Hey everybody!
This is my first post with photos taken with the G1. The photos aren't as clear as before but the upload process is simpler. Hopefully this new found simplicity will result in more frequent postings.

I finally found a decent way to weld aluminum on the cheap. I tried the propane torch and rod, as seen on youtube, but with no luck. Even with maps gas it took forever to get hot enough to melt the rod. I still don't want to invest in TIG so my other option was the MIG box. Turns out if you use 100% argon and keep the welding line straight it was actually possible for me to get a decent bead... at times. Compared to MIG welding steel, aluminum is much more difficult to keep consistent. If you need it to be pretty think twice before going this route.

Always practice before welding and drilling holes for power cables:


The main box finished and ready to be installed:

Except for the batteries in the main box the high voltage system is nearly complete:

Today my dad came over to help crimp battery cables.
I didn't realize it before now but crimping 2/0 cable is really hard work!

While dad crimped cable I was busy putting aluminum sides in the big battery box.

Motor mount.

Motor mount installed.Motor with motor mount installed.

Front battery rack holding 5 of the 25 batteries.

Another view of the front battery rack.

Motor installed, front battery rack complete

While it is true that returning to my 9-5 job has slowed E-Rex production a bit there is still lots of progress being made. The electric motor went in even more smoothly than the ICE came out.

In the interest of getting the car on the road sooner I opted to create a battery rack instead of an enclosed box for the five batteries that will reside between the front grill and the motor. The down side is that I will not be able to control the temperature of those batteries. This is not as good in the cold winter months that are fast approaching. Hopefully I'll have time to upgrade it to a box before the real cold hits.
Warp 9 motor heading for it's new home...


Ahhh, home at last!

Battery rack or modern art? You decide.

Motor is ready to drop in the car

The adapter plate and coupler are complete.

I had wanted this to be a true diy project from the beginning and I was a little concerned about being able