A Romanian passionate about old cars transformed his Dacia 1300 into an electric car. The investment was expensive, but it was worth every penny. His project went viral on social media, but also attracted mean comments.
“The Dacia 1300 model converted to an electric car, with a 40KW engine and a 20KWh battery. The result was a power of 41 HP. The car reaches a maximum speed of 110 km/h in one step. It has a mechanical gearbox, which comes from a Dacia Papuc diesel. The car was homologated at RAR (everything was fine), coming out with an autonomy of 155 km. The conversion cost €26,000 + VAT”, it says in the description made on the Car spotting group”
The post gathered dozens of comments and heated debates
“A good way to spend your money if you have a passion. They spend on cigarettes, cigarettes, groceries, etc. Respect!”one member of the group wrote.
Most appreciated the result, but there were also mean comments.
“Better leave it with the original engine” commented one member of the group
“I don’t want to give a damn, but how stupid can you be to pay 26k euros to get 40 ponies and 155km of autonomy? “someone else wrote.
The answer came from another commenter:
“Why does it seem like a lot to you? 26k for something that is essentially DIY, made out of passion, is absolutely not much. Does 155km range seem a little to you? For a car that will most likely go out on the weekend for a 20 km walk or to some parade? 150 km are enough for a week of daily commuting to the office in Bucharest. Winter. In traffic. Come on, be serious! Rejoice for the passion of man and that’s it. You don’t like it, move on. Here the man really didn’t bother with anything. If it was a modification done on the knee, at the vericu garage, which would not have passed the RAR forever, I can understand feeling offended and put in danger in traffic. But that is NOT the case. The car is homologated. It is suitable for public roads. Spor! PS: congrats for the project!”
Three engineers and a former policeman bring electric cars to life
We remind you that Adevărul noted, last year, that a new niche is taking shape on the car market: that of converting fuel-powered cars into electric ones.
One such place is in Pitesti, where four car enthusiasts accept projects that, until recently, seemed impossible.
Dacia 1300 electric Photo: AXD Tuning
It’s a car workshop, where the four daredevils, aged between 26 and 49, give old cars an upgrade. Three of them are automotive engineers and the fourth graduated from the Police Academy.
The team that turns old cars into electric models Photo: AXD Tuning
Galateea from Pitesti: electric Dacia 1300
An interesting project of the four from Arges is a classic Dacia 1300, from 1981, which they transformed into an electric car. The car was offered in 2023 as a prize by a betting agency in a nationwide campaign.
The car was painted, its mechanical components were removed and its suspension and steering were prepared for the installation of the new powertrain. In the Pitesti workshop, the Dacia 1300 arrived on wheels, but only in the form of a body. The people of Argeš had the task of installing an electric propulsion system, complete with batteries and charger.
The transformation. PHOTO: AXD Tuning
For this project, Paul, Aurel, Mirel and Radu prepared thoroughly, especially since they had to work against the clock. They had only four days to prepare the conversion. Pressed for time, the four had previously worked on another Dacia so that there would be no surprises when the real project began.
“We got an old Dacia from a friend, full of rust, so we could work on it, in the absence of the car. I made the boxes, I made the wiring. I worked for a month and a half on that model, after which they came with Dacia. We had four days to equip it, to mount it, to be ready“, Aurel remembers.
