This sounds like a great car in the making.
One thing about the battery placement. If you are removing the metal
under the seat consider its purpose may have contributed to the stability
and support of the sides of the car. The batteries weigh a lot and there
have been cases of this weight bearing on the sides of the car and pulling
it down and inward (creating a kind of reverse dent/dimpling of the
exterior). I don't know enough about the civic to do any more than just
warn about the possibility. Get a civic engineer involved :) if you have
concerns.
> 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!
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