[TRUCK WHOOSHES]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: How do you say "full send" in electric?
Well, Ford says it by saying, "Eluminator."
What does that even mean?
It's an old truck on top of a brand new EV.
It's a multimillion-dollar SEMA project build,
and it's a one-off that I to get behind the wheel of today.
I'm one of the first people outside of Ford
to drive this thing.
I'm really excited!
And also, very nervous.
At Edmunds, we review hundreds of cars, trucks, and SUVs
each year, but typically it's new stuff
that's just coming to market and competing for your attention
and your money.
Because of that, we don't really get
to talk about old vehicles or resto-mods or modifications
in general, and that's part of what makes
the Eluminator so damn cool.
It's a classic vehicle, but with modern underpinnings
that definitely are not period-correct.
It has two electric motors, the batteries,
and a partial interior from a Mustang Mach-E GT,
and more than 600 pound-feet of torque.
Come on let's go!
Woo-hoo!
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you can go to edmunds.com/sellmycar.
Come on, you want to sell it, get into one of these.
This is a one of one; it's the only vehicle like it out there.
And it's built in conjunction with Ford Performance and MLE
Race Cars, with a custom chassis from The Roadster Shop.
It's got 19 by 10 inch wheels at all four corners,
wrapped in Michelin rubber.
And there's a "frunk," under the hood.
There's no engine up here, so you
can have storage for your stuff in a truck from the '70s.
Pretty rad.
It's also painted in avalanche gray,
which is a really nice color, with Cerakote copper accents.
But honestly, this is enough talking about how it looks.
I want to take it out for a drive.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So, what exactly is an "Eluminator"?
Well, it's a fun name that Ford came up
with to title this, a 1978 Ford F-100
with the powertrain underneath of a Mach-E GT Performance.
Instead of just one of the two crate motors, it's got two.
And, it is rocking--
ha-ha, woo-- 480 horsepower and 634 pound-feet
of torque, which is more than a respectable number
for any hot rodder.
Plus, it's all-wheel-drive.
So, what is a crate motor?
Well, it's kind of what it sounds like.
And it normally refers to engines, crate engines,
that you buy for your resto-mod, or your modification
project, or your drag car.
Or for some kind of cool coffee table.
But in this case, a crate motor is the electric motor
you can buy from Ford.
They'll send it to you and you can install it
on whatever vehicle you want.
Now in this case, they've used two of those,
which is the same setup as an all-wheel-drive Mach-E GT,
to make this car--
Ha-ha!
Shoot, this truck, excuse me, shoot right out of the hole.
Ha-ha!
It's so fun to drive.
Oh, man.
You might be asking who's this for?
And I think it's for people like me.
I love modifying cars.
I've got a '90s Integra that I've
spent more money than I care to admit on,
and I've been modifying cars for years.
Some of my fondest memories from when I was a kid
was modifying vehicles with my father, stuff
like Impalas and Studebakers.
Or my uncle's 1965 Ford F-100 that he's owned originally
since 1966.
He's the first owner.
Vehicles like this, I feel like should stay on the road as long
as possible.
They've got a lot of character and history too.
And if you want to keep them in your family,
or even in your own personal driveway, for decades,
gasoline might not be your best option.
First of all, it's going to be hard to get
one that will comply with CARB legal standards in California,
at least if it's built after 1975.
Secondly, you might want something
that's more sustainable, which I feel like this is.
What I'm saying is, like a lot of people,
modifying vehicles feels like it's in my blood.
It's something that's been going on in my family
for generations, and I don't ever want to stop doing it.
And I also don't want the decline of gasoline engines
to contribute to me stopping what I love.
I want to keep this hobby going.
And if we can keep it going for generations
because we have electric motors, I'm here for it.
It'll certainly make your average Sunday morning, cars
and coffee meet up significantly quieter,
but you won't hear any complaints from me.
And this thing really does go like stink.
I mean, it feels so strange to have
all that modern electric power inside something with old iron.
It really does.
Now, the interior is a bit of a mishmash.
