debitspread

Hi --

I'm interested in converting an '05 pony to all-electric power. To do that, I'll need to buy either a car with no engine, or one with a completely shot engine.

A couple of questions for the forum:

1. How much is a working engine worth?

For example, I know the Edmunds price for a car purchased from retail or private party, but those are working autos WITH running engines. How much should I deduct from that price for a missing or non-functional engine?

2. How hard do you think it will be to find a non-running car like the one I've described here?

Your comments are welcome.

Cheers from Houston,

Steve

laserred38

umm....mpsautosalvage.com might have an empty body shell...WHY are you doing this? is it for a project at school like those fuel-cell ones?

debitspread

>>umm....mpsautosalvage.com might have an empty body shell...WHY are you doing this? is it for a project at school like those fuel-cell ones?

Thanks, laser. Good tip.


>>WHY are you doing this?
Well, it's a long story, but -- in a nutshell -- I want to drive a car that doesn't use gasoline.

If you're curious, check out: http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/

laserred38

you can buy a S197 mustang "body-in-white" shell from Ford...but then you would have to piece together a drivetrain (seems like you are doing that anyway), interior and suspension separately

debitspread

Well, I got excited for a second there, laser. That's a creative suggestion, but then I saw this sentence on the Body-in-White form:

>>No applications will be considered from non-racers or collectors. <<

And if that weren't enough, those picky people at Ford Racing Parts also had this to say at the bottom of the form:

>>Buyer understands that use of this Body in White in a drivable vehicle will create a non-VIN vehicle and that non-VIN vehicles are illegal for use on public highways. Buyer understands that he/she may face criminal charges for perpetrating use of this Body in White on a public highway. The Body in White is being offered for sale by Ford Motor Company FOR OFF-ROAD RACE and PERFORMANCE USE ONLY and NOT FOR RESALE. <<

Since I want to build a daily driver, that obviously cuts me out of the picture!

Dang.

laserred38

oops sorry...i forgot about that...either way you're going to be looking at a LOT of legal issues to get that car running legally...maybe if you contact Ford about it they may make an exception and point you in the right direction...maybe they'll even sponsor your project

flash20

Hey what's up man I'm in houston!

debitspread

Howdy, Flash.

Nice to hear from you. As you can tell, I'm about to jump into the deep end of the pool!

cobra232

so i take it you will depend on highly polluting coal fired powerplants to supply the electric for your car

why not use propane or if you want to convert engines use a diesel and burn B100 biodiesel. non polluting and and will get 35-40mpg and with a kit from greasecar.com you can run used deep fryer oil

Xemeth

You ever smell the exhaust from one of those? It smells like burnt pop corn, lol.

That stuff is so clean, too. You can literally run the car, then stick your finger in the tail pipe and it's almost spotless. We have a car like that in my alternative fuels class.