So earlier today, I drove out to Nowheresville, Pennsylvania to visit an old friend who runs a race shop that specializes in oddball classics and EV racecars. When I showed up, this was in his parking lot. It's his latest acquisition / shop runabout. And possibly the best worst EV street car in existence.
Yes, it's a 1988 Pontiac GT with a high voltage DC motor instead of the factory V6. Apparently, the conversion was done about 15 years ago by an enthusiast in Michigan. The shop's head of EV development bought it off craigslist for Challenge-friendly pricing and towed it 500 miles to its current home.
Visually, the car is a rolling barn find. The original Flame red exterior had faded into so many shades of pink that no amount of Photoshopping would make it look presentable. The interior looks like an axe murderer had gently caressed every single interior panel with a bloody hatchet. Even the headliner had hatchet marks in it.
Someone clearly liked the taste of the Pontiac's revolutionary composite body panels, because the leading edge of the hood looks like it has a bite taken out of it. The only redeeming visual qualities are the shiny new American Racing wheels and the fact that there's surprisingly little rust for a Michigan car.
But what rests within those weathered, half-eaten body panels is nothing but cool classic EV tech. The frunk is now home to the battery pack and a set of distinctly old-school looking battery regulators that help the individual cells charge and discharge evenly. The custom-built aluminum housings protect the sensitive electronics from the elements while putting them on display like a piece in the Museum of Natural History.
Behind the drivers' seat beeps the heart of this frankenbuild. A high voltage DC motor takes the place of the factory GM L44. The system is managed by a Cafe Electric Zilla Controller. This is the same controller that powered some of the fastest EV dragsters of the early 2000's.
Unusually, the original 5-speed transmission is still present, bolted directly to the motor without a clutch or pressure plate. Apparently, this was required to get the car to move. Unlike today's highly versatile EV motors, old school motors could either move a 2800 lb car from a stop or cruise at highway speeds. But not both in the same package. With the factory transmission in place, this electric Fiero will easily spin its wheels in the lower three gears and achieve a comfortable cruising speed in 4th and 5th.
It took all of five minutes before Charlie (my friend and shop owner) offered to let me drive it. I chickened out because of the sheer weirdness of the whole car, but happily hopped in the right seat because I lack common sense.
I have to say, being a passenger in the Electric Fiero is nothing short of a surreal experience. People say EVs are silent, but that's really only the case with the newest breed of electric production cars. The powertrain in this Fiero was originally designed for racecars. Every time my friend hit the right pedal it sounded like a jet fighter throttling up for takeoff. It sounded incredible. Not ear-splittingly loud like a real jet. But loud enough that it got the adrenaline flowing.
The fact that I didn't understand anything on the gauge panel probably added to the excitement. Numbers flashed across the dashboard to show the current output of the motor, but without knowing the specifications of the powertrain, I couldn't tell if 14.25V meant that it was running fine or if it was two seconds away from exploding. A tiny 2" touch screen embedded in the dashboard gave us a live feed of the state of the batteries. Between the glare of the sun and the microscopically sized numbers, I had no idea what it said. Based on the expression on Charlie's face, I assumed it was within an acceptable range. Whatever that meant.
Needless to say, we got back in one piece. It was an amazing ride, and sadly, one that ended too soon. Not because of the limited 50-mile range offered by the car's small battery pack, but because we discovered a rear suspension issue that made driving in a straight line an unnecessarily thrilling experience.
Despite being an absolutely terrible car, this was probably the best electric car I've ever ridden in. It has character, a relatable classic car body, and a fantastic noise that makes you want to drive it. It has everything that's missing in other high-performance EVs, including Formula E and the Jaguar i-Pace series.
Charlie plans to use this car as a shop rat to do errands and make trips to the auto parts store. I told him he should do a youtube series where he restores and upgrades this into a daily-able street car. Someone help me convince him. This thing is too cool to be used as a shop beater.
EDIT: Fixed a typo. Thanks to Khai Nguyen who was kind enough to point that out after all this time.
Handles better now that it is aligned. As a shop beater it has a serious drawback in the absense of luggage carry capacity. That said I think a restoration would be a waste of resources that need to go towards EVSR.
On the cheap end, that manzanita PFC is 2,000$. And that's only if it's the cheapest one. Hell of a steal just for the hardware included. Best part about a home brew EV is you can take the hardware to the next chassis. 
