1992 Honda Civic Hatchback

[Pancella]

I'm finally getting started for real this weekend in Kalamazoo. After a year of searching for a better way, I've decided to try to convert my old car in my own garage. I hope I have enough skilled folks around to help me. I know it's a bit of a hike for most of you, but if anyone wants to come over for a work session, let me know.
I think I have most of the required tools lined up, and I've nailed down the major components. I am still looking for good deals on a few bits: 500A circuit breaker and fuses, inertia switch, vacuum pump for brake booster, Anderson disconnects or the equivalent.
I'll describe my system in the first reply below. I'm also going to ask advice on charging options in the technical questions section. See you soon.

[Pancella]

Here is the system I have settled on:
The donor car is a white Civic CX base model hatchback which I bought used in 1993. It now has 192,000 miles on it and some body rust. Everything works, except the engine is starting to fail, and the frame appears to be sound. The car is lightweight and has a driver's side air bag. Manual transmission, no power steering, no AC.

Wasn't she a beauty?

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This is what she looked like 15 years ago. Not quite so nice now, but still decent.

Main traction pack: 11 x 12V Saft NiMH modules, 6 up front, 5 in rear spare tire well.
I'm going to try first without a DC-DC converter, just a separate 12V accessory battery (probably SLA) big enough to handle night time rainstorm loads between charges, to be charged simultaneously with the traction pack when parked. I'll help it out with a solar PV panel on the dashboard. Maybe some LED lights later on.
I'm getting a small but strong permanent magnet DC motor from Lynch in England, which in theory will allow me to get some regenerative braking with a Kelly KDH 14501 controller. The battery and motor choices raise the budget at least 50% above a more standard configuration, but it's still less costly than an AC system.
Onboard chargers: Zivan NG3 for the traction pack, Schumacher 12A smart charger for the accessory battery.
Instrumentation: PakTrakr now claims to have a system that will monitor 12V NiMH modules, so I will probably combine that with some old analog meters I can get for free where I work. A good voltmeter on the 12V system will be important.
I intend to replace the heater core with an electric (ceramic) heater element (~1500W) for cabin heat and windshield defrosting, but that can wait a few months. I'd really like to get this thing rolling before Thanksgiving.

Total curb weight should be around 2500 pounds when finished, giving me plenty of headroom under the 3055 lb. GVWR. The calculator at EVConvert.com suggests that I should be able to go 42 miles between charges (80% discharge) at 40 mph in 3rd gear, and be capable of brief 70 mph bursts on the highway.

[JohnMogs]

Hi Paul,
Glad your getting started. I'm building some custom DC/DC converters that might work for you, I'll let you know when we've got them running.
John

[Pancella]

Thanks, John, definitely keep me posted.
I had my first work session last night, and it was fantastic! Five guys came over and descended on my car, tearing stuff out left and right. Exhaust is off, as are most of the engine's peripherals. Radiator is out and the fluids are drained. All the cables are unplugged. She's up on the stands and the gas tank is about ready to drop. This Wednesday after work, we plan to attack the drive shafts and maybe pull the engine/transmission combo. Gotta get to work ordering the rest of my stuff!

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Air cleaner, radiator are gone, lots of wires and hoses are disconnected.

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[Pancella]

Had another productive session last night. Gas tank and filler tubes are gone, as is the complete exhaust system. The old engine with transmission attached is out and sitting on a dolly. I'll be doing some cleanup and labeling of the wiring harness while I wait for my electric motor to arrive. Lookin' good so far.

That's two of my helpers, Ben and Ron, holding the last bolts that were holding the engine/transmission in the car.

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You'll note we failed to get the "bitch pin" out of the shift rod, so the transmission has a 'tail'. Luckily the jackstands were just high enough that we could still wiggle the whole thing out.

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And here is the vacated engine bay.

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[Pancella]

I'm still waiting for my electric motor, but progress continues.

The wiring harness before wirectomy

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All the other essential bits are either in hand or on order now, so I hope the hemorrhaging from my bank account will slow down soon. I have the controller, potboxes, heavy power cable, a PakTrakr and other meters for monitoring, and a pillar pod to mount them in. I have the main contactor, electric vacuum pump, and materials to assemble a vacuum reservoir for the brake booster.
Yesterday, we separated the transmission from the old engine, and extracted the clutch disk. Spent some time with my good friend Rick and a drawing of the electric motor conceptualizing the torque coupling and motor mount. Now that I see how it's going to work, I am pretty comfortable with the decision to go without the clutch. We can now start generating the drawings and fabricating the pieces needed to attach the motor to the transmission securely. I should also have enough info to design and build battery racks while I'm waiting for more parts. I reckon I'm still on schedule to finish before the first frost.

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[Pancella]

My motor should ship from England tomorrow or Monday; not sure how long it will take to get here after that. I have ordered a taper-lock hub that I can bolt the clutch disk to, and we should be able to fabricate the adaptor plate soon. Last night, I mounted the small 12V vacuum pump and a reservoir that I glued together from PVC pipe, and hooked it up to the brake booster. Then I gave it 12V to see if it would work and if my seals were all tight. Seems to work pretty well, so the car has brakes at least. If anyone is interested, this is what I bought: http://www.readybrake.com/electricvacuumpump.html
Cheaper than any Gast or Thomas pumps I could find, and considerably smaller. I hope it is as durable. It actually has "Ford" on the label. The rubber mounts and vacuum switch are integral. I hope the noise will be less when the hood goes back on. It doesn't seem to get hot, so some additional sound muffling might be possible.

Here is the supplemental vacuum system. The reservoir is obvious, but you can barely see the small black pump tucked up near the clutch master cylinder, upper left in the photo.

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[Pancella]

...but I'm finding things to do. I reinstalled the transmission so I could firm up some options for laying out the rest of the components. I bolted in the main contactor. I removed the clutch pedal and master cylinder. I pared down the engine wiring harness to the essentials, and started working on instrumentation. Here is a photo with cardboard mockups of several large components I don't yet have.

That's four batteries in two pairs up by the firewall. Two more are near the grill at bottom, but one is hidden under the shelf for the onboard charger (Zivan). Contactor and controller can be seen at left. Throttle control is the black box at far right. It's a little tight, but I think I can fit the accessory battery on top of the transmission as shown, without rubbing on anything. I didn't make a model of the motor, that's the big hole in the middle.

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[Pancella]

Quick update:
Motor is scheduled for delivery tomorrow, and UPS says it is on time! I replaced the torn CV boot while I had easy access to the half shaft. I mounted the controller, with supplementary heat sink/radiator.

[Pancella]

My Lynch LMC-2x2-D127 motor arrived last week, along with a taper-lock hub for the shaft. I spun it with a 12V battery and it works. In between working out the rest of the adapter parts to fabricate, John G. and Rick W. helped me excavate the buried treasure that is the heater core from within the dashboard. So the interior is a mess right now, but I have high hopes that we will be able to reassemble it eventually. I expect the last of the specialized parts to be delivered today (circuit breaker, lugs, crimper) leaving only the batteries and the onboard charger to be delivered some time next month. More pictures soon.