Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Spotted this at the local Friday cruise. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31nash880 Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Looks like if the hood was down no one would know. Very pretty. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D. Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Could this be the future of our hobby 50 years from now? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 4 minutes ago, Alex D. said: Could this be the future of our hobby 50 years from now? My thought exactly. The wave of the future. Xander did you talk to the owner. I would be curious about the biggest issue of range. There is one of these type of deals at a local cars n coffee I go to. The power plant is a forklift motor. Guy said it takes 8hrs for a full charge and he has a range of about 80 miles. I dont have a problem with the principle of the thing but I would need a bit more range. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 You will always have original cars, and modified cars. Can not blame people for modifying a picked over parts car that would be impossible to return to original condition. You can piece some of them back together, but with original engines gone. It will never have the finished value of documented original cars. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 The real question is, where did the batteries go? Chevy has been showing a similar eCrate conversion kit, but the El Camino they were using to showcase the system required it's bed to be completely filled with the battery pack. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 1 minute ago, TAKerry said: My thought exactly. The wave of the future. Xander did you talk to the owner. I would be curious about the biggest issue of range. There is one of these type of deals at a local cars n coffee I go to. The power plant is a forklift motor. Guy said it takes 8hrs for a full charge and he has a range of about 80 miles. I dont have a problem with the principle of the thing but I would need a bit more range. I did not speak to the owner. If you are building a EV car/custom. You have to build the car around all of the EV components. Lots of fabrication would need to be done to accommodate the batteries needed for distance driving. To retrofit a finished car with all of the needed EV components, the battery storage will suffer big time. All needs to be done in a build process to make it right. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 2023-06-18_12-41-46 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr 2023-06-18_12-41-39 by Kerry Grubb, on Flickr This is the one that is local to me. I have spent a little time talking to the owner about his creation. Sorry for the hijack Xander 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 You can not hijack one of my posts. Best conversations are fluid, and go where they go. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I love the sound of a big v8, but me not being a full fledged mechanic, have nothing against one of these types of conversions. IF one could be done tastefully and efficiently I would not mind it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I haven no problem with electric cars but that thing is every bit the crime of dropping a crate motor in it. There are lots of crap boxes that won't be missed where the conversion would have been cool. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Expect yet another wave of resistance. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trulyvintage Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 I would not want to park any EV next to a vehicle I owned at a car show - particularly an experimental one … Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 4 minutes ago, alsancle said: I haven no problem with electric cars but that thing is every bit the crime of dropping a crate motor in it. There are lots of crap boxes that won't be missed where the conversion would have been cool. A.J.: Major benefit of driving an 810/812 Cord is more than its stellar design, it's the driving experience of its original powertrain, how it sounds, feels, reacts to driver inputs. This fellow spent major money to deprive himself of that primary benefit of a Cord. Perhaps this Cord was one of the full-sized replicas produced 40 years ago, then do as one please. It's just for its 'look-at-me' value to its self-absorbed owner... Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Perception of The Electric Vehicle may vary. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 The numbers thrown around for vintage engine rebuilds. Might cover the cost of EV components. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 So, it has begun... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said: You will always have original cars, and modified cars. Can not blame people for modifying a picked over parts car that would be impossible to return to original condition. You can piece some of them back together, but with original engines gone. It will never have the finished value of documented original cars. Partially true, but a restored Cord Phaeton or Sportsman is going to be a rather valuable car by almost any vintage car guy's yardstick even if it was at one time a picked over example. The remainder { not involved in the ev conversion } of this example looks to have had serious money spent on it. And I expect the ev conversion would have cost a tidy sum as well. So probably at least as much spent as a correct Cord restoration. To achive what ? We all know if you throw enough money at a project amazing things can be done. So why mess around with a true icon of American vintage / classic cars ? Jay Leno probably said it best in regards to his gas turbine powered car if I remember correctly , something along the lines of membership in the more money than brains club. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 1 hour ago, 58L-Y8 said: Major benefit of driving an 810/812 Cord is more than its stellar design, it's the driving experience of its original powertrain, how it sounds, feels, reacts to driver inputs. This fellow spent major money to deprive himself of that primary benefit of a Cord. I say the same thing about people that build FRONT engine Corvairs! They should have just bought the Camaro they wanted......😁 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 1 hour ago, 1912Staver said: Partially true, but a restored Cord Phaeton or Sportsman is going to be a rather valuable car by almost any vintage car guy's yardstick even if it was at one time a picked over example. The remainder { not involved in the ev conversion } of this example looks to have had serious money spent on it. And I expect the ev conversion would have cost a tidy sum as well. So probably at least as much spent as a correct Cord restoration. To achive what ? We all know if you throw enough money at a project amazing things can be done. So why mess around with a true icon of American vintage / classic cars ? Jay Leno probably said it best in regards to his gas turbine powered car if I remember correctly , something along the lines of membership in the more money than brains club. No doubt there is money invested in that car. Most likely about the same amount as a restoration. But the owner signing the checks, got what he or she wanted. And in the end that’s what matters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 (edited) The Cord was commissioned by Simple Green to have a car for their SEMA booth. The company that did the conversion was Revolt Systems, who makes crate EV motors. I don't see this as much different as doing an LS swap in any car, and don't have a problem with it. I do think it's a bit of a shame they started with what seemed like a decent car. I spent a week driving a Mustang Mach E and was really impressed. However, I found the performance to be synthetic. The car enthusiast in me thinks EVs are interesting. The driving enthusiast part of me is uninspired. Edited September 14 by CarNucopia (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 All the years I have been in the hobby there appears to have been a general consensus that "Hot Rodders and customizers" were to be denied "valuable" cars for their pursuits. Only the cast offs and worthless cars of the true automotive aficionados could be tampered with. Then upon completion of any modifications they would be condemned for ruining the originally unacceptable car. Even if the car was a Cord sedan stripped for spares dedicated to a convertible. As I was told "Don't waste your time on a closed car, Sonny." 