There is a strange quiet when old cars are made electric.

The old car sound is replaced by a soft whirr, said David Dyer, the founder of a car group.

His team turned a 1971 car into an electric vehicle to teach new mechanics.

Electric conversions will be popular in the future, said Mr Dyer.

They are the future because we don't know what will happen to petrol.

The car was once used by a family and the police, and it won a race.

Now, the car has a new life with a lot of power, like a Porsche.

The old engine was replaced with a new charger, battery, and motor.

Old cars are efficient when made electric, said Mr Dyer.

This is the new way.

The car's old design was kept, with a new charger where the fuel cap was.

A standard conversion takes a week, but a new one can take months.

The conversion cost more than $200,000, including paint and leather.

This kind of build is very expensive, said Mr Dyer.

A regular conversion costs about half that price.

The car got a power upgrade.

The car is charged where the fuel cap used to be.

The inside of the car was also fixed.

Another car like this one won a race in 1966.

A young mechanic worked on the car as his first electric conversion.

You still have the old look with a modern drive, said the mechanic.

The young mechanic thinks electric conversions are the future.

Not many people are training to work with cars, said Mr Dyer.

Most people in the industry are old and retiring.

Electric conversions will help young people have a future in the industry.

Look at different options.

Old cars are easier to convert to electric, especially those from before 2000.

There are many old cars in NSW that can be converted.

People buy old cars they wanted when they were young, said Mr Dyer.

They drive the old car and think it's not like a modern car.

People come to us with their old car and a dream.

Conversions give people a choice, said the young mechanic.

New cars are all electric, but conversions let you choose any car.

An electric car group thinks conversions are becoming more common.

Interest in conversions changes with petrol prices, said the group.

Conversions used to be necessary, but now they're done for fun.

Electric cars from overseas are good and cheap, so conversions are special.

It's hard to choose between buying and building a car.

There's nothing like building a project and driving it.

Practice Listening