[Kapoor] When we're able to finish this car,
it'll just mean that we're one step closer to solving the world's climate problem.
[Reporter] Meet Ratik Kapoor, in this underground garage in Calgary,
he believes he can help save the world.
[Kapoor] I am very passionate about solving the climate problem, I think it's super important
that our generation takes on the problem head-on and doesn't try to just skirt around
and figure out like, oh like we could do this in the future, we might be able to do
that in the future. I think we need action now and it definitely needs to be done.
[Reporter] Taking action here means a group of young people converting this 1966 Volvo
into a fully-electric car.
But electric cars are now being built all over the world.
How is saving this old clunker going to help with climate change?
[Kapoor] So the problem with electric cars right now is they're just not as affordable,
so what we're doing is we're dropping the price
and taking old scrap stuff and transforming it into what we need for our car so that one day,
others will be able to do the same and more of us can afford electric cars.
[Reporter] That's why these University of Calgary engineering
students are determined to drag this car from the 60s into the present.
The team has already replaced the old gas engine. What you see there is an electric motor.
Today, Kalen Cameron is working on the brakes.
It's super fun, it comes with its own set of challenges every time that we work on it.
If we extend it, we can get access at the front but then,
we need to make sure that everything's really tight to the bottom of the car.
[Reporter] Kalen is trying to figure out how to
install the brakes now that the internal combustion engine isn't there anymore.
We only have limited access to manuals that are from 1962 or 64 or anything in between
and there's always a small little parts that we need to fix or replace
that wasn't compatible between a gas vehicle to an electric vehicle.
[Mowat] So I'm just working on removing the centre console here,
so we're going to 3D print a piece here to make this look a little bit more sleek.
[Reporter] Chase Mowat tells me that by working here,
he's come to realize that this Volvo is much more than a car.
I feel very proud, I feel very lucky to be on a team like this,
feels very rewarding to be part of something I think, that's probably bigger than myself.
[Reporter] That's really the sentiment of everyone here.
They're committed. They've put in months of work, thousands of hours all on their own time.
[Abdrazakov] So I'm just testing the distance and just seeing
if I get close to 20 centimetres, you'll see that it says, it gives me an error.
[Reporter] One of the leaders here is Camilla Abdrazakov. It's not lost on her that as they
work on the car, the world's leaders are meeting once again to try to solve the climate crisis
I feel like there's just been so much talk about climate change, it's always talk, it's always we
need to do something, we should do something and nobody ends up doing anything and so I'm really
happy that we are at a stage where we are doing something. It's not just talking for us, we're
constantly in the garage here working, making a difference and that's what matters really.
[Reporter] Camilla says for the project to be successful,
it isn't enough to just electrify this old car.
To really have an impact on climate change,
they need people to buy into their idea and want to drive cars like this one.
That's why the team is modernizing the Volvo.
Complete with cutting edge sound system and climate control.
Ratik tells me that if it weren't for COVID,
the car would be done. Now that they're able to work on it again, he can see the finish line.
I would love to get behind the wheel of that car and drive it, as soon as we have it in a drivable
state, I hope I'm the first one to take it out for a spin and show that like even though this is like
an old 1960s car, we converted it to an electric and it's capable of doing exactly what the other
cars on the road are capable of doing. And at the end of the day, yes people want to drive this.
[Reporter] This car is being reborn out of the climate crisis
and these young people work as hard as they can on it to help save their planet.
But Camilla, even at 20, says her focus is not only on herself.
When I have kids, I want to be able to tell them that I was part of the solution to climate change,
not that I just sat around, did nothing. It's so easy to be overwhelmed that it can be hard
to start to make a difference to just, you know, take that one step and I think this is a huge
step so I'm incredibly proud to be here and I'm very excited for what the future holds for us.
[Reporter] Nick Purdon, CBC News, Calgary.