So, thought I would pulse the community. Anyone swapped (or thought of swapping) an electric drivetrain into these old trucks? I've changed direction several times on repowering my F-5, and am on the fence between plowing ahead with a Mercedes OM617 swap or going with an electric swap.

Im comfortable with either route, but I'd like something my young son can eventually tool around in, and has minimal maintenance with infrequent use. Electrics (if treated right) are promising on this, but the OM617 has been a real stalwart for me (just pulled one out of storage after 5 years of sitting, drove 5k miles, almost no fuss... Charged the battery, changed oil, and added fuel).

 

I would go for the OM617, but I guess I'm prejudiced.
Mark

 

Mark, been drooling over your build for a while. I would say you are biased with cause!

 

There is a thread on here of an F5 being fitted with an electric motor. I've seen the truck and spoken with the builder. The truck is in Crystal River, FL. A search may uncover the thread which is more than a year old. I updated the thread last year when I saw the truck. If you can not find the thread and link to it, I will attempt to find it later today. Yes, I have the builder's business card with contact information.

 

Here is a video of the Electric F500. Steve Clunn is his name. I would love to see recent pictures of it.

Here is his youtube site with a bunch of videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ClunnEVs/videos

He even has a web site: http://www.greenshedconversions.com/Pages/default.aspx

 

LInk to the electric conversion thread:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tric-f500.html

 

That would be pretty neat going electric. I hadnt seen that other thread before.
I had seen pictures of that failed attempt for someone going steam powered. Electric would be much better!

 

All of us restore these old trucks as learning projects, well some for bragging rights. The Mercedes Diesel would make a nice, reliable truck.

The electric conversion would provide many challenges. You can't make mistakes as I think that the main voltage is around 480v . . . at least with some of the OEM packages. In the end you would have something unique but not so reliable as I think that battery charging is an 8 hour event from 0 charge.