.
 
Thanks for the positive replies guys. Yes, I can understand someone saying "it's not my cup of tea" but some people just get really infuriated. I wasn't really ready for that.

I agree with Goldfish. I think our culture has changed. Somebody commented online somewhere about my car that he thought the project was in the "true spirit of what hot rodding used to be. You used your imagination to create something unique". I liked that assessment. It's different today in that cars are more than just cars. They are political statements, personal statements/compensations and who knows what else. They are no longer just for going from point A to B.

I am familiar with the White Zombie and the Tesla Roadster. Those illustrate what kind of power there is with electricity. It's all a matter of electron storage and management (and cost). Storage capacity equals weight. You can only carry so many electrons so you have to balance out what you do with them. It comes down to a balance of power vs range.

One of the things I have learned with this project is that we could have great electric cars if we, as a society wanted them. BUT, they have come to symbolize something so much more than what they are. AND, the government and big business (oil) keep a lot of impediments to improving the technology and making it cheaper - even though they SAY just the opposite.

It's just energy to me. Whether it comes from gasoline or electricity it performs a certain amount of work. If gasoline remains cheap and keeps coming I'm all for using my share. But if someone wants to use our gasoline addiction to control us, them I'm going to try not to be controlled.
 
I agree, they use gasoline AND electricity to control the world.

It's like a dog chasing his tail! LOL
He would stop chasing it if you handed it to him!
 
I was one of the people that was negative about the deal, but not because I think you were doing anything "wrong".

My negative view on it was due to my disagreement that electric vehicle will "save the world". I think it is great that you pursued it and got it (mostly?) functional, not argument with that. I just see too many people treating EV's as the holy grail, and probably came across too strong in trying to voice my opinion. I have no argument with people trying something different, that's what the hobby is about.

In fact, I was a little disappointed when I saw the post saying it was up for sale.
 
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