Motor Spin Up

I finally got the manual transmission fluid in and put the wheels back on the car. Once that was done, it was time for a 12 volt motor spin test.

Well right off the bat the coupling + flywheel were wobbling! The coupling didn't quite make it onto the taper locking part on the shaft and the pressure plate actually would hit part of the transmission!

Now here I was dreading what I thought I had to do next: take everything out and start over!

But instead I decided to try something else, I loosened the two coupling bolts then tried using a screwdriver as a wedge to get the coupling more centered. It worked better, but still not great. Then my dad had the idea of running the system on 12 volts and using the wicked strong clutch to force the coupling center and it worked! The flywheel looks correct, no more clicking sounds and the transmission no longer vibrates!

Here is a video of the motor spinning properly:

I also picked up supplies to build the mounts for the A/C and P/S so that's what I will be doing tomorrow. I really want to be working on the control tray Saturday so I'm hoping these brackets won't be too bad, I did buy new metal cutting blades to make sure nothing stops me.

Gas Tank Dropped

Today we got the gas tank drained and dropped. I wanted to be able to use the gas from the tank, so instead of using the drain bolt on the tank I bypassed the Fuel Pump Relay and pumped it out by turning the car to the ON position.

Tomorrow I am going to put the wheels back onto the car and fill the transmission with fluid for a 12 volt test! I picked up the fluid today but didn't have time to use it yet, the gas tank was today's priority.

I am also going to pickup some metal materials and bolts tomorrow for building the A/C and P/S pumps brackets. Progress is coming slowly, but steady. I still have purchased my BMS yet so I have to do that this week!

Motor Almost In!

The past few days I've been struggling getting the axles into the transmission. Well today, with the help of Erin, we finally got the axles in and bolted up the rotors back to the struts.!

I also got the shifter cabled hooked back up but have not connect the clutch piston. I had to trim the adapter plate a bit, so I started to file down the metal by hand but tomorrow I will use my jigsaw to finish it off. Then I will adjust the mount on the motor to make everything aligned and hopefully tomorrow night I can refill the transmission fluid and test spin the wheels on 12 volts!

I think this is the most difficult parts is getting this engine installed, then I can make brackets for the A/C and P/S in about a day then get to designing the control panel. I really hope to be working on the control panel this weekend, so this week I had to get things going!

Adapter Plates Trimming

The past few days at work have been pretty crazy, but I did manage to get a few things done. I spent the past two nights trimming my adapter plates to account for the new motor mounts and dampers on the transmission. I also decided to trim the whole thing down so it looks much more professional.

Today we got the motor mounted to the transmission! It really looks much better now that it's been trimmed down, and the system rotates really well. I have to borrow the engine crane again from my neighbor tonight to I can install the motor tomorrow morning. We also removed the muffler and exhaust system, which took some more work than expected as the rubber mounts needed to be cut with a knife slowly.

We also tested the new CALB 180 AH on my old battery tray from the old 1996 Civic EV. To our surprise 44 out of 45 cells fit on it!

The one loner cell will get it's own mount on the side of this tray, which makes my life much easier. We also wrote down all the serial numbers and their voltages, and I have a completely serialized pack all within 4-thousanth of a volt from each other! This new pack is going to get a much better box, with insulation and I want 4 fans on the top to push cool air in and one exhaust to pull the air out when the pack is charging.

Playing with the Clutch

Not too much happened today, we have some things at work to deal with. We did have some progress tho. My girlfriend (Erin) and I started assembling the electric motor to the plates and connect the clutch.

Of course after getting these together I forgot the put the spacer plate in! So tomorrow I am going to take the clutch off and put the spacer on. It will only take a few minutes but I was too tired to do it this evening. I actually had a hard time find the 11mm wrench needed to tighten the coupling, which took a couple of hours of going through all the tools.

As you can see I kept the motor mount I made for the last Civic, but this time I painted it up to prevent rusting. I am trying to make this EV as professional as possible to show off, so all the steel pieces will be spray painted to prevent rust.

Anyways, tomorrow I have high hopes of removing the muffler and getting the motor mounted to the transmission. And if I get those done, I want to get rid of the gas tank. Once the gas tank is gone and the muffler remove the electric motor gets installed! It's so much nicer to have all the major parts built and ready for installing.

Transmission Removal

Today the weather was not cooperating at all. This morning it was torrential rains until noon and then the humidity and heat was unbearable. Despite that, my dad and I managed to remove the transmission from the engine!

The top picture is the now removed engine and the original clutch removed. There was surprising lots of clutch material left, but two out of the four springs on the clutch disc were nearly toast, so it didn't have much life left in it.

I cleaned up the transmission a bit with some degreaser and a hose. It's really light weight and I can manage it by myself with ease.

I also assembled the new clutch setup today:

I had to use the bolts from the original clutch setup, but it went together pretty easily. It's definitely beefier than the stock clutch so that's a good sign. It's an XTD Stage 4 clutch kit that came with a 10 LBs flywheel and the disc should be able to hold 315 FT-LBs of torque.

I also spray painted the new motor mounts for the FB1-4001a. I'll get pictures of those tomorrow when I get the motor mounted to the transmission. My goal for this week is to get the FB1-4001a installed and the brackets for the power steering and A/C designed and built. I will be going away on the 18th for a week, then I'll be back to the grind on this conversion, I need it running by September 5th!

Engine is Out!

My dad and I got the engine out today! It ended up taking much longer than we thought, it's a really tight fit and we had to dismantle all the motor mounts and tilt the engine and transmission back and forth to remove axles and avoid the A/C compressor lines.

I got to borrow my neighbors engine hoist which made things really nice and easy. I also got to use my new jack stands I got for my birthday, which made me feel like I'm doing this the proper way.

Next on my list: remove the muffler and gas tank, then remove the transmission and start assembling my motor couplings. I also need a new front engine mount as we ended up breaking it by accident.

Prep Work

For the past two days I've been doing the prep work for the conversion. I had to fix a few little things, such as replace the hood release and latch. I also had the new Skunk2 suspension installed. I first started to do it myself, but I came across some work the previous owner did and used the wrong bolts to hold the struts in place. Since I didn't even have the tools to loosen the bolts, I toke the suspension and the car down the the Goodyear mechanic shop and they were able to install it for me no problem, and it was pretty cheap with an alignment.

Today I am setting up my staging area, then I will be starting the gutting of the car. I'm going to take some pics and videos of the engine running so I can throw it up on Craigslist, along with the exhaust and gas tank. I'm hoping someone will want the engine and parts, they are in great shape and run just fine and look brand new.

So I hope to get the engine and transmission to the point where I will be ready to remove it tomorrow morning. If the weather cooperates I'll try and get it torn out tonight. This time around I am going to mount the electric motor to the transmission out side of the car, making it easier to work with and get assembled. I will also get photos up tonight on the progress.