Recycling a Tesla Model S is going well for Rich Benoit. The founder of the Rich Rebuilds YouTube channel is putting an LS3 V8 under the frunk of the former electric sedan, and things are moving fast. In this last video about the process, Benoit and Chad Hrencecin put the MCU and the dashboard back to work. Well, it was Hrencecin, but Benoit was there to give him emotional support.
Joking aside, checking the body adaptations necessary to put the V8 in the Model S is really interesting. It is progressing fast, and Josh is showing some fantastic fabrication skills. One of the issues the fabrication process may have is finding space for the exhaust system. Benoit promised it would have “cats,” even if the video showed only one, the sort that purrs and scratches stuff.
But the most intriguing news is that his recycled car will have two computer systems. One of them will be that which Tesla conceived for the car to work. It will control the MCU, the door locks, and other functions the car will retain thanks to its original computer system. The other one will be exclusive to the LS3 engine.
As the youtuber admits, integrating these two computer systems will demand specialized attention and programming skills. It is yet to determine if the Electrified Garage will take care of that on its own or if Benoit will have to ask hackers’ assistance, such as the one that first told him about the MCU issue on the Model S.
Since we mentioned it, we hope the rebuilt MCU on the project already has the 64 Gb eMMC flash memory card. Or that it is the MCUv2, which does not seem to be the case.
It will be funny if the car can inform the range the V8 Model S will be able to offer after each refueling of dinosaur juice. The main irony will be if it presents the battery pack in place of the fuel tank – which will also need a lot of room in that body. Or to see if it will still be able to receive updates.
One thing is for sure: upgrading the car will probably have GM’s support. Benoit will be able to buy parts anywhere, not a power module that GM would fight to remove, such as Ingenext sees Tesla doing with updates. Above all, Benoit will be able to get a “fast charge” in any fuel station. It is ironic that all this started after Tesla cut supercharging from salvaged cars.
