News from S. Monte Kase and E-V Concepts

He's always up to something.

I emailed Monte at E-V Concepts right after republishing my piece on his company. He responded to me with some interesting news.

First of all, he's been talking to clients about converting vans. He didn't give me client details and I wouldn't give them away anyway. But it's good to see people other than me are looking for the same thing.

Second, he's found something easier and cheaper than converting cars. Admittedly, taking the ICE guts out of a quality car and converting it to electricity is expensive to the point of impracticality. It's a rich guy's play area. When you have so many things in your garage that you really must have an electric Porsche conversion, you call him.

So what's he doing? Modifying wrecked Leafs. He gets them cheap. The batteries and motor are already in place and have proven reliability. What they need is a new body. Monte's a fiberglass expert and not a big fan of the Leaf's quirky shape.

"Making a Nissan Leaf look good is a big problem," he said. I'm not telling my car he said that. I think she's adorable.

So he he's currently working on two concepts:

'39 Ford Delivery Van Replica by E-V Concepts

Modern Pickup Truck by E-V Concepts

I'd never thought about taking the Leaf platform and powertrain then changing the body. I'd like to see an extra-cab Frontier body bolted onto one. Maybe stretch the wheelbase and add another battery pack.

The possibilities are intriguing. I sent several questions back to him and am waiting for his response.

What do you think? If you had the frame and guts of a Leaf, what would you do with them? What body and interior would you create?