A Car Show in Slaton and the Vintage EV Dream, Snagit!
Last weekend, Grizz, D, and I trekked all the way out to Slaton to check out the Caprock Classic Car Club's 24th annual car show on the square. I spent a fair part of my youth preparing for and hanging out at car shows. Old habits die hard. (And there's the Slaton Bakery's vanilla wafers over there for added incentive.)
I have a weakness for greyhounds and hood ornaments.
Lots of cool cars were parked around the square. My favorite oddballs were a gorgeous Morris Minor, a 1907 Buick, a hot-rod Studebaker Lark wagon, and a Triumph GT with right hand drive. Overall, it was an amazing collection of things that burn a lot of gasoline.
Morris Minor
Dodge Rat Rod
Dodge Delivery
There was a solid tie for the car-I'd-most-like-to-electrify award: a 1961 Beetle (with every possible accessory you could imagine) and a sweet little 1965 Ranchero (in basic white). I was thankful to see no hippie vans or Allstate Jetsweeps with for sale signs.
I did encounter two eco-friendly vehicles I wanted to bring home in the Town Square Antique Mall, but they weren't really projects.
A Schwinn Black Phantom and a Sidewalk Surfboard!
When we left Slaton, a truly amazing thing happened. I was not overwhelmed with the fever to build (resurrect, restore, restomod, convert...) an old car. We hopped in the Ford Escape Hybrid, turned up the AC, and headed back to Lubbock reveling in the comfort of a modern vehicle with slightly lower than average carbon emissions.
It was crazy cool not to be scheming for that next big build. Lots of great memories resurfaced as my mind flipped through thoughts of cars I've owned or worked on or wanted, but I knew how frustrating it would be to tackle another build these days, and, well, there's enough frustration now. Who needs more? When I realized there was no jones, I breathed an unexpected sigh of relief. And the feeling lasted...
Los Mocos Locos EV Club
...all of two days. It wasn't the car show that got me, though. It was a Monday morning youtube feed.
Be still my heart - an electric A100 pickup!
In my feed was a video titled 1969 Dodge A100 Pick-up Electric Conversion. (Click the link if you dare.) I watched the simple, two-minute video and every little dendrite in the old noggin lit up! Endorphin overload! It was better than cookies straight out of the oven! It was time to build a classic EV, people!
The least cluttered engine compartment I've ever seen! So simple. So clean.
I'm writing this post three days later. My hands have stopped shaking a bit. Life is getting back to normal, but I may need professional help.
And all the other EV components are contained in a cross-bed toolbox!
No, I'm not going to cash in the 401k or anything like that. But I feel the EV glow. And everywhere I turn, somebody (like Erik Shilling over at Jalopnik) is encouraging me to jump in.
Okay, once again I'm going to act like I got it out of my system and go on a search for EV-conversion grants and scholarships. I have a pair of dust-covered Silver Pigeon scooters that need an electron infusion.
May we all find better, healthier, and cleaner ways to get around. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
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