Kindred Motorworks is a Californian garage near Silicon Valley, and perhaps that explains its specialization in new technologies. But after all, it’s still a classic car restoration shop, so it’s no surprise that His specialty is the so-called “electromods” that is, a comprehensive modification of a vehicle to convert it to electric mobility.
One of the latest developments of this company focuses on one of the most sought after and valued trucks by people who collect classics and are specifically fans of the Chevrolet brand. We have before our eyes the classic Chevrolet 3100, a series manufactured between 1947 and 1953which was a milestone for its time and which today is completely desired for its design.
On the outside, the Chevy 3100 looks like so many other pickups that have undergone a restoration process that involved a bit of hot rod tuning, but Everything changes when we raise the hood.
There we have what is necessary for a 294 hp motor but completely electric, which is powered by a 74 kWh battery capable of offering up to 320 km of autonomy. This battery is divided into two modules, one under the hood and the other under the cab and between the frame rails of the custom chassis.
Inside, everything seems original but if we look in detail, we can see that for example the gear lever has the “PRND” dial. We have light leather-appointed seats with a drop-down center armrest, and technological amenities such as a touch multimedia system with a triple speaker and subwoofer setup, which is also compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless. It also has a charging base for the phone and a reversing camera.
Other amenities lie in the electric power steering, 4 wheel disc brakes assisted by the Bosch iBooster system, electric parking brake and even an air conditioning system.
Is it a replica or a conversion?
Such is the degree of modification that it would be logical to think that this is actually a replica created from completely new sheet metal, but no. Kindred offers these conversions from the original and restored metal of selected and registered Chevys 3100 for saleso they still keep the VIN of the original vehicle and the papers are provided.
good things are expensive
It was to be expected, all these modern conveniences, the custom chassis and electric conversion of such a classic truck could not be something cheap. That’s why, the price of a Chevrolet 3100 EV by Kindred Motorworks amounts to USD 159,000similar in value to many supercars and even more expensive than an all-new Silverado EV.