In Chaotic Project, Mechanic Installs Gas Engine in Tesla

Some men just want to see the world burn, uh, gasoline.

Electric to Gas

YouTuber and renowned Tesla tinkerer Rich Rebuilds has tackled his latest project: replacing the clean, electric powertrain of a junkyard Tesla Model S with a gasoline-guzzling V8 engine block.

The hardware he transplanted is a 6.2-liter LS3 rear-wheel-drive car engine made by General Motors — courtesy of a totaled 2010 Chevrolet Camaro — with 426 horsepower. That's comparable to the performance put out by a, well, normal entry level Model S.

And yes, the project is "gonna hurt some feelings," as The Drive predicted back in December, when Rich was still working on the project.

 

Flipping the Script

Rich has set himself a substantial challenge: a Model S was never designed to fit a V8, let alone be powered by one. But after a great deal of tinkering and stripping of original parts, the space under the hood did in fact end up fitting the massive engine block.

The project is not nearly ready to hit the streets. Rich and his team still have to reinforce numerous areas of the car frame, because fitting the engine required them to take a lot of steel out.

READ MORE: This V8-Powered Tesla Is Everything Fun about Modifying Cars [Autoweek]

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