If you were going to convert a car to Electric to sell, which car would it be?

In my never ending brainstorm about how I could make money off of this bizarre car obsession: converting vehicles to electric to sell is one of my most recent trains of thought. I have decided it would make the most sense to stick to one model, do it frequently, and do it well. The thought is to buy, convert, and then sell.

Things to consider: A small car like a Miata would take around 10-$15k in parts to convert well. A larger car or sporty car is more like 15-20k in parts. I would prefer a car that I can acquire with relative ease and frequency so I would prefer no "once in a lifetime deals" needed to make it work.

So what vehicle would you start with and why?

914...small, fun, and conversion kits are available

is this a "I'd make 1 or 2 a year, just for kicks", or "i'm trying to start a company and actually do this for a living. My house payment, and my kids college depend on it?"

2 very different questions.

S10 or Ranger. I'll never take them on a 200 mile trip, but wouldn't mind one for running back and forth to the Depot or to work.

And I'll bet you could actually sell them in decent numbers.

icaneat50eggs wrote: is this a "I'd make 1 or 2 a year, just for kicks", or "i'm trying to start a company and actually do this for a living. My house payment, and my kids college depend on it?" 2 very different questions.

I have a job and am financially secure. That said, being able to knock one out and sell it every month or two wouldn't be bad.

i WOULD say beetle...

BUT in that case you'd practically be doing a restoration on top of the electrification in almost every case.

Considering you would therefore be limited to semi-recent light-ish vehicles which can be bought cheaply with broken drivetrains and not need a total refurb on the whole rest of the car... maybe 2g neons.

In reply to Vigo:

I considered the classic route with Beetles or 911s and came to the same conclusion. I have no real desire to be in the restoration business. No real love for the Neon though.

How about a first generation MINI (the new one) pretty little, small, and people really like them. The only problem I would see is that they haven't depreciated a ton yet.

Civic hatchbacks or s10/ranger

Daewoo Nubira. The company is long gone and the engine in some of them is supposed to be bespoke and getting hard to come by. Plus they're cheap.

Needs to be light. Answer: Festeva or Metro.

Fiero

If I was doing an electric car conversion, I would use an rx8. Great handling, practical, and available with bad engines (they came that way from the factory :) )

mw wrote: If I was doing an electric car conversion, I would use an rx8. Great handling, practical, and available with bad engines (they came that way from the factory :) )

Lol-I could offer them with an LS1 or an electric conversion. (and both would get better mileage than stock )

IMO, the market that was just barely there for cheap, "professionally" done EVs has completely dried up with the arrival of real deal EVs like the Leaf, MiEV, Volt, etc. People who were willing to pony up just go to the dealer and get one a hell of a lot better than anything you can build yourself, and people who don't want something that expensive also aren't willing to pay somebody else money for their time and knowledge.

My .02 bucks.

Bryce

Oh yeah, counter point to this...I would argue that if you design a decent "kit" to allow somebody else to build their own EV, there's still some value there. Most of the "kits" out there are for older crappy cars, not much for the OBD1/early OBDII transition cars that are still in decent shape in large numbers for decent prices. You could build a few cars as flips to try and get the kit dialed in (optimized brackets, cables, etc.) and then sell the bits and pieces for DIY folks. This is already a well established market (with not so great vendors!) for stuff like a Bug, Rabbit, 914, maybe even Civic...but I think there's room for a lot of improvement if you wanted to fill a gap for more modern/easy to live with cars and make a buck or two.

Bryce

X1/9

Nashco wrote: IMO, the market that was just barely there for cheap, "professionally" done EVs has completely dried up with the arrival of real deal EVs like the Leaf, MiEV, Volt, etc. People who were willing to pony up just go to the dealer and get one a hell of a lot better than anything you can build yourself, and people who don't want something that expensive also aren't willing to pay somebody else money for their time and knowledge. My .02 bucks. Bryce

I think it is very close.

Using the Leaf as an example, for about $32k you get:
-factory reliability/warranty
-a new car
-available financing
-Regen
-Green image
-70 miles of usable range
-acceptable performance

A converted Boxster could sell in the same ballpark. You would not have regen, your warranty would be limited, and your financing options would be fewer. The upside is you should have much better performance, have a very similar range, and have a different but equally appealing image. Newer Boxsters still sell well north of $50k so the idea of someone spending $30k to get a completely converted vehicle isn't totally unreasonable. Of course this is all speculation until it is proven through execution.

Nashco wrote: Oh yeah, counter point to this...I would argue that if you design a decent "kit" to allow somebody else to build their own EV, there's still some value there. Most of the "kits" out there are for older crappy cars, not much for the OBD1/early OBDII transition cars that are still in decent shape in large numbers for decent prices. You could build a few cars as flips to try and get the kit dialed in (optimized brackets, cables, etc.) and then sell the bits and pieces for DIY folks. This is already a well established market (with not so great vendors!) for stuff like a Bug, Rabbit, 914, maybe even Civic...but I think there's room for a lot of improvement if you wanted to fill a gap for more modern/easy to live with cars and make a buck or two. Bryce

The kits are rough because of the exorbitant cost of batteries. I do think you could sell a kit for other conversion shops to use.

Civic, or pehaps a B15 Sentra. Alot of them out there in reasonable shape, can be found for reasonably cheap, already in the "name recognition" of people looking for something economical, and Civic already has a hybrid version so there may be some possibility of parts crossover to your goal.

This is the last year for the Ranger and if history proves correct then there will be no truly small truck any more. Replacing the cheap 4 cyl models w/ electric could be good. All the auto parts places have them for in-town deliveries and there must be many others who use/need them for similar tasks.
Also, since the Ranger came in many trim levels there would be the ability to satisfy different levels of "luxury."

Fresh model are easy to source and body panel availability will continue to be good for quite a while longer unlike starting with a car that has been out of production for 20+ years like the Fiero.

Unlike converting Civics and Sentras, with trucks, you would have no direct competition from new vehicle sales. You could also maybe offer 2 different motors. One that is about economy driving and the other about torque/economy with some towing capability.

MrJoshua wrote: A converted Boxster could sell in the same ballpark.

Sure it could. But could you build it to meet those performance targets you mention and sell it for $30k and actually make a profit? I don't think so, but I dare you to prove me wrong!

Bryce

Nashco wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: A converted Boxster could sell in the same ballpark.

Sure it could. But could you build it to meet those performance targets you mention and sell it for $30k and actually make a profit? I don't think so, but I dare you to prove me wrong! Bryce

It's very very close. It may be there, it may not. Batteries are getting close to the price/performance point that makes it a sure thing, but at that point the OEM's should decrease in price as well.

I was going to do a Karmann Ghia.

MrJoshua wrote:

Nashco wrote: I think it is very close. Using the Leaf as an example, for about $32k you get: -factory reliability/warranty -a new car -available financing -Regen -Green image -70 miles of usable range -acceptable performance A converted Boxster could sell in the same ballpark. You would not have regen, your warranty would be limited, and your financing options would be fewer. The upside is you should have much better performance, have a very similar range, and have a different but equally appealing image. Newer Boxsters still sell well north of $50k so the idea of someone spending $30k to get a completely converted vehicle isn't totally unreasonable. Of course this is all speculation until it is proven through execution.

Add $4k to the price tag to use an A/C motor instead of D/C and you got regen.

I'd agree with the S10/Ranger route as they are cheap to find and easier to swap and store batteries. If you could find a battery source you can do electric motorcycles. Thats an option I've been thinking about purchasing as a work vehicle.