Sure there's panels and things in here from the '78 F-100,
but most of it is Mach E, especially this massive screen
that takes over the dashboard, this Mach E steering wheel,
even though it has "F-100" crudely stickered on there,
and this Mach E center console and these Mach E seats.
One of the problems I have, though,
is that this steering wheel won't go any higher.
My thigh is just straight up run into this thing getting
in and out of the vehicle and while I'm driving it.
It's not a very good driving position.
And part of that problem is due in part to the seats.
Yeah sure, it's nice to have heated modern seats,
but they're bigger.
Those heating elements take up a lot of space.
And so it gets me closer to the steering wheel, which doesn't
have a lot of adjustable range.
There is something, however, you don't
get in most modern vehicles, which
is, look at all the visibility!
So much window space.
I love it.
And it is surprisingly quiet.
Now, because you've got a quiet powertrain,
you hear all the wind noise.
I mean I would do some work on the seals.
Obviously this is a SEMA build, it's not production.
But my mind is already racing with the modifications
I want to do to this vehicle.
[TRUCK RUSHES]
Nobody in front of us.
Off we go, ha-ha!
Woo!
Oh man, that thing is fast.
The other thing about this interior
is, with the steering wheel not able to go any higher,
I can't see how fast I'm going.
It's just a straight dive down to that speedometer.
It's not great.
Is it comfortable?
Absolutely.
Is it cool to look at?
100%.
Is it exactly how I'd do it?
Probably not.
There are some changes I'd make, but that's
what modifying is all about, making it your own.
And I love that this vehicle exists.
The electric crate motors cost about four grand each--
[DOOR THUDS]
Ooh, I like that sound.
--which is a decent price.
But if you're resourceful, you could probably source an engine
swap for your F-100 for less.
Now what do the electric crate motors come with?
Glad you asked.
You get a high-voltage motor-to-traction inverter
harness.
You get a low-voltage harness connector.
And you get the vent tube assembly.
But what you don't get is more important.
You don't get a traction inverter.
You don't get a control system, sounds important to me.
And, there's no battery.
Where am I supposed to get a battery?
Honestly, Ford Performance just doesn't
have a battery available.
So you can buy the motors, but there's
nothing to power the vehicle.
You're going to have to source that on your own, at least
for now.
So maybe you could get them from a salvaged EV,
or buy a whole other vehicle and Frankenstein something out
of that.
But unfortunately, it's not currently part of the program.
So who is this vehicle for?
Who are electric crate motors for?
Well it could be for you, if you want a better driving
experience.
Sure, I miss the charm of a rumbling V-8,
but there's no tailpipe emissions coming out here,
and this thing is really quiet and smooth on the highway.
Plus, it's kind of a cool idea to plug it in Saturday night
and go out for a Sunday cruise.
You don't even have to stop at a gas station.
And if you're looking to modify your vehicle in California,
you always have to deal with CARB restrictions, which
is the California Air Resources Board,
and thankfully these electric crate motors
are CARB-legal in all 50 states.
So you can pop it in even if your vehicle was
built after 1975 and have no emissions problems.
Do I want this swap in my own personal vehicle?
Not yet, at least not if I have to do the legwork.
Sourcing your own batteries would be pretty difficult,
as I'm sure a number of YouTubers
who've swapped Tesla batteries into other vehicles
can attest to.
But I'm grateful to people like that.
And I'm grateful for this program.
Same way I'm grateful to the first people that
decided to take vehicles and modify them to run away
from the police and hide moonshine,
because that's how we got NASCAR.
Same way I'm grateful to the first person that
swapped a Chevy LS engine into a '32 Ford, because the Grand
National Roadster Show wouldn't be the same without it.
And the same way I'm grateful for the first person
to turbocharge an Integra, because I didn't want
to be the first person to have to figure that out,
but I'm glad my car is faster as a result.
This is a big moment in car history.
Electric crate motors might not be for everybody,
but I'll tell you what.
If it can expand car culture, if it can give more people access
to this kind of fun, I'm all for it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]