Progress - main batteries 35% charged, doors closed, drive and reverse working.
The airbag reconditioners have advised me they can refill and reset the airbags/seat belt tensioners and supply a reset control unit for reasonable money. Only problem is where someone has cut out the steering wheel and side curtain bags - replacements will be needed as these are ruined, probably the salvage yard as the accident didn't warrant this.
The front end is as stripped as it needs to be, even with the front grille unit unplugged and detached it can still be charged though I don't do this whilst working on it. I've no need to go near anything high voltage.
There's a steel (black painted) impact bar with a polystyrene cover across the front as an impact absorber, this is undamaged. The steel mounting bracket for this on the damaged side is bent but can be reformed ok, as can a small lugg on its lower edge.
The bar is only bridges the width between the large (silver) front chassis rails so there's only the flimsy wing, a high density plastic corner piece ,then the wheel itself and the suspension to take any impact either side of this - hence the mess on my vehicle.
Of course any impact on the suspension wheel forces it back into the door .... Yep - it gets messy and expensive.
Personally I can't see why this front impact been couldn't be full width as per most vehicles and maybe designed to bend at the edges outwards of the main chassis legs if hit hard, causing a deflection rather than allowing forces to act along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
On inspecting the undamaged suspension I noticed a loose steering rack adjuster nut, first photo, no idea why this should be so. Obviously the cars' been recovered to a workshop for insurance assessment and it's obvious which parts they've dismantled to inspect around the Frunk area but there's nothing outside of this been meddled with . Odd.
I've had tracking well out of adjustment on rebuilt cars before now and it drastically affects their steering/handling, I wonder when it was last serviced? Track/steering adjustments are usual on first services as the suspension has settled. My mother once had her new car returned from its first service with a very loose steering wheel - in fact when I checked it for her and pulled back on it the thing came off. It appears some idiot adjusted the tracking, then had to re-centre the steering wheel on the column splines but simply forgot to run the nut back on and tighten it - just popped the cover back over the wheel centre !
My letter to the previous owner is getting longer and more complicated ;
- Dear Mrs XXXXX - You don't know me but I have your wrecked Tesla, do you have the spare fob? Oh and the charging adapters? I do hope you and your familly are ok? speaking of familly - is your husband mechanically minded? How are things between you these days??? Nope - best stick to the basics.
Now for some hard thinking and calculations as to how much the parts bill plus paint is going to come to and decide whether this project is worth putting back on the road or to break for parts.
I look at the amount of problems new owners are having and how these would put me off the road ( as an outcast vehicle with no hope of being read tinted to the Tesla familly (Sob!).) without SC backup.