Inspiring the Next Generation 

As a teenager, Mark Brems grew up with a passion for Volkswagens, and had nearly every model—Beetles, Ghias, Fastbacks, and buses. 

“I had a 1973 VW Adventurewagen that I lived in for two years on the beach in Santa Monica while I worked at the Criterion Collection, and drove it cross-country twice,” Brems recalls. “One of my favorites was a 1967 Triumph GT6 Mk1 with an electric overdrive. That was a fun car that I also drove across the US twice.”

Putting cars aside for a few decades, in 2010 he decided it would be fun to convert a gas car to electric. After doing a lot of blog surfing, he discovered that many people had already converted Porsche 914s to electric using lead acid car batteries and DC motors. Those conversions were heavy, had no regenerative braking, were very limited in range, and both trunks and motor bay were “filled to the gills” with leaky and off-gassing batteries. When lithium batteries and AC motors became available for EV conversions, he jumped right in on his first 914 conversion.

It’s very important to have a vision of how you plan to use your new EV. It should feel like a dream that will eventually become reality.

“The Porsche 914 was an obvious candidate for a classic VW guy, so I bought one online and had it shipped to me on a car hauler,” Brems says. “The restoration took about a year, and the electrification took another year. I have to say frankly, that every aspect of the build was equally challenging. But my Marine Corps training in electronics certainly came in handy with regard to building the EV wiring harness and connecting all of the components.”

Placing Batteries

As with most conversions, one of the biggest obstacles he faced in this build came down to the placement of the battery boxes. Finding a place to provide a nice flat surface to mount the rear battery boxes in particular, the engine support crossbeam needed to be redesigned. The original crossbeam was an organic, curvy shape, so SolidWorks and SendCutSend provided the means to manufacture a custom part that could make this possible.

“What I learned from building EVs is that electric vehicle conversions will always be a niche of the classic and custom car aftermarket industry,” Brems says. “Classic cars are not generally intended for extended road trips. Until battery technology makes a huge leap forward, massive range should really not be a motivating factor for your build. The current battery tech provides sufficient range for the daily driving needs of most owners.”

Brems began a second conversion project at the end of 2016, which is the India Red 914 featured here. One of his favorite parts of this build that he considers the “Crown Jewel” is the integration of the Samsung tablet in the center console. It connects to the Orion BMS using the Torque Pro app via OBD/Bluetooth, and displays any number of EV parameters in the configuration and interface skin of your choice. It fits the dash console perfectly, and it’s the first thing you see when you turn the ignition key. A classically matched Porsche logo splash screen pops up when you turn the vehicle on or off, but when the car is off, the tablet camouflages itself into the Porsche’s nearly stock interior, giving no clues that this car is an EV conversion.

According to his calculations, he has saved about $15,000 in gasoline costs over the last 10 years. This red ’75 914 is his current daily driver, but it is paired up in his garage next to his first Porsche 914 conversion, a yellow ’74 that he drove for 12 years before the batteries slowly lost capacity. The first build is now in the final stages of a Tesla battery upgrade, and will be on the road again soon.

You can see that same joy when he talks about passing on his knowledge to the next generation of EV builders like Francis.

“It’s very important to have a vision of how you plan to use your new EV,” Brem says. “It should feel like a dream that will eventually become reality. My vision was driving up the [Pacific] Coast Highway on a beautiful warm sunny day with my wife at my side, with bags in the trunk on our way to a long weekend in Ventura. A personal vision will fuel your spirit when the build gets more challenging.”

Over the years, Brem worked three years as a builder at EV West, completing six beautiful classics before moving over to JPS Motorsports and completing five electric Speedster replicas for them. His blog, 914electric.wordpress.com, has a wealth of knowledge available for the public that may be interested in converting their own 914. He has filled it with all the information he sought out when starting his conversion journey.

Paving the Way for Today’s Youth

Because of this blog, a then 12 year old named Frances Farnam discovered Brem’s page and has been mentored by him on her very own 914 conversion for the past three years. She has a YouTube channel and Instagram called @tinkergineering, which originally was aimed at kids.

“Frances stumbled on my blog, decided she wanted to take on her own conversion project, and reached out to me to mentor her,” Brem says. “How could I say no? She has completed all of the bodywork and painted the car herself, rebuilt her transaxle, and is busy sorting out her wiring harness and just starting to reassemble her sweet ride. Soon her car will be together, and the exciting conversion part will begin.”

There’s a great joy you can see on Mr. Brems’ face when he talks about these 914 conversions, and you can see that same joy when he talks about passing on his knowledge to the next generation of EV builders like Frances. If building your own conversion piques your interest, take Mark’s advice.

In providing advice to those who wish to follow in his footsteps Brems says, “Search the Web for as many conversion blogs as you can find. Scour social media and YouTube for instructional videos. Check out EV Album online and DIY Electric Car Forum. Take in all of the mistakes as well as the victories that others have already experienced. Absorb as much information as you can before deciding whether you are actually capable of succeeding. This is a project that requires a lot of various skills that you may already have, or that you must be willing to learn.”

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SPECS

• Location: San Diego
• Vehicle Name: The Phoenix
• Overall Vehicle Weight: Front, 1,152 pounds; rear, 1,248 pounds
• Amount of Time to Build: Restoration, 1 year; EV conversion, 1 year
• Cost to Build: $25,000
• Owner: Mark Brems
• Built by: Self
• Occupation: EV Conversion Tech

MOTOR/ DRIVETRAIN 

• Motor Swap Performed By: Self
• Motor Drive Unit: NetGain Hyper 9 HV
• Horsepower: 120 hpP
• Torque: 173 lb/ft
• Mounts: Cradle with custom crossbeam
• Control Software: SME SmartView
• Batteries: Seven Tesla Model S modules

CHASSIS/ SUSPENSION

• Installation Shop: Self
• Lift/Lowering Kit: None
• Rear Cradle: Stock
• Axles: Stock

WHEELS, TIRES & BRAKES

• Wheels: EMPI, BF Goodrich 175/65 R15
• Front Brakes: PMB rebuilds
• Rear Brakes: PMB rebuilds

BODY/PAINT

• Paint Shop: California West Coast Body & Paint
• Color: India Red
• Headlights: LED
• Taillights: LED
• Any other aftermarket parts? Many replacement parts purchased from 914 Rubber, Inc.

INTERIOR

• Install Shop: Self
• Seats: Stock
• Gauges: Stock
• Display: Samsung Galaxy Tab2, Torque Pro App
• Steering Wheel: Momo
• A/C System: Power windows
• Dash: Stock
• Radio Head Unit: Pioneer Bluetooth
• Sound System: Kicker speakers

SPONSORS AND SPECIAL THANKS:

Much thanks to all who contributed along this journey, including EV West, EV Album, Netgain Motors, California West Coast Body & Paint, 914 Rubber, HPEVS, PMB Performance, 914World, Auto Atlanta, World Upholstery, Mouser Electronics, Waterjet West, and SendCutSend. Also a tip-of-the-hat to all my homies at the shop, and all of the 914 EV conversion OGs who led the way down this exciting and rewarding path.

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