The Green Flash: A 1936 Cord 810 Goes Full Electric

A 1936 Auburn Cord 810 Phaeton EV

Since 1975, Simple Green has been a staple at car shows, handing out millions of product samples and coupons and sharing its environmentally friendly cleaning message with gearheads across the country. At the heart of that legacy is company inventor and founder Bruce FaBrizia, a lifelong car enthusiast. When Bruce decided it was time to take a step into the electric future, he knew he wanted to do it with something bold and enlisted the help of his right-hand man, Fred Waterfall, to oversee the project.

At first, they considered converting the original Simple Green delivery van, a 1979 Ford cargo van Bruce once drove with his father. But after learning more about EVs and their potential, he changed course. He wanted something he’d be excited to drive. Something that would turn heads.

That’s when he thought of the 1936 Auburn Cord 810 Phaeton, a car he had restored years earlier and eventually sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2018. Known for being the first American-made front-wheel-drive car with independent front suspension, the Cord was both rare and ahead of its time. Bruce tracked it down, bought it back from its new owner in Florida, and kicked off the project with a new mission: electrify it without erasing its legacy.

Finding the Right Conversion Partner

From the start, Bruce and Fred had a clear vision: the conversion needed to be powerful, smooth, and reliable, all without sacrificing the car’s vintage look or drivability. They wanted a “sleeper” that could cruise comfortably, hit 100 mph if needed, and go at least 125 miles on a charge. Just as important, it had to be reversible—capable of returning to its original Lycoming supercharged V-8 setup without cutting or chopping the body.

After interviewing five top EV conversion shops in the Newport Beach area, they chose Revolt Systems, led by Eddy Borysewicz. Fred had met Eddy at the Long Beach Electrified show and immediately sensed he was the right fit for the job.

A Unique Engineering Challenge

The Cord presented a unique challenge: it was the first American car with front-wheel drive, but most EV motors, including Revolt’s go-to setup at the time, were designed for rear-wheel-drive applications. Fitting a modern electric drivetrain into the Cord’s original layout would take more than just off-the-shelf parts.

We’re not desecrating classics; we’re preserving history and making it better.

Fortunately, Eddy had already been down this road. While working on Team Vesco’s record-breaking land speed car, the “Little Giant,” he developed a way to separate the Tesla LDU (Large Drive Unit) from its inverter—a solution he called the “divorced” motor kit. That same approach allowed him to repurpose Tesla components in a front-wheel-drive layout, stacking the motor and inverter into the Cord’s engine bay with minimal structural changes.

“What I discovered working with Eddy and the Revolt team,” Fred noted, “was that Eddy has an engineering and DIGITAL mind-set combined with a good sense of visual balance and proportion to make things work and look exceptionally cool.” He added, “Eddy’s historic electric-powered land speed records with cars and motorcycles gave us the confidence to deep dive into this project with him and his outstanding support team.”

The Cord’s transformation was beginning to take shape, built on lessons learned at 300+ mph but applied with the care needed to preserve a nearly 90-year-old classic.

The “Green Flash” Unleashed

With the engineering puzzle solved, the Cord’s transformation came to life using highly modified Tesla components supplied by Revolt Systems. The entire vehicle is now powered by a 75 kW battery pack and controlled via touchscreen—with only minor body modifications needed to mount the pack securely to the car.

Revolt’s talented crew brought the vision to life:

• Eddy Borysewicz led the project and oversaw all motor design.
• John Garcia (aka Jonny 5) handled custom welding and fab work, including mounting the battery boxes, modifying axles, and reworking the brake system to suit the new drivetrain.
• Will Buckwalter of Buckwired designed the innovative battery enclosures and collaborated with Speedhut to create a stunning custom gauge cluster.
• That gauge cluster was given a hand-turned finish by Pete Finlan of Hot Dog Kustoms, echoing the car’s original dash styling.
• Al Verschave and his team at AVS Fabrication added sleek rocker panels and a bash guard to protect the underbody and battery.
• Matthew Deeley took care of the final wiring and system integration to get the car road-ready.
• The battery system is spread across three custom boxes for balanced weight distribution and packaging:
• A vertical “tombstone” box up front with 4 modules
• A belly-mounted box with 6 modules under the chassis
• A rear box in the trunk using the original fuel tank mounts, holding 4 more modules

This setup not only maintained the Cord’s structure but also supported a projected range of 150–200 miles, depending on what Bruce jokingly called his “lead foot.”

