Workshop update: back to bare basics
We have now completed a full overhaul of body, chassis and other major mechanical components, which mostly meant taking our old off-road truck back to bare basics. A solar-electric makeover for a vehicle like this may be a lot of work, but it’s been coming along nicely. Completing this first chapter means we’ll be able to go into the development of the electric drive, expedition shelter and solar system with the peace of mind of having a professionally restored base vehicle.
We’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating: Project ECARUS™ is based on a true off-road legend. The Pinzgauer 712M was designed by Steyr-Puch, the ingenious car manufacturer who also created the G-Wagen (in cooperation with Mercedes, now marketed as the G-Class). These trucks are known for being sturdy, low-maintenance and practically unstoppable beyond the tarmac. As long as you look after them a little, you can run them for decades. Our Pinz was originally commissioned in Oman, during the 1980s, and we’ve brought it to the United Arab Emirates for restoration.
With the help of the crew at Butterfly Cars Care, we peeled back layers of dust, rust and dirt, refurbishing the base vehicle with a number of repairs and replacements. While all this was going on, we began working on plans for the upcoming electrification, expedition shelter and solar rig. We also dug into the history of the Pinzgauer, meeting some of the people who were involved in its original design and engineering, back in the 1970s. More on that in an upcoming video, so stay tuned.
But before we get to all that fancy stuff, first things first. Here’s what ‘back to bare basics’ meant for Project ECARUS™:
Stripping down soft top and side panels
Separating body from chassis
Sandblasting
Welding
Bodywork
Undercoating
Re-painting
Fabricating a custom wind screen
Getting the truck ready for shipping
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But, as we keep telling ourselves, it’s got to get worse before it gets better, right?!
Snapshots of what we’ve been working on:
To recap: we are giving this broken down truck from 1983 a solar-electric makeover.
We started by stripping down the bull bar and desert-spec cyclone air-filter.
Next, we removed the soft top, cage and side walls.
Out with the wind shield, we’re replacing it with a bigger one.
The underbelly got a thorough refurb.
As did most of the mechanical components. Here is what some of the elements looked like at the beginning.
Plenty of dust and grime.
Some of the bolts were stuck.
We replaced a lot of the rubber elements.
And dealt with a number of leaks.
The cockpit was always going to be a lot of work.
Looking forward to seeing this kitted out with custom interiors and interfaces!
There was also plenty of body work to be taken care of.
Luckily, the guys at the garage are specialised in body work.
Removing the chassis from the body and working on the Pinzgauer’s rather complex drive train, on the other hand, was new territory for all of us.
Thankfully, we had brought (almost) all the right spare parts with us to get the job done.
There was no shortage of obsolete parts to remove. They’ll make space for the electric motor, batteries and battery management system, as well as expedition equipment.
Removing the original engine was a milestone we celebrated. We can’t wait to replace it with an all-new electric drive!
This stage felt pretty daunting at times but there was always time for a little ‘karak’ tea break :)
With help from the amazing team at the garage, we managed to get these important first steps of the project off to a good start. A big thank you to Peter and the whole team at Butterfly Cars Care, Abu Dhabi!