Another Tesla S restoration

[philm001]

Hey all!

So I have been watching Rich's rebuid of a Tesla and I myself am inspired to try to do the same thing! I am interested in restoring a salavaged tesla S. Much like Rich, I am gunning for a car that was flooded. Mainly because I am a hardware guy (electrical) and I do not have the skills of welding. So getting a car with the frame/chassis fully intact is what I need.

Before I embark on a daunting quest, I have a few high level questions for the community:

1) Is there any dedicated section or forum for Tesla restoration? Rich's videos are 3 yrs old so hopefully the landacape has changed since then. I am aware of his facebook group and have already signed up.

2) Other then copart (and ebay), are there any other really good sites that I can use in to buy/bid on salavaged cars?

3) I have been reading that getting service manuals for Tesla are extremely hard. However, these posts were years old. In 2019, is this the same case?

4) Other then Rich's videos, are there any other good resources that I can use for tesla restorations?

These are my 4 big questions as of now. Now some people will probably try to discourage me from doing this. I think that with some patience, time, and money, it will be possible. Might take me a little while before I get a car because I need to find the right one but hopefully it will be soon. Will be updating the thread as I go along.

 

[PWlakewood]

If I found the right one I would rebuild it as well but they are so hard to come by without major damage. Flood damage would be the best unless of course the battery and drive unit are toast. Good luck.

 

[philm001]

If I found the right one I would rebuild it as well but they are so hard to come by without major damage. Flood damage would be the best unless of course the battery and drive unit are toast. Good luck.

Hello.

Thank you for your wishes! I will need it .

In a perfect world it would be nice to get one with damaged circuit boards but everything else intact.

But that won't happen. So I will take a car with functional main computer (the dash with the big screen), a half decent battery (realistically, the battery will be shot), and a working drivetrain (at the very least, working motors).

I simply cant take a car with a damaged frame. I dont do welding nor do I know someone who can do that. And I would like to do the full restoration by taking the car to tesla for recertification

 

[PWlakewood]

Hello.

Thank you for your wishes! I will need it .

In a perfect world it would be nice to get one with damaged circuit boards but everything else intact.

But that won't happen. So I will take a car with functional main computer (the dash with the big screen), a half decent battery (realistically, the battery will be shot), and a working drivetrain (at the very least, working motors).

I simply cant take a car with a damaged frame. I dont do welding nor do I know someone who can do that. And I would like to do the full restoration by taking the car to tesla for recertification

I'm not opposed to one with damage as I'm in the autobody parts business and I deal with a few Tesla certified shops so getting it repaired isn't the issue I just would rather deal with electronics.