I built my own Tesla Roadster - Electric Supercar

Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. This goes back over three years when I decided to build my first car. A little background on me, I don't know much. The most adventurous automotive thing I had done before this was change my own spark plugs. This build really was a crash course on car building. I purchased the K1 attack kit and I thought that there would be good instructions. I later learned there were no instructions. So I had to figure most things out on my own. And with the help of YouTube. This is the first time I've done any riveting, any wiring, any soldering, any welding, any painting. I'm just showing you really bits and pieces, the highlights. This is my first time doing brakes as well. I learned things like the difference between a single flare and a double flare. I learned that the size of the piston within the caliper plays a big part when determining the size of the brake master cylinder. I had lots of little helpers along the way. It was very rewarding to have my family throughout this build process. Like doing brakes, this is the first time attempting anything cooling related. The radiator was from a Jeep Cherokee with a Bosch electric pump. This was my first time wiring and I pretty much had to start from scratch. Go ahead. So I got a 12 volt power supply to provide a little bit of safety. But I really did end up doing all my own wiring with some key helpers. I would love to say it went perfectly, but I did end up burning several wires and learning things along the way like fuses are important. This was also my first time soldering. I also learned labeling your wires is very important. To make the build a little more challenging, I decided to go electric. I ended up using a rear drive unit from a Tesla Performance Model S. I didn't really have any sophisticated equipment, but I did end up modeling a few things in CAD. I did end up having to modify the chassis to fit the Tesla subframe. Did I mention this is my first time welding? Then it was learning about batteries and battery management system. All batteries need a place to live, so I had to design and fabricate my own battery box. Lots and lots of wiring. The battery management system needs to know the voltage of all the separate battery cells. That means even more wiring. And then comes the scary part, dealing with the high voltage. This was my first time crimping or doing anything with high voltage. Also, this was my first time dealing with a CAN or controller area network system. I was so thrilled the first time the motor was spinning. The fun didn't stop there. I had to figure out how to mount the seats for a car that was never designed with any seat brackets. It was so rewarding the very first time the car was on its own wheels and able to drive. This was so fun and I couldn't wait to give everyone a ride, especially all my helpers. Oh gosh! Oh gosh, oh no, I know what's about to happen. That's it, I know you're thinking about it. Stop. Zach came to play. Yes I did. Oh wow. This is so smooth. Yeah. You ready? Oh my gosh. That's insane. That's incredible. Every time, huh? Well, if you want it to, yeah. Zach from the channel JerryRigEverything found me through YouTube. He has been my biggest celebrity supporter. Did I mention there's no instruction manual? Fitting all the fiberglass pieces was very challenging. I ended up having to modify several, extremely modify a lot more. I created my own center console with a gear selector from a Honda Odyssey minivan. I added a stereo and switches. Don't forget about the door locks. I really do have the best helpers. The doors really do make the car exotic. This was my first time learning how to vinyl wrap. I ended up getting pretty good at it. So there were some major changes that were needed to the fiberglass body. The Tesla drive unit is extremely wide. I had to extend the fenders out about three to four inches on either side. This is my first time doing any fiberglass work. I had to create some custom designs and some custom molds to fit well with the overall body. This took a lot of time and a lot of effort, but the result, it turned out fantastic. This is one of my favorite parts of the car because nothing says supercar like a really low wide car. Every chance I got, I would always try and take it out. It really helps the momentum and it really helps the morale. Even though it looks finished, we are far from finished. So I had to fit the rear diffuser. I had to make a trunk. Fit the taillights. I had to figure out a charging port, but we were getting closer and closer. Trying to fix all the panel gaps took a long time. I really wanted it to look like a car with factory panel gaps. For the dash display, I also ended up making my own custom dash display. It even has a glove box. The last part of the build was really trying to get it to look good. So I learned hydro dipping. I did this for the headlights, taillights, and mirrors. Man, I had so many issues along the way, but I had a lot of great help. It all ended up paying off by being able to register the car. So it was really fun to be able to take it out on public roads and share with friends and colleagues. It is also just a really fun car to drive. I really like to take it up the canyons. So the last part again is trying to fix all the little imperfections to make it look as good as I could. I even made a roof with lots of custom panels. That ended the building process. Now on to painting. Did I mention this was my first time painting? I have to say, for the first time painting, I thought it turned out really good. I did end up having to do lots of paint correction to get the finish I really was looking for. But man, once it was reassembled, there it was. My first build. I thought it looked amazing. Sonoma. I took it on the big track, on the autocross, and on the drag strip. Pretty awesome to beat some Teslas on the drag strip. Did I mention this was my first time racing? I ended up winning an award. Some great times. I thought to complete the build, I should do some finishing touches with some carbon fiber. Did I mention this is the first time doing carbon fiber? The final result, I was over the top thrilled with how everything turned out. For a first build, I couldn't be happier. My advice for anybody who wants to build a car, I would say do it. Jump right in. There is no better way to get something done than to just go do it. There's always friends and even strangers that will help you along the way. If you need any help, the car community is great. You can always send me a message. And to top it all off, I gotta put my car in a museum. Hope you enjoyed this first build. There are more builds underway. Please consider subscribing. See you next time.