Inside EV West: Can You Really Convert a Classic Car to Electric?

What happens when a bunch of old-school hot rodders get their hands on Tesla motors? On this episode of Bug Hugs, I stop by EV West for a behind-the-scenes tour with Michael to see how they're bringing modern electric performance into classic Volkswagens, Porsches, muscle cars and more. And these guys aren't afraid to have some fun. We check out Tesla-powered vintage VWs, piles of salvaged motors and battery modules, a solar-powered shop, their Bonneville land-speed project, a seriously fast VW Thing, and even a zero-mile DeLorean that's never been driven — and is about to take its first drive under electric power. Michael also talks about something that's especially interesting for anyone who loves original cars: how EV West approaches vintage Volkswagen conversions using factory mounting points so the systems can be reversible rather than permanently altering the car. Whether you think electrifying a classic is the coolest thing ever or absolute sacrilege, there is some incredible engineering happening inside this shop. So what do you think? Would you EV-convert a classic VW... or keep it air-cooled forever? Be safe. Be kind. And keep buggin'. #BugHugs #Volkswagen #EVWest #VW #ClassicCars #ElectricCars #TeslaSwap Chapters: 00:00 - Welcome to EV West 01:30 - Projects 03:22 - Hot Rodders Go Electric 04:57 - Electric Cars Came First?! 06:09 - Reversible VW Conversions 08:37 - Project Cars 09:33 - Charging Cars With Solar Power 10:09 - A $150,000 VW Bus?! 12:39 - Giving Wrecked Teslas a Second Life 14:04 - How Far Can an Electric VW Thing Go? 14:57 - Inside the Tesla Parts Warehouse 18:36 - A Celebrity EV Build 20:04 - EV West's Land-Speed Car 20:40 - A Zero-Mile DeLorean?! 24:31 - Testing Tesla Motors 27:18 - Choosing the Right EV Motor 29:05 - Outro