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted September 14 Share Posted September 14 Shame is , in 20 years it will be a bunch of outdated technology with a pile of dead lithium batteries, that will need a pile of new batteries or maybe even on it's 3rd or 4th set, depending on shelf life, where the original engine , would most likely need a light going over if done well when it was restored and it would be ready to go, with just a small 6 volt battery. The least green thing on the planet seems to be a converted vintage car as the CO foot print of the batteries is much worse than the original engine and fuel/ oils that it will use in it's normal restored life. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 Old cars will always be updated with new technology. Electric motors will be replaced with hydrogen, or what ever the new power plants will be. You are dealing with a dwindling supply of original engines for some of these cars. Some say the car that just burned up in the trailer is not worth restoring. Because of lack of parts and finished value. Would it be a shame to build a EV out of it? Or get the insurance check and just crush it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 14 Author Share Posted September 14 57 minutes ago, auburnseeker said: Shame is , in 20 years it will be a bunch of outdated technology with a pile of dead lithium batteries, that will need a pile of new batteries or maybe even on it's 3rd or 4th set, depending on shelf life, where the original engine , would most likely need a light going over if done well when it was restored and it would be ready to go, with just a small 6 volt battery. The least green thing on the planet seems to be a converted vintage car as the CO foot print of the batteries is much worse than the original engine and fuel/ oils that it will use in it's normal restored life. 20 years after that car was built in 1937, it was viewed as a pile of old outdated technology.🤔 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 Yeah but now the technology used in the car originally is one of the many things that make it what it is and why people collect it. I just think of a hot rod that's 20 years old with a mustang II and what ever else was the thing the day it was built, only to be old but not old school a Few Years later. When I built my 32 Ford hot rod almost 30 years ago, I built it already dated in a basic classic hot rod sense, like it would have been built in the 50's. Not only because I liked the style after reading way too many Honk and Rod and custom little pages but because I didn't want to look at an outdated funky car no one wanted down the road. Kind of like when you see the neon pink Street rods that were the rage in the late 80's early 90's now at a rod show with the lightning bolt graphics and square 80's dash boards in them. Well atleast they kept the classic Cord aura on the outside. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 You don’t like the pastel two tone paint jobs, with the upper color melting into the lower color? And the ball milled billet aluminum arm rests? To be so picky!😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 3 hours ago, auburnseeker said: in 20 years it will be a bunch of outdated technology with a pile of dead lithium batteries, that will need a pile of new batteries or maybe even on it's 3rd or 4th set, depending on shelf life, Looking at Toyota and Honda's battery life in their cars I would think in 20 years this Revolt Systems car will be just on its second battery pack. 😉 No, it isn't my cup of tea, but neither would it be if it was an LS engine, diesel, or whatever non-Cord engine was dropped in it. Not that I have money for a Cord. Maybe a Glen Pray Cord with the 140 HP Corvair engine. 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 I really liked the Cord Auburnseeker had. That one would have been a lot of fun to drive around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Trucker Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 If the supply chain ever runs out of orange colored wiring, then that's the end of EV conversions. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gtjoey Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 It’s still a novelty….. I looked into the same company’s to convert my 1962 Jaguar Mk2. Today in 2024 the cost installed is around 110,000 dollars. That is complete returned to you with a complete return to stock if you wish. The problem is two fold. The range WITHOUT Regeneration is 80 to 100 miles…… So you can only Go 40 miles unless your driving one way for an ice cream cone! Second the sound is terrible ……Terrible. So if my motor blows I’m doing a Lexus or Toyota swap still have gas but clean. Suite with a little rumble The electric is still 100 years away…. Look me up then , maybe I’m interested Gtjoey1314 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom C Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 I think these cars are kind of cool in their own unique way. But, I like stuff I can work on and feel the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 The Cord looks odd prior to the EV conversion. Over the years I have paid attention to the ACD cars and the are generally painted in earthtone colors. Does anyone know the provenance of this car? I was trying to look at the body panel thickness to see if it really was a steel car. If comes across as repop, especially being a supercharger version. Should be a pretty good history on that car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 I haven't been up close to a real Cord in many years, but this looks like a fiberglass repop to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 On 9/14/2024 at 11:15 AM, Frank DuVal said: I say the same thing about people that build FRONT engine Corvairs! They should have just bought the Camaro they wanted......😁 Those people probably can't afford the Camaro they want so they figure let's just butcher a Corvair. Most results are less than stellar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted September 15 Share Posted September 15 1 hour ago, Ed Luddy said: I haven't been up close to a real Cord in many years, but this looks like a fiberglass repop to me. I think I found it! The bodywork pictures lead one to believe it had a rough life prior to the restoration. https://lavinerestorations.com/project/1937-cord-supercharged-model-812/ If you think the EV offends take a look at this one I saw 20 years ago. Possibly someone named "Dutch" had his fingers in there. A Hispano-Cordilia Background car is a SAMCO. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted September 15 Author Share Posted September 15 I think of all the money saved on window sweepers during the build of that car.🤔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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