A small white dog that has escaped through the gate from one of the spacious homes on the Hogeweg in Limmen forces Menno Schilder to step on the brakes. A few years ago, the dog had heard the green-white 1979 Volkswagen bus coming loud and clear.
But in addition to an iron plate on the glove compartment with the text ‘Fahren nur mit verriegelter Schiebetür’, there is recently also a plaque with ‘Bus stops at 90V’. The old-timer van now runs electrically. ‘That sound was especially nice and characteristic when the Volkswagen van drove by,’ says Schilder. “But we couldn’t have understood each other here on the bus.”
1973 Volkswagen Beetle
The fact that Schilder (44) became a classic car builder by profession happened more or less by chance. Ten years ago he converted his own 1973 Volkswagen Beetle into an electric car, together with his father. He had The Age of Stupid just seen, a film about an old man who sees that the climate has irreversibly changed. “There’s so much going on in the world, what can I do?” he thought. “Besides, I just thought it was cool to try it once and do it with my father.”
Soon an email came from a lady with the same Beetle, who also wanted an electric motor. Painter has now fitted up to twenty old-timers with an electric motor. In a shed in Limmen, a village near the North Holland coast, eleven more are ready to be renovated.
He grew up in this shed. His grandfather Martin Schilder started a car dealership and coach business there, which was continued by the family. His parents still live opposite the shed. Cars therefore have few secrets for him. ‘Conversion is actually not that difficult for me,’ says Schilder.
Volkswagen van
Although he does work precisely: a model old-timer that he has not yet taken care of before, can just take months. He has done the Volkswagen van, of which there is also an off-white and orange one in the shed, so often that it can be done in three to four weeks.
The British Lunaz, which makes old Rolls-Royces and Bentleys electric, now has a turnover of millions. David Beckham bought a 10 percent stake. On the other hand, Schilder Electric mainly employs freelancers, one of whom is a former customer, in addition to a permanent employee. Schilder sees himself as a pioneer. ‘In the early years, people often questioned what the options were. Now they sometimes leave their oldtimer at the first appointment immediately.’ Students come from Assen, Roermond and Ghent to do an internship.
The Volkswagen vans are popular with rental companies, among others, who rent out the vans for recreation, holidays or television programs. Private individuals are mainly enthusiasts of old-timers who consider sustainability important. Someone pays about 20 thousand euros for a Beetle, the vans easily cost more than 30 thousand euros to be converted. ‘You have to keep driving for a very long time to get that out, in terms of fuel costs that you save,’ says Schilder honestly.
purists
The Federation of Historic Automobile and Motorcycle Clubs (FEHAC) looks at the electric vintage cars with dismay. ‘I have a Porsche 944 from 1990′, says chairman and former VVD mayor of Den Helder Stefan Hulman. “There isn’t a hair on my head that thinks about making it electric. And you don’t see that on the phone, but I’m bald.’
Hulman wants to emphasize that every classic car owner has to make his own choice. ‘But I don’t like that development. We stand for the preservation of the mobile heritage, that includes the engine. When you electrify a classic car, you throw away something of its heritage.’
Hulman sees more benefit in the development of synthetic fuel. ‘We do understand that the old-timer has to keep up with the times. You do indeed still have more emissions with synthetic fuels than with electric cars, but we choose to preserve the authenticity.’
Schilder has also once had a furious purist on the phone. He shrugs it off. “Candlemakers also rebelled against the invention of the light bulb.” He believes that synthetic fuel could work, but wonders whether this is a solution for old-timers. ‘You then throw it in a combustion engine and the question is whether that is actually possible.’
‘I can understand that you want to keep a classic car in its classic condition.’ He points to the pictures of old car engines hanging on the coffee room wall. ‘It’s almost a work of art when you look at it that way. But they require a lot of maintenance and are not good for the environment. With an electric motor you do give a new life to the car you think is so beautiful.’