Chevrolet and Hot Rod magazine turn iconic Project X into an EV
Garage tinkerers have been taking the engines out of vehicles that came from the factory and replacing them with an engine never meant to be there for decades. One of the most iconic magazines supporting fans and builders of the type of vehicle known as a hot rod is MotorTrend's Hot Rod magazine. Chevrolet and Hot Rod have announced a project that will see them take a 1957 Chevy known as Project X and convert it to an electric vehicle. It has had several different powertrains under the hood over the years, and its latest engine swap is something modern.
The latest iteration of Project X will replace the V-8 engine under the hood with an electric motor producing an estimated 340 horsepower. That's certainly not a lot of horsepower, considering at times since the '57 Chevy was purchased by Hot Rod in 1965, the vehicle has been powered by an in-line six and various V-8 engines. Over the years, the car has used carburetors, fuel injection and has been supercharged.
An interesting tidbit about Project X is that it's had so much time, money, and effort put into it since 1965 when it was purchased for $250 that it is considered the million-dollar Chevy. With the automotive world moving quickly towards electric propulsion, enthusiast magazines like Hot Rod know that some garage projects will become electrified in the future. The latest version of Project X will replace its current supercharged LSX V-8 engine with an electric motor producing about 340 horsepower and 330 pound-foot of torque.
That's undoubtedly significantly less horsepower and torque than the current supercharged V-8 under its hood. The battery that will power the electric motor is something Chevrolet is currently developing with the potential to become a next-generation Chevrolet Performance product. Chevy has developed the battery using a modular concept allowing customers to scale the pack capacity to control driving range, costs, packaging, and weight.
The lithium-ion battery in proof of concept form is 400-volt with 30 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Chevrolet expects that the battery pack will have plenty of driving range for a weekend of cruising. In addition to the electric motor and battery pack, the vehicle uses a quick-change differential allowing the driver to just the final drive ratio depending on what they're doing with the car. For example, a shorter final-drive ratio is used when the driver wants quicker acceleration, but when they want to go cruising, a taller gear will reduce performance but extend driving range.
Helping with the conversion project is a company called Cagnazzi Racing based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Other than ripping out the supercharged V-8 and cramming in the electric motor and battery pack, the brake booster system also had to be replaced with an electric booster, and an electrohydraulic power steering pump was used. While the engine is being replaced, the '57 Chevy still rides on the front suspension system from a sixth-generation Corvette installed in 2007.
Ditching the combustion engine allowed the team to remove the exhaust system, which allowed the car to be lowered by two inches. The electrified powertrain the car is getting installed is also lighter, so the car is being changed to utilize softer front springs and stiffer rear springs. While the vehicle is getting a modern electrified powertrain, it still looks like a classic 1957 Chevrolet on the outside. The only change to its interior is a push-button gear selector used in the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette.
Chevrolet isn't the only major automaker considering offering an electric vehicle conversion kit as a performance part. For example, Ford offers the electric motor from the Mach-E under the name Eluminator as an electric motor for conversion projects for $3900. That electric motor produces 281 horsepower and 317 pound-foot of torque.