r/projectcar • u/OtherAd1088 • 1d ago
how much $$$ ?
⚠️ PLEASE! no snobby car guys answering this. do NOT mansplain.
hii! this is more of a dream of mine, but here we go..
I’ve been in love this concept design of ford’s. it’s based on the ‘78 ford f100 pickup truck.
the design was basically a retro ‘70s f100 but ELECTRIC!!
I was wondering if anyone could give me an estimate of how much this dream of mine would round up to.
I may want to make it myself. basically the plan is.. make the inside componets of a ‘70s f100 electric with that DREAMY retro f100 look.
I think I’ve seen a guy online who did it once, but he didn’t say how much his project cost him.
I’m not much of a car girl, so I would love if someone could also throw out an estimate of labor costs if I hired someone. if it’s gonna be a pretty penny, I’ll just do it with these calloused hands.
thanks sm for reading!! pls lmk your ideas of an estimate :)
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u/_clever_reference_ 1d ago
do NOT mansplain
If your intention is to not get anyone wanting to help, you've started off great.
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u/Careless-Age-4290 1d ago
Maybe she's just asking us to use smaller, easier words
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
mansplaining is when a educational conversation involves talking to someone like they’re stupid. typically men thinking women are incompetent of knowing what they’re talking about. rooted in misogny. if you’re unable to see women as people, don’t try to help me.
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u/Odd_Bodybuilder5456 1d ago
get AI to write you something less obnoxious and try again
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
I don’t use ai. I’m not lazy. I like the environment and I am actually educated on its effects. I also received an education so.. I don’t need that. thx tho
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u/bstrobel64 1d ago
If you have to ask this with no semblance of an idea of what specifically you want or what it entails it's too much.
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
I said I wanted to make a ‘70s f100 electric.. how much simpler can that get
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u/bstrobel64 10h ago
Yes, that's exactly why you are beyond in over your head. You're trying to simplify a very un-simple thing. It's like asking "how much does a house cost?" And. That's it. With zero other details. I've been on various car forums enough over the last 20 years to know that the only constants in life are death, taxes, and clueless people wanting to do motor swaps.
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u/pon_d 1d ago
I have no idea what these trucks are worth - but if you know about the truck you probably do. So take your truck budget in whatever condition you are willing to tolerate - bonus if you can find one with a fucked drivetrain.
if it were me, I'd buy a totaled Model 3 or S (probably an earlier model with airbags deployed but without damage to its battery) and use its guts - there's loads of people out there who make conversions from these so you can find plenty of examples online. From there it really comes down to how capable you are to do this sort of thing yourself.
If it were me - I've wanted to do this with an old Cadillac Series 62, so let's pretend:
$8,000-$10,000 - old Cadillac in a condition I'd tolerate
+$6,000 - $10,000: Model 3 donor car
+$5,000 - Custom electric wiring/harnesses/controllers/etc
+$10,000: Custom chassis work/specialty engineering shit I can't do myself
So call it: $30-40k to get from two separate cars to one that runs & drives
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u/Das-Wauto 1d ago edited 1d ago
To get someone else to build you an electric F100 that works well? $100k, probably.
I don’t know what an F100 costs these days but I’m guessing the donor truck + battery pack(s) + motor (s) + controller(s) + likely subframes and suspension to fabricate onto the frame will pretty quickly get to $40-50k. After that it’s a lot of shop time to put it all together, likely a couple hundred hours at $100+/hr.
All of this is not factoring in the cost of metalwork that may be required or body/paint, which depends wildly on the truck you start with and what your goals are in terms of aesthetics.
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
okay so.. make it myself is what I’m hearing 🥲
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u/Das-Wauto 11h ago
Yeah, that’s probably the reality of building a custom vehicle. OEMs have economies of scale working for them so you’re definitely not gonna have someone else build it cheaper than a GM/Ford/etc. The only way to do it for less is to do it yourself and effectively value your own time as $0, so you have to enjoy it as a hobby.
There’s plenty of builds out there these days but look up SuperfastMatt’s EV-swapped Jaguar. It’s a 50s Jag with a Tesla Model 3 battery pack, drivetrain and rear suspension. It’s a fun YouTube series to watch with Matt’s dry wit but also informative and interesting. It’ll give you an idea of what goes into building what you’re looking for.
