Self driving 1993 Volvo with open pilot
A DIY project to retrofit a 1993 Volvo 940 with OpenPilot-style self‑driving capabilities is drawing both admiration for its ingenuity and concern over safety and legality. Commenters scrutinize choices like welding the steering column and adding servo-controlled throttle and braking, arguing over whether hobbyist QA can ever be adequate for public-road use and how such heavily modified vehicles fit within strict EU approval and insurance regimes. Alongside technical suggestions and OpenPilot tuning tips, the conversation broadens into car culture, contrasting Europe’s tight modification rules and aging manuals with the U.S. hot‑rod tradition and questioning how much autonomy drivers should realistically hand over to experimental systems.
Steering Column and Structural Safety
- Major concern over welding the steering column; cited as a single glaring safety weakness.
- Reference to a famous fatal crash where a shortened, badly welded steering column failed.
- Some argue welding itself is fine if done to a high standard, and that many factory and race cars use welded columns.
- Others worry about lack of professional QA/inspection for such critical work and question trusting amateur welds in public-road use.
Throttle, Braking, and Actuator Risks
- Debate over the accelerator servo being called “low safety impact”:
- Critics fear a stuck servo at full throttle and limited reaction time.
- Counterpoints: manual gearbox allows clutch/neutral; brakes are designed to overpower full throttle.
- Some note earlier “sudden unintended acceleration” incidents mostly involved driver error or floor mats.
- One commenter views the non-failsafe throttle linkage as inherently dangerous.
Legality, Regulation, and Insurance
- Multiple comments state such heavy DIY modifications are almost certainly illegal on public roads in Sweden/Finland and would fail Dutch inspection without individual approval.
- Individual approvals in the EU can allow unusual vehicles but depend heavily on local authority discretion.
- Concern that insurance may refuse third‑party payouts if the car is not road‑legal; others note some regimes still require insurers to pay.
- Swedish police reportedly say “autopilot” is illegal, though the boundary with lane assist is unclear.
- Some see the rally context and “carbage” nature as part of the fun, others stress public‑safety and liability risks.
Drivetrain and Vehicle Details
- Discussion on whether the car is manual or automatic; evidence from clutch hydraulics strongly indicates a manual.
- Broader debate on prevalence of manuals vs automatics in Europe vs US, and changing trends with EVs.
Technical Alternatives and Corrections
- Suggestions that using a later ABS pump could have enabled brake actuation without an iBooster; later clarified this car lacks ABS.
- Clarification that the engine is fuel‑injected with a cable throttle, not carbureted; factory cruise‑control hardware might have simplified throttle control.
- Some note modern steering solutions: electric racks, modified hydraulic pressure, or manual racks as safer/easier than column welding.
Openpilot and ADAS Discussion
- Interest in adding radar to the comma device; openpilot can consume radar input.
- Forks (e.g., sunnypilot, frogpilot) add speed‑limit control, curve‑speed prediction, stop‑sign/light handling, and tunable driving behavior.
- One developer is working on a fork to approach modern OEM ADAS quality, noting many remaining shortcomings (e.g., pedestrian clearance, nuanced lane changes).
Car Culture, Risk Tolerance, and Reactions
- Many readers find the project inspiring, praising old Volvos and DIY engineering.
- Others are “scared” to share roads with experimental self‑driving garage builds, regardless of builder competence.
- Side debates on US vs EU modification freedom, decline vs persistence of hot‑rodding, and Sweden’s controversial slow “A‑tractor” cars for teens, which some see as a real safety/nuisance problem.