The 1980 Citroën Karin

Re:The 1980 Citroën Karin by maxerickson on Thursday August 10, 2017 @09:03AM (#14979189)

Small shops in the US regularly turn out custom made vehicles with modern engines.

Lots of them use parts out of junked cars, but also "crate engines" are a thing, you can just buy a powertrain from any number of suppliers (for instance, GM: http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/crate-engines ).

And then there are specialist machine shops that build linkages and such to go between whatever components, at whatever length.

I imagine safety regulations and cost are the big blocker for small scale manufacturing.

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Re:The 1980 Citroën Karin by dsfyu404ed on Thursday August 10, 2017 @09:25AM (#14979370)

People have been doing EV conversions since forever.

If electric becomes a viable alternative to remans and crate engines the OEMs will just offer a "crate engine" electric drive-train that bolts where an LS or SBC would go and the stuff needed to make it plug and play.

You don't need a custom vehicle, just an S10 with a blown motor.

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Re:The 1980 Citroën Karin by maxerickson on Thursday August 10, 2017 @09:44AM (#14979536)

I was responding to the other poster's assertion that electric drivetrains will be easier to obtain. I don't see how there can be anything that is really meaningfully easier than ordering something out of a catalog.

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