Retiree turns heads while cruising in century-old car with modern twist: 'I've never seen another one like it'

If you could travel back in time, what's one thing you would bring with you from the present? 

Paul Shinn knows his answer: a modern electric car battery to stick inside an old Ford Model A automobile. 

Sounds specific? Well, Shinn actually got to experience a 1928 Model A pickup truck that was refurbished to run fully electric, as he documented in a YouTube post.

Shinn proclaims to be the No. 1 car guy on YouTube with content about these vintage vehicles. He was delighted to check out the unique conversion that turned one of the world's first noisy gas guzzlers into a sleek, incognito EV. 

Retiree Dennis Thompson, who retrofitted the car, even let Shinn take it for a spin.

"I've never experienced no noise in a Model A," Shinn exclaimed as the test drive began. "Hit the accelerator and off it goes. The torque on this is incredible."

Thompson broke down the vehicle's construction as they drove around Salt Lake City, Utah. He used a few Tesla components — including a Model S battery setup — but everything else was done with stock parts and limited modifications. 

This approach allowed Thompson to preserve the original manual transmission. That means noise from the gears still gives the driving experience some of that authentic flair — just with the added bonuses of regenerative braking, smooth handling, and no toxic, planet-heating fumes coming out of the back.

This kind of conversion breathes new life into a car as old as a Model A. Thompson has already put 3,000 miles on it and reports that it has an 85-mile range. 

Granted, that puts the electrified Model A well below the charge capacity of a modern EV. But its power and torque are double what the original could muster, according to InsideEvs.

If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost 💰 Battery range 🔋 Power and speed 💪 The way it looks 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Plus, the point of a passion project like this is not necessarily to handle long road trips. As Thompson and Shinn discussed, the value of EV conversions is to bring something run down into the present, improve it while preserving its character, and then share it to inspire others.

"I've never seen another one like it," John Begg, president of the Model A Ford Foundation, Inc., told Shinn in his video. 

Meanwhile, a sticker on the back of the Model A said it all: "Gone Green!" 

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