How a Classic Car Goes Electric
Moment Motor Company transforms beloved vintage models into EVs.
A 1961 Austin-Healey waiting for a battery to be installed by technicians at the Moment Motor Company in Austin, Texas. The company retrofits vintage cars into EVs.
Photographer: Carter Johnston for Bloomberg Green
When it comes to driving, Dan Henry has a paradox to navigate. He’s a climate-conscious, time-starved tech executive, and yet he loves old cars, particularly the 1961 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II. The solution: Retrofit the vehicle, to strip out the oily guts and replace them with a battery.
Electrifying an old vehicle is elaborate and expensive. Sixty‑plus years ago, car designers weren’t thinking about where to put a massive battery. Moment Motor Co., an Austin shop, has converted four of Henry’s cars. The crew starts by taking a 3D scan of the engine bay, transmission tunnel (basically, the car’s plumbing), and trunk. Then the data is loaded into a CAD model to determine where to fit the power pack (as is most often the case, multiple small batteries are used).