Open Source Civic EV Kit

JANUARY 24, 2009

I guess I have to fork over some $$$ to him now :) As part of tying up loose ends, I also drove about 15 1/2 miles round trip to the Honda dealer to pick up two quarts of special manual transmission fluid (MTF). Honda recommends 10W-30 motor oil (which is in there now) or this MTF, which is much thinner.

Honda 100

Honda Miles Light Dealers 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

OCTOBER 31, 2008

While it may not seem like much, the above picture represents several months of trial-and-error design work to fit twleve group-31 batteries into the limited space of the Honda Civic. For $100 they're going to sandblast all the paint and oxidation off and coat the pieces with epoxy to prevent rust and acid damage.

Honda 100

Honda All-Electric Design Batteries 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

AUGUST 29, 2008

Apparently, you can see if local Honda dealers have these parts in stock by browsing the catalog at [link] My local dealer had three of of the alignment dowels. In the process of removing the engine from the transmission and selling it off, I lost one of the critical alignment dowels that mates the adapter plate to the transmission housing.

Dealers 100

Dealers Honda Convert Parts 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

JULY 3, 2008

This is Dave, who answered my ad on Craigslist for the Honda Civic engine. There's the engine on a hoist, all the air intake ductwork, the fuel system, the exhaust system, the starter, power-steering pump and a bunch of other stuff. I'm so glad to have space again in my garage to work.

Portland 100

Portland Gasoline-Electric Gasoline Exhaust 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

JUNE 28, 2008

The last look at the Honda Civic engine compartment in working order. I showed off the running engine yesterday to an eager buyer, so hopefully I'll be able to ditch the engine and extra parts next week. It's an EV faceoff! Classic Red 914 AC vs. Modern Blue Civic DC conversion! Death to the gasoline engine!

Conversion 100

Conversion Gasoline-Electric Honda DC 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

NOVEMBER 16, 2008

The Honda Civic specifies 10w-30 oil for the transmission. Today involved trying to mount the major electrical components to the car. Before covering up the transmission, I thought it would be a good idea to fill it with transmission fluid.

Installation 100

Installation Re-Charge Oil All-Electric 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

SEPTEMBER 21, 2008

This torque is 87 ft-lbs for the Honda Civic. Reposition bushing on shaft in the direction and amount to compensate for the distance error. Re-assemble as above. Lock the flywheel from rotation and torque the bolts to the manufacturers specifications.

Motor 100

Motor Motors Motoring Installation 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

JUNE 28, 2008

Okay, this is an attempt to document the process I used to remove the Honda Civic engine with manual transmission for conversion to an electric vehicle. There will probably be several edits, so bear with me. One thing that helped immensely in this process was getting the engine compartment steam cleaned beforehand.

Parts 100

Parts Engine Oil Fuel 100

Open Source Civic EV Kit

AUGUST 17, 2008

Next up: rotating the brushes on the Warp9 motor for the Honda Civic drivetrain. Here is the Gast vacuum storage tank with the pressure switch protruding down the the lower left of the picture. I wanted to capture this since I purchased a Gast pump from Carlo and I need to figure out the hose connections.

Supplies 100

Supplies Seattle Honda Motor 100