Hello all, I'm planning my Civic EV conversion and I'd like to bounce some ideas off the group.
First though, let me start by thanking Victor for giving me an adapter plate and motor mount! His generosity is inspiring, and I'm off and running toward converting my beloved Civic! The car that I'm going to be converting is an '88 Civic sedan that I've had for several years. In the time that I've owned it I've become very familiar with its workings, everything from clutch replacement to brake jobs and suspension upgrades. I do all my own work, so I'm confident in my ability to do the conversion myself except for one thing, the battery box. I've noticed that nearly everyone has their battery boxes welded, I'm wondering if there is a specific reason for that? If I build everything myself I'd likely be bolting the boxes together and bolting them to the frame (well, unibody). Is this really such a bad idea that I should just ditch it and start looking for a welder to build the boxes for me? For battery box placement I'd really like to reuse the space that the gas tank currently occupies, although I'm not exactly sure of its size or contours. In this car the tank is directly underneath the rear passenger seat, since I was considering removing the rear seat entirely I was thinking that I could cut through the floor there, use the existing tank as a box and tie the batteries down somehow. How does that sound? I'd then use plexi to cover the batteries and build a minimalistic rear seat to go on top of them. Probably nothing more than a small square pad and a couple of padded straps for a back rest. Talk about a hot seat! heh :-) I'd also have the stereo system's massive subwoofers firing directly forward from the trunk, placed just behind the new seats! Alternatively I could just use the existing spare tire space to mount all of the batteries in, but that would put the weight further back than I was hoping for. I'm going to be running a 156V pack of Optimas, and I'm wondering how many of the batteries I'll be able to fit under the hood. I'm counting on at least three, but I figure there may be enough room for up to six. Anyone have experience with this? (Victor?) This will of course affect what I need to do for the rear battery pack. I'd like to maintain the handling of the car as much as possible, so the front/rear weight distribution is very important to me. I've never had a car weighed before, where should I look to have this done? Should I just pull into a truck stop that has scales? Being in Wisconsin my climate control is very important to me. The AC has been dead in this car for quite a while, but I know what's wrong with it and can fix it rather easily. More important for safety however is the heater, can I really just run out and pick up any old ceramic heating element (of a size that'll fit to replace my existing heater core) and run it off full pack voltage? If not, what should I be looking at? I've been thinking that I can have one auxiliary motor to drive both my AC and power steering pumps when needed, but what kind of motor should I be looking at for this? It would be most simple to run it off the 12V system, but will I be able to find a motor that is powerful enough to handle both the AC and PS loads at the same time with only 12V? (That being the worst case scenario) Regarding the batteries. I've been working myself into a dizzying confusion trying to figure out exactly what I want. I know that a 156V pack should fit my needs, but what model of battery should I use? There are several Optimas out there (even of the Yellow Tops), as well as the Hawkers, etc., etc., etc.. I'm sure we'll get into brand loyalty and personal preference here, so could those of you who agree with the track I'm on give suggestions? I'm planning to use a Raptor controller and an 8" ADC motor that came out of a Sparrow. Future upgrade to 9" Warp from NetGain is planned. I'm also trying to get an accurate estimate of the time this conversion will take. I'd like to be on the road before the first snowfall (which will likely be late December) so that I can park my Valkyrie before the salt hits. I've heard of conversions that can take anywhere from 1 day (John Wayland's Blue Datsun) to more than a year. I'll probably be dedicating at least one hour per day during the week and 5 hours a day on the weekends to this project. Does that sound doable to you guys? That's enough to chew on for now. I'll likely have more in the months to come! Thanks, Matt Muelver [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Composed on "Ti", my Titanium PowerBook G4. Transported by "Li'l G", my 2000 Honda Insight #5359. 58,500 mi. since 3.1.01 with 71.6 L(ifetime)MPG. Life is good. Thank the Lord.
