Some may remember the ultra-rare electric Chevy S-10, which was basically an S-10 pickup with GM EV1 running gear. We’ve seen some versions of the Ranger with an electric shock treatment as well, but not in the cool flareside version known as the Splash. And while it’s typically a bad idea to mix electricity and water, this custom EV-converted 1997 Ford Ranger Splash currently for sale on Bring a Trailer is the exception to that rule.
Its bright Canary Yellow paint was an original color for this sporty take on the classic small truck, not a flashy add-on. The original 3.0-liter V6 is gone, replaced with a conversion from Electric Vehicles of America. The Advanced D.C. Motors FB1-4001A motor makes somewhere between 18 and 30 horsepower, a significant downgrade from the original 140 or so from the V6. I know from experience that the V6 wasn’t exactly fast, either, so hopefully the instant electric torque makes up for some of the lost power.
The retention of the original five-speed manual transmission is also a nice touch. We’ve seen this before in EV swaps into vehicles not intended for EV swaps as an easy way to connect the electric motor to the original driveline. According to the instructions taped to the dashboard, there is no clutch, so you just start it in a low gear, then shift to whatever gear best matches your speed. The factory cupholders are still there (which I know from experience will still let your drinks tip over when going around corners at even a moderate speed), and there are three gauges for battery volts (power usage), amps (how much power is left), and a level of charge gauge. There’s also a warning light for a hot motor and and on/off switch for the 1,500-watt electric heater, since there’s no internal combustion engine to generate heat anymore.
Junk in the trunk
Unlike some modern project EVs, this Ranger followed a simpler approach, which is easier to install and maintain. Rather than a slick Tesla battery pack, it uses a bank of 20 Trojan six-volt batteries, wired in series to produce the 120 volts the motor and Curtis controller need to run the truck. Some of the batteries live in a box between the frame rails, some in the bed like a Cybertruck, and a few under the hood. That’s also where the charger lives, so you have to pop the hood to plug it into a standard household outlet. There’s no fast charging for this Ranger.
You won’t be going very far between charges, either. Electric Vehicles of America estimates the range to be somewhere between 38 and 81 miles, with an average of 53. That’s on new batteries, which these are not. EVs have become much more practical in recent years, but the technology in this Ranger is relatively old and crude, so it’s pretty much limited to short runs around town between long charging cycles.
If you can live with these limitations, this is actually a great project EV. It’s simple enough to be fairly reliable. You can likely maintain it and fix it yourself, and all of the documentation you need is included. It’s not perfect, with a torn headliner and some dents and dings around the body, but it’s still in good shape for a 1997 Ranger, and easy to fix. It has no reserve and at the time of writing, it has a high bid of $300. I’m sure that will change, but hopefully it will stay less expensive than a Slate truck. Plus, this truck has something no Slate, Cybertruck, or Rivian has: It’s a Ford f’in Ranger.
