Tesla At The Coronary heart Of Electrical Citroen H Van

In a workshop on the prime quality within the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Phil Ward is performing a labour of affection: restoring and electrifying his Citroen H van from 1969.

He tells me that he has been interested by Citroens since he was 8 years previous — when he purchased his first toy Citroen mannequin. As an grownup, he has owned and pushed most fashions, beginning with a DS. His white Tesla Mannequin 3 is the primary non-Citroen automobile he has purchased. “Thoughts you, with the cash I’ve spent doing up the van, I might have purchased a pair extra Teslas,” he confided.

The mannequin that began all of it. Picture courtesy of Phil Ward.

For the previous two years, he has laboured within the storage subsequent to his home completely stripping again and rebuilding the van. He has even recovered the leather-based seats. The van has a fantastic view, wanting north over Mt Cooroy and views to the ocean. The van sits behind the Tesla Mannequin 3 and subsequent to the Tesla battery. Phil is a designer with an eye fixed for high quality. We chatted, drank espresso, and listed to jazz on his Bang & Olufsen sound system. He’s additionally a certified mechanic, auto electrical technician, designer, and jewellery maker.

On our technique to see the electrical Citroen H van. Picture courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

He tells me the historical past of his beloved van. He purchased the van in 1979. It had been pushed around the globe earlier than it got here to Australia. He then restored it and drove it for 15 years. The van was then bought to a neighbour, who didn’t really use it, so it sat within the driveway for 29 years. He watched it deteriorate till he might stand it now not and pestered the neighbour till he bought the van again to him. The van was then shipped from Adelaide to Queensland, the place Phil had now settled.

Sandblasting revealed that each panel had rust in it, so Phil ordered new ones from Germany. “Why not France,” I requested. Phil tells me that Germany may be very massive on DIY and restoration.

Citroen made H vans from 1948–1981. The aspect panels jogged my memory of metal rubbish cans. Phil didn’t take offense however knowledgeable me that their design was impressed by “Luftwaffe” Junkers airplanes — sturdy and light-weight.

Tesla Mannequin 3, Citroen H van, and a charger. Picture courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

Phil has his electrical motor prepared to put in. It got here from a wrecked, low-mileage 2021 Tesla Mannequin 3. He’s now on the lookout for a charging system and a Tesla battery to energy the van. Putting in the battery would be the final job. He has loads of house for the battery and he’s contemplating his choices. He’s aiming for about 400 km of vary. The H van will not be aerodynamic — “it’s a sq. brick and it’ll make a fantastic camper.”

Phil and his spouse Wendy are planning to maneuver nearer to the coast within the subsequent 12 months. He hopes to have the ability to get the subframe put in so the van is simpler to maneuver. He’ll want quantity of workshop house on the new handle.

I requested Phil what was essentially the most troublesome a part of the method. “Orienting the Tesla motor within the body. It needs to be put in backwards.” His google search didn’t flip up any info, so he pulled the motor aside and rejigged it. “I needed to idiot the motor into pondering it was going forwards when it was in reverse.” He left the electronics untouched however needed to swap the
phases over on the stator and alter the wiring on the resolver — motor place sensor. It’s an entire ton of labor. I requested why he’s doing it. “I really like Citroens, I really like the H van, and I really like electrical!”

Tesla motor attached for testing. Picture courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

Phil has all the time beloved design and pulling issues aside. On the age of 8, he fell in love with the form of the Citroen DS and acquired a mannequin automobile from Myers division retailer. He then sought out extra info. He even impressed his father to get entangled — shopping for the native Citroen dealership. Younger Phil might now encompass himself together with his favorite automobile. He believes that Citroen mixed advances in know-how with inventive designs, citing the hydraulics on the DS within the mid-fifties for example. He compares the early DS fashions to Tesla automobiles — easy design (e.g., frameless home windows) mixed with innovative know-how.

I requested the apparent query — why not an electrical Citroen as a substitute of the Tesla Mannequin 3? “They haven’t come out to Australia but, and I couldn’t wait.” Additionally, “The consumer interface and the vary are inferior to Tesla.” Phil tells me he checked out all of the EVs at the moment accessible in Australia and located Tesla to be the most effective.

At one level, Phil had a shed stuffed with Citroens — 7 of them. He had thought-about changing one among these to electrical, however felt that they had been in too good a situation. “I didn’t wish to muck them up.” Many house owners taking a look at changing their basic vehicles really feel the identical method. The H van was so rusty that the rebuild meant it was now not authentic. “So I can do what I like.”

We had take a look at his workshop and the deconstructed H. There was the physique shell, the chassis (he tells me that is all that was left of the unique van), and the Tesla motor with a foot pedal hooked up so it might be examined. “I’m simply making issues up as I am going,” he explains. The H van is mainly a supply automobile however is light-weight, sturdy, and handles nicely. It might take being modernised with an electrical motor — energy brakes with discs on the fronts and electrical energy steering.

All that’s left of the unique. Picture courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

The T2-C controller for the motor has come from the corporate EV Controls in Canada by way of Western Australian distributor Lithium Energy. EV Controls was most useful in organising the controller — communication wanted to be early morning or late evening because of the time zone variations. The info hyperlink within the controller enabled EVC to see what was taking place. The H van is mainly managed by an app on an iPad.

Phil’s testing equipment for the Tesla motor. Picture courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

I broached what I assumed was a fragile topic and requested how a lot time he was spending on this challenge and the way Wendy felt about it. It seems, she is totally supportive and in addition an enormous fan of Citroen. Wendy and Phil met at a nationwide Citroën rally — Phil driving throughout from South Australia met Wendy together with her Gentle 15 in Queensland. Their frequent pursuits not solely embody Citroens, but in addition defending the surroundings.

I’ve already booked a return go to to see the progress that Phil has made on his automobile, nevertheless it may be a couple of years earlier than it’s completed.

Additionally be aware that I’ve coated restorations earlier than.