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interesting article about converting classic cars to electric power

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Hi all,

I had a friend that converted his Healey to electric power. He was restoring the Healey and pulled the engine and transmission. To move it around the garage he rented space in, He attached a tow bar on the Healey's front wheels and the other end of the bar to garage's folk lift. Now it moves via an electric motor.

I know, not what you were looking for,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
There are well regarded Nasty Boys with American V8s instead of the original engines, so maybe electric motors have a place in the Austin Healey ecosystem? After all, the Healey badge does include a lightning bolt.
 
This may be the way of the "future," and we may be going there. But no electric motor will ever have the sweet sound of a Healey exhaust. Or feel like a Healey does when running out of revs in 4th gear and the driver clicks the overdrive switch.
 
blueskies said:
This may be the way of the "future," and we may be going there. But no electric motor will ever have the sweet sound of a Healey exhaust. Or feel like a Healey does when running out of revs in 4th gear and the driver clicks the overdrive switch.
Click to expand...

Couldnt agree more .
Theres no way you could get me to drive an overpriced hair dryer , and nothing can equal the sound and feel of either my Healeys or my Aston Martin V8 Vantage ,just pushing the start button on that gives me goosebumps .
Cars with engines have soul .
Electric cars are just ......a tin box on wheels .
 
I doubt if any of us guys who spent lots of money with Abarth, Ansa, Smithy's, Borla, Magnaflow, etc are ever going to sign on to quiet cars. I owned two of the Fiat 124 Spiders that were used in the article's electric conversion.and although I always would have liked a little more acceleration, I wouldn't have traded the sound of that car revving to 7.000 rpm for the hum of an electric motor.
 
I put an aftermarket muffler system--think it was a MagnaFlow--on my Ranger and I regretted it almost from the minute I installed it; the drone drives me nuts (fortunately, I don't have to drive it too often or far). My BJ8 has Heartthrob mufflers from JC Whitney and they really bark, but I barely hear them at speed (I like to think I'm outrunning the sound ;)). My Mustang GT has 'adjustable' mufflers--you can change the tone and volume with the flick of a switch--the sound is piped into the car as well, and for the most part I like it but it gets objectionable on long trips. My BN2 has Falcon SS my dad bought, and they were tinny sounding at first but after a few hundred miles they sound like a proper British sports car. But, yeah, I'd miss the sound of an engine (though, if I had an extra $60K around I might buy a Mustang Mach-E to save my GT from being used for short commutes).
 
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