Photos: John Butler

Students at McMichael High School in Mayodan, NC, have been creating quite a stir lately. With their instructor, John Butler, a group of ten students have converted an early Mustang from gasoline to electric power. Butler saw a similar project at the state fair a few years back and set out to recreate it in his school.

“Classes like these are so important,” Butler told the Greensboro News-Record recently. “Kids learn so much and they don’t even realize it. It doesn’t matter what the project is. Any cool project will get kids interested.”

Ten students of different ages participated in the buildup, each assigned responsibility for a particular part of the project. Butler, an auto enthusiast himself, donated the Calypso Green notchback Mustang, which now runs on deep cycle batteries and a nine-inch diameter electric motor.

With its new internals, the pony car can reach 70 mph, but – of course – that’s not fast enough for the team. They want to increase the battery supply from 96 volts to 156 and future plans call for either a larger electric motor or a second one of the same size.

Once the car was built, the students began taking it to car shows and electric vehicle competitions. They have won several awards and never tire of showing off their work. Performance remains a strong objective, as the boys are quick to point out that their project is a car, not a golf cart. The Mustang has second place in several categories at a recent EV competition, including slalom racing and a distance test.