We passed right by this fairly inconspicuous 1965 Mustang Fastback on display at the SEMA Show quite a few times before taking a closer look, and we’re definitely glad we did. A look under the hood reveals…well…not what you’d expect. You see, the owner, Larry Gareffa, has converted the ’65 Fastback to electric power. Don’t worry – he didn’t yank out a perfectly good V8 to do the conversion, as the car didn’t have an engine when he took possession of it.
Gareffa, who is the president of the Mustang and Classic Ford Club in Las Vegas, originally planned on installing a 347 stroker motor with a Tremc T5 transmssion in the Mustang, but had a sudden thought one day that he should instead convert it to electric power. “I was two weeks from getting it on the road, and I came out of the house one day and said ‘I need to convert this car to electric,’” he told us. “I don’t even know where that came from.”
Over the next eight months Gareffa converted the Mustang to electric power in his garage. The source of power is simple but effective – a dozen 12-volt batteries stuffed into the trunk. The batteries send power to a series wound traction motor intended for hoisting elevators that Gareffa purchased brand new off eBay. The motor is fitted directly onto the car’s 3-speed manual transmission. “Everything [in the driveline] is original from the transmission back,” he told us. “All I did was couple the motor to the transmission.”
Gareffa says the Mustang has a 25-30 mile range, and he can recharge the batteries at any of the local charging stations, prevalent at the local casinos, via a port hidden behind the grille. In case he needs to use a standard electrical outlet, he’s added a 120-volt plug behind the gas cap. It takes up to five hours to completely recharge the batteries from empty. He doesn’t know the exact horsepower rating, but he says it feels about like a vintage six-cylinder Mustang under full throttle.
Gareffa hopes to see the project evolve, and is currently looking for sponsors to convert the car to lithium batteries. He says they would be half the weight of the lead-acid units and would boost his range to 70-75 miles.
You can see Larry Gareffa’s electric-powered 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback in detail in the gallery below.
