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Hi
I am Aaron from Delta BC Canada.
Here to learn what it would take to do a conversion.
Thanks,
I am Aaron from Delta BC Canada.
Here to learn what it would take to do a conversion.
Thanks,
Thanks Galderdi.It might help if you give us some clues about your requirements and what type of vehicle you have in mind.
Oh, that's easy... take a look at Damien's Tesla powered BMW 8 Series (here) and the open source inverter controller (here). This will allow you to wring maximum performance out off the Tesla drive units at a fraction of the cost of the 'commercial' vendorsStill not sure of the direction to go.....
You can buy fully assembled and tested inverter controllers from Damien which allow you to treat the motor as a stand alone item with just one low voltage connector. It's incredibly simple and does not require any CAN bus communication, just wiring for throttle, brake, start, etc.I like the open source idea... I just don't want to get over my head. I'm good with regular 12v stuff....
That's the cheapest way without a doubt. It might be worth chatting to Rich Benoit ("Car Guru") who setup the FB group (see list here) who could give you some impartial advice on wrecked cars.So what would you do Kevin? Buy a written off Tesla and use the parts?
That's an 'easy' option but will typically cost you 3-10x the price and if you're not careful tie you into a closed solution (i.e. where only the vendor knows how the system worksBuy from a vendor?
Personally I think that's overkill for many vehicles and most fabricators that I know like the freedom to design their own suspension system. Here are a couple of interesting projects that are just using the Tesla drive unit;Is the Tesla motor and suspension the way to go?
I haven't seen anyone in this forum put in a suspension which appears in any way to be better than the Tesla Model S suspension; that's not surprising simply because the Tesla suspension is a typical modern design for an expensive car. The big reasons that I see to use a different suspension (not Tesla's) are:Is the Tesla motor and suspension the way to go?
I haven't seen anyone in this forum put in a suspension which appears in any way to be better than the Tesla Model S suspension; that's not surprising simply because the Tesla suspension is a typical modern design for an expensive car. The big reasons that I see to use a different suspension (not Tesla's) are:
- undamaged suspensions are likely less available than the drive units
- buying (even as salvage) the Tesla suspension is expensive compared to using the parts the project car already has, and perhaps even expensive compared to aftermarket components or other salvage parts
- the Tesla suspension is designed to work with their subframe, which is designed to fit their structure; the original suspension of the car being converted fits that car properly
- the Tesla Model S has a rear track dimension of 66.9"; this is relatively wide (because it is a large car), so it is too wide for many vehicles (for comparison, a stock Lotus Evora has a 62" rear track)
On the other hand, there is a long street rod tradition of using the entire suspension from some donor vehicle... to the point that many cars are essentially re-body jobs on some modern vehicle (often a Corvette), rather than upgrades to components of a classic car. You can't really put a Willys truck body on a Tesla Model S structure, but if you have the fender width available you could put an entire Model S rear drive and suspension assembly (everything attached to the rear subframe) under the back of the truck. You could do the front, too, for compatible dynamic behaviour... again if the width works. With both ends swapped, you would have a choice of front wheel drive (no!), rear wheel drive, or all wheel drive. You would also have one remarkably expensive Willys.
Probably something like what you're planning, given your other comments.Lets first skip to your last sentence....."What's remarkably expensive" to you???
Builds of '41 Willys pickup could be anything from making a beater street-worthy for a few thousand dollars, to building a completely custom vehicle - which happens to look a bit like a Willys pickup - for hundreds of thousands. Even before I saw the price, just the mention of a complete Art Morrison chassis made me suspect that you'll be well up the range, and Tesla suspension parts are likely to be a reasonable option.I don't have an open budget, but we are working with enough to build at the level we currently do.
Currently I am in talks with Art Morrison for one of their chassis. The Chassis with a IFS and IRS is around $25us A big cost of that is the IRS. So replacing that with the Tesla is possible.
That sounds really wide for an old pickup... about four or five inches too wide at each end. I wondered if those dimensions might width across the outside sidewalls of the tires, rather than track width, but they're not wide enough for that. My guess is that the other Willy's was running much greater wheel front spacing than stock (so 2" less wheel offset, and so 4" greater track). If that's what fits, then I agree that the Tesla suspension would likely fit... in the rear.I will get a true measurement of the front and rear axles when I'm back at the shop in the morning.
On a drawing from Art Morrison based on another Willy's they have done the front has a track with of 63.125" and 67.5rear"
So the Tesla could fit in the rear....
To me, a time crunch and hard deadline argue in favour of using a complete assembly of drive unit, suspension, and subframe, since you know they all work and all work together. The most straightforward might be all-Tesla at the rear, Art Morrison at the front, and rear-wheel-drive only.285 days left to build this..... on top of the other 6 cars we are doing.