While the fire damage is significant, there is no structural damage to the car. So I do need to replace many many parts, there is a car to rebuild. Below you will find a summary of the objectives of the rebuild.
Rebuild strategy
During my EV conversion I learned a lot and driving the car also provided me with new insights. This is the opportunity to integrate all that into a better car. So my objectives are:
- Eliminate the gearbox and clutch
- Add CCS DC fast charging
- Distributed controllers instead of one ‘EV Peripherals’ main controller
- Data integration (limits) between BMS, VCU and Charge controller
- Using CAN-BUS more and move away from analog signals
Things I have not decided:
- Active battery cooling (with AC compressor) or not
- Use of a PMU (Power Management Unit) for 12V
Things that I will keep or rebuild in the same way:
- Displays and screens (OLED in the speedometer and ADU centrally in the dash)
- Two 3,3 kW Thunderstruck TSM2500 onboard chargers
- iBooster for power brakes
- Most of the features I already had
Rebuild updates
Major design decisions and milestones will be updated here, but also this project will grow as it goes along.
Major milestones
Rear wheel drive EV conversion motor options
Nowadays there are way more drivetrain options compared to back in 2015. So what are my options to improve the driving experience of Voltvo?
Dry ice cleaning for a fresh start
Dry ice cleaning turned out to be a great technique to create a clean start for the rebuild while preserving those parts of the base that were still good.
All latest updates
What caused my electric car fire?
The electric car fire triggered a lot of questions. Now it’s time to share my thoughts on what might have caused the Tesla battery fire in our converted 1967 Volvo Amazon wagon.
Testing a new iDrive gear selector
Thanks to Tom from Engovis (also the creator of Simp BMS) for the inspiration, reverse engineering and sharing his work on this gear selector. Now I needed a tester and a selector too. I definitely want this in my Voltvo rebuild.
Volvo Amazon wagon turned 56 years old
On 4th of April 1967 it was reported OK by the factory in Sweden. In 2015/2016 restoring from scrap level. May 2021 back on the road. June 2021 it caught fire.
Using the Shining 3D Einstar scanner
Best way to practice using new EVcreate 3D scanning tools is to use it for my own project. Impressed with the ease of use and scanning result. Next step is to successfully import the scan into Onshape.
Dry ice cleaning for a fresh start
Dry ice cleaning turned out to be a great technique to create a clean start for the rebuild while preserving those parts of the base that were still good.
Rear wheel drive EV conversion motor options
Nowadays there are way more drivetrain options compared to back in 2015. So what are my options to improve the driving experience of Voltvo?
Check out all rebuild related blogposts. Or Facebook posts (embedded on oldvolvo.com) or follow me on social media directly:
