Electric conversions of classic cars aren’t new, but when one of America’s biggest celebrities decides to convert a classic American pickup truck it grabs attention.
Jason Kelce may have retired from American football but his fame is only growing as he becomes a television and social media star. For those unfamiliar, Kelce played centre for the Philadelphia Eagles and now works for ESPN and podcasts with his brother, Travis Kelce, which is one of the biggest sports podcasts in the world.
Now Jason has launched his own YouTube channel and one of his first videos features him having his 1986 Chevrolet K10 pickup converted to electric. While he admits a lot of people will think it’s a “sin” to change an iconic Chevy truck, he was happy to do it because it’s through a youth-focused charity called Operation Breakthrough.
“I don’t know, man, I think it’s pretty cool a bunch of high schoolers are about to convert this thing to electric,” he said.
He also admitted that the ’86 Chevy has been giving him problems the whole time he has owned it, so switching to a new powertrain is also designed to make it more reliable and usable for Kelce.
Operation Breakthrough is a charity based in Kansas City, where Jason’s brother Travis plays for the Chiefs, and focuses on teaching kids real-world skills, such as mechanics, welding and others.
In the video, Kelce has a go at welding before the kids pitch him their ideas for his car, when he decides to opt for the more elaborate option and get Tesla motors and batteries to power his Chevy.
“They pitched me two options for my truck: amazing and INSANE,” Kelce wrote in the video description. “We’re talking dual Tesla Model 3 battery packs, 500-mile range, and a full show-quality restoration. When they tried sneaking past that $30,000 price difference… I knew we had to go all in.”
Check out the full video below to see work begin on his truck and watch him drive Operation Breakthrough’s earlier Chevrolet Chevelle electric conversion.
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