This 1970 Scout Sat In A Field For Years. Now It’s An EV With Its Original 4-Speed Manual

Converting classic cars into EVs isn’t anything new, but now there’s a new player that promises to keep costs relatively low for an industry that has been inundated with six-figure projects.

Canada’s Beachman, known for its e-bikes, has opened its Special Vehicles Division, which handles EV conversions starting at $7,000. The startup’s latest creation is a 1970 International Harvester Scout 800A that got an electric transplant after sitting unloved in a field for years.

The classic American SUV went through a minor restoration process that included cutting out the rust from the driver’s floor, freshening up the original white steel wheels, reupholstering the seats, and rebuilding the dash. 

The original gas engine was removed from under the hood, but the rest of the Scout’s drivetrain was left untouched. A bog-standard 147-horsepower (110-kilowatt) electric motor sourced from a 2019 Nissan Leaf was bolted to the original four-speed manual transmission through a custom-made adapter plate. As a result, this EV still has a clutch pedal, a gear stick, low range, and four-wheel drive.

A 40-kilowatt-hour battery pack lifted from the same 2019 Leaf powers it all and provides between 93 and 124 miles (150-200 kilometers) of range on a full charge. That’s not exactly record-setting, but the car’s owner only uses the converted Scout to deliver beer from his brewery on warm summer days in Toronto. As an urban delivery vehicle with plenty of character, the boxy Scout does the job just right.

A full charge takes about eight hours on a Level 2 charger, but that’s perfectly adequate for the car’s purpose.

Swapping a gas engine with an electric powertrain comes with a few strings attached, so it’s not exactly a plug-and-play deal. Because the electric motor doesn’t idle, it can’t be used to produce vacuum for the old brake booster, so an independent brake pump needed to be fitted. The steering also needed a rethink, and the original dash had to be modded to display information about the EV system.

Beachman says car conversions start at $25,000 for vehicles with a manual transmission. Automatics cost more because the gearbox has to come out, but the basic pack is the same: proven off-the-shelf components from mass-made cars that make ownership easier in the long run.