Has anyone done the Unthinkable?

[Bill_Baron]

I've read on here how, for many different reasons, dozens of Roadsters have been bricked over the years. Faced with the huge expense of a replacement battery (if you can even find one), has anyone said "The heck with it, I'm putting a gas engine back in this thing" and then done it? Is it even possible? Could you if you had both a wrecked Elise and a bricked Roadster? Just thinking out loud, my Roadster is not bricked (yet).

 

[dhrivnak]

How could one ever mention the unthinkable??

 

[X.l.r.8]

Think I’d go model 3 motor and open inverter first.

 

[Brando]

Great way to show how complex ICE power vs electric.
Make sure you document (video) both electric motor removal & ICE install.

side note: you will learn the complexity of auto building
suggest you buy or rent or borrow a Lotus and do comparison first - look real close

 

[Bill_Baron]

Yeah, I get what you mean. It would probably be much easier to remove the Elise bodywork and attach the Roadster panels. I'm sure there are some things that just won't fit though, and would need to be modified.

 

[Brando]

Yeah, I get what you mean. It would probably be much easier to remove the Elise bodywork and attach the Roadster panels. I'm sure there are some things that just won't fit though, and would need to be modified.

I want you to also do a regular drivers comparison for the rest of us.
V-8 or inline 4? got a specific engine picked out?

 

[N5329K]

The original Elise required a chainsaw and welding to transform into a Roadster. Plan on using both to go back.
Robin

 

[Bill_Baron]

I wasn't actually thinking of doing this. It's just that everyone's battery will die someday, and many already have. I was wondering if anyone with lots of skill and free time had gone to this extreme to get their car on the road again.

 

[wycolo]

> Think I’d go model 3 motor and open inverter first. [XLr8]

So an open inverter might somehow dislike the Roadster motor or is it that there are open inverters today that are already optimized for the increasingly available M3 motor?
--

 

[spaceballs]

> Think I’d go model 3 motor and open inverter first. [XLr8]

So an open inverter might somehow dislike the Roadster motor or is it that there are open inverters today that are already optimized for the increasingly available M3 motor?
--

Open inverter might not like the roadster's low inductance motor, though we did get the Rinehart motion PM250DZ working with it (with some custom tuning).

 

[Tesleract]

I've read on here how, for many different reasons, dozens of Roadsters have been bricked over the years. Faced with the huge expense of a replacement battery (if you can even find one), has anyone said "The heck with it, I'm putting a gas engine back in this thing" and then done it? Is it even possible? Could you if you had both a wrecked Elise and a bricked Roadster? Just thinking out loud, my Roadster is not bricked (yet).

I had not considered it. But I know someone doing the reverse. EV Conversions

 

[ra88it]

I had not considered it. But I know someone doing the reverse. EV Conversions

Happen to have any info on this?

 

[ra88it]

I emailed them, they only do full EV conversions on the Karma

 

[TOBASH]

I wasn't actually thinking of doing this. It's just that everyone's battery will die someday, and many already have. I was wondering if anyone with lots of skill and free time had gone to this extreme to get their car on the road again.

There is a TESLA battery upgrade AND companies that will rebuild these battery leafs to get a roadster back on the road.

Given the modifications Tesla made, placing alternative ICE type components is kind of an unrealistic question.

 

[drewski]

There is a TESLA battery upgrade AND companies that will rebuild these battery leafs to get a roadster back on the road.

Given the modifications Tesla made, placing alternative ICE type components is kind of an unrealistic question.

Tesla Battery upgrade . . . is it back now and more than a rumor?

 

[ra88it]

Tesla Battery upgrade . . . is it back now and more than a rumor?

Limited group of owners have gotten emails

 

[dhrivnak]

I wasn't actually thinking of doing this. It's just that everyone's battery will die someday, and many already have. I was wondering if anyone with lots of skill and free time had gone to this extreme to get their car on the road again.

This is why I purchased the 3.0 upgrade. I figure I have at least another 10 good years now.