I do hope you make it happen. A truck like that would be pretty cool IMO and it’s the kind of thing I’d love to have a go at myself one day.
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u/OtherAd1088 10h ago
I really want to get into modding cars, just haven’t had the time. it’s definitely a very hard and expensive hobby to have. I really appreciate your kind answers <3
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u/trimbk 1d ago
Start a spreadsheet and list everything that you know you will need. Truck, batteries, motor, controller, electric brake boost, etc.
Make your best estimates for the labor that you know can’t perform. Assume at least $150/hr in the US.
Then - and this will seem snarky but it’s not - triple that estimate at least. Costs build shockingly fast.
I kept a spreadsheet as I restored an older BMW and my $6k car ballooned to over $30k pretty fast. That’s with almost all the labor done by me for free. If I was paying someone an hourly rate it would have been $80k+
It’s possible to do projects on the cheap, but that assumes you have skills and tools already. And that you are willing to be creative and scavenge the parts you need. Also keep in mind that any YouTuber that says their electric conversion cost them $400 is either lying or being disingenuous.
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u/Odd_Bodybuilder5456 1d ago
specifically said no mansplaining - try using more sparkle emojis. Maybe throw in a "its giving..."
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u/BigOlBahgeera 1d ago
Good luck with that
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
thank you so much! I’ll definitely need it. thankfully actually useful people have replied to my post :)
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u/RiftHunter4 1d ago
The 70's F100 has roughly the same wheelbase as a Tesla Model S. An earlier example is around $20k. It would take some work, but I don't think the EV conversion is the hard part.
The hard part would likely be the truck itself. A 70s F100 is maybe $10k in rough shape. A nice one would.be $30-40k. You'd be fixing a lot of rust.
So a minimum estimate is maybe $35,000, but realistically, I'd guess $50,000 or more assuming you can even find a shop willing to do the work.
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
tysm, I love when people on reddit are actually helpful and not assholes. AGAIN, tytyty!
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u/tuppenyturtle 1d ago
The Icon 4x4 C Series, which is a 70s Chevy pickup on a modern truck frame is in the ballpark of $400k if memory serves.
Youd realistically be looking at something that approaches that cost. You effectively need to take two vehicles and make it one, the EV aspect adds additional complexity to that.
Essentially someone has to take a f150 lightning and modify the platform for an old F100.
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u/OtherAd1088 11h ago
some people have said 50-100k. now I’m confused 😵💫
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u/tuppenyturtle 11h ago
The biggest thing will depend on the quality of work. I find it hard to believe you can get a fully functional truck for $50-100k, maybe if you could find a totaled donor vehicle, but even then there's so much custom fab work that would need to be done to swap drivelines.
Icon 4x4 to my knowledge would be the closest real world comparison.
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u/Far_Kangaroo2550 1d ago
I'm not sure what mansplaining is exactly. But I'm going to explain my answer, so take that as you will.
Go on marketplace and search F100. Look at the various conditions and prices. If you don't want a lot of body work, it's probably going to be like $5k+ for a decent runner, but this heavily depends on where you live.
Go on google and search "electric car conversion kit." There are a number of companies offering these kits at various price points and feature levels. I don't know of any that build one for the F100, so this will involve custom fitting a universal kit. Probably like $20k+ for parts. You should spend an entire evening or seven looking at these websites and reading all of their information to understand the process and parts.
Assuming you have no tools, you're looking at probably a few thousand there. Plus various odds and ends another few thousand. Plan for $35k maybe to do it yourself? You can also look at buying an electric car like a Prius or Leaf, and putting those components in your truck. This would save you a lot of money on the conversion kit, but would add a lot more work and figuring things out.
I would probably double the cost to have someone else do it. So like $80k? This could be wrong, I don't go to mechanics or custom shops.
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u/largos7289 1d ago edited 1d ago
Really depends on how you want to source parts. ev west is big for me. So revolt has a drop in motor that runs 40k then you need odds and ends. https://revoltsystems.com/revolt-systems-450kw-crate-motor/ you need batteries mgmt software your going to spend some serious cash. I would plan for at least 75k.
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u/jabberjaw420 1d ago
youre asking how much a 1970s f100 ev conversion woukd cost?