Offset by not having to carry around a big engine block. Some EV conversions are actually lighter than the original car. It mostly depends on what type of batteries you use, and how many.

I wouldn’t mind so much if they targeted all restomods, but singling out EV conversions while apparently being OK with modern gas engine swaps is just pure hipocrisy.

If you’re swapping out the engine, might as well swap out the whole electrical system. World’s first reliable Jag! (except maybe the I-Pace)

Battery packs can be stuffed into all sorts of places. Most conversions split the pack into two halves - one in the engine bay, one under the trunk floor or behind the back seat.

That would be awesome!

You can convert a Miata much more easily than that. Several companies make adapter plates that fit any electric motor with a NEMA B faceplate pattern (almost all motors sold for conversions use this pattern). An NA or NB is one of the easiest cars to convert.

There is such a thing as a solenoid “piston” engine, but it’s horrendously inefficient, and wouldn’t really be feasible on the scale of a real car. Fascinating to watch in miniature, though.

You don’t need to. Hook up a DC-DC converter (available from any EV parts vendor) and you’ve got 12V accessory power without the mechanical complexity of an alternator.

There are some good forum sites. DIYElectricCar.com and Endless-Sphere.com are probably the biggest ones.

Electric motors can spin in both directions. All motor controllers have a “reverse switch” you can program to tell the motor to spin the other way. That’s how factory-built EVs do it.

It’s not that simple.

Just don’t try to “rev” it while shifting and you should be fine.

Seconded. Electric GT is another good shop.

lol... that would be hilarious if it could actually do that. In practice, going into a higher gear means less torque to the wheels, and with electric motors, the torque does taper off once you get into higher RPMs. Past a certain point, air resistance will exceed available torque and you won’t go any faster. I’d…

“a teen-looking kid on a bicycle who rode by and yelled “Ugly-ass Mustang” at me while I drove by”

Happy trails, Aaron!

You’re welcome! If you’re on Facebook, this is an excellent group:

Absolutely. It’s actually easier to drive than a regular stick - since it doesn’t idle, you can start off from a stop without using the clutch pedal. This would really save your left leg in stop-and-go traffic, and you’d still be able to shift whenever you want.

It’s much more difficult with Tesla motors because they’re not designed to be separated from the gearbox.