“It’s an engineering mind-twist,” Eddy explained, “to keep it front-wheel drive and original-looking. But with our divorced kit, we’ve updated it with modern EV tech in a way that feels like it was always meant to be there.”

He added, “We’re not desecrating classics; we’re preserving history and making it better. These vehicles were so technologically advanced for their time, but no one rants and raves about a vehicle that’s constantly breaking down, and these vehicles are notorious for needing to be worked on. We wanted to see our client out driving this classic with more reliability than it’s ever had, and I’m proud to say that my team and I have delivered on that promise.”

Performance Meets Preservation

With the build complete, the Green Flash delivers impressive performance. The new powertrain is capable of producing 350 horsepower (261 kW) and 375 ft-lbs of torque but was intentionally dialed back to keep the car easy and enjoyable to drive.

The result is a smooth, immersive ride that stimulates all the senses. As a convertible, it lets you hear the electric whine, feel the wind, and even catch the crunch of gravel beneath the whitewall tires. It still has the power to throw you back in your seat but without sacrificing elegance.

“Here’s the Cord—the most outrageously innovative car of the 20th century, and I’m giving it a 21st-century upgrade,” Bruce said, flashing his trademark thumbs-up. “Now it’s a before-and-after story, just like Simple Green.”

A New Legacy

Just in time for Simple Green’s 50th anniversary, the Cord came back to life—electrified, refined, and more capable than ever. Thanks to Eddy and the Revolt Systems team, it retained its original design and front-wheel-drive layout while gaining serious performance upgrades.

And remarkably, it’s still reversible. If Bruce ever chooses, the car can be brought back to its original V-8-powered form. But for now, the Green Flash is finally what it was always meant to be: beautiful, bold, and reliable enough to cruise the California coast at a moment’s notice.

“I think looking at the end result speaks volumes as to why we selected Revolt Systems,” said Fred Waterfall. “No regrets. Thank you for keeping your word and setting the bar a little higher.”

As Bruce FaBrizio put it in a company press release:

“Right now there’s an explosion—everyone wants to electrify cars. There’s also a waiting list everywhere. These guys are doing the best work using state-of-the-art equipment, but they’re also dedicated to not chopping cars to make it work. It’s the Simple Green story. I took the worst 50s-style cleaning product that killed a guy and figured out a way to bring it to the 20th century without having to hurt anybody and prove it [works].”

SPECS

1936 Auburn Cord 810 “Green Flash”

• Owner: Bruce FaBrizio
• Builder: Revolt Systems (Oceanside, CA)
• Project Lead: Fred Waterfall
• Original Drivetrain: Lycoming Supercharged V-8, FWD
• Converted Drivetrain: Revolt Systems “divorced” Tesla LDU
• Power Output: 350 hp / 375 ft-lbs torque (dialed back for drivability)
• Top Speed: 130 mph (original was 93 mph)
• Battery Capacity: 75 kWh
• Estimated Range: 150–200 miles
• Battery Layout:
• Front “tombstone” box—4 Tesla modules
• Belly Box—6 Tesla modules
• Rear Trunk Box—4 Tesla modules
• Charging Port: Hidden behind original fuel door
• Interior Features: Custom Speedhut gauges, AEM CD-5 display in glove box
• Chassis Modifications: Minimal; fully reversible to factory setup
• Fabrication Highlights:
• Custom brake linkage using bicycle crank arms
• AVS Fabrication rocker panels and bash guard
• Battery boxes by Buckwired
• Dash Finish: Hand-turned by Pete “Hot Dog” Finlan
• Design Theme: OEM+ sleeper with full Art Deco preservation

Photos by Dan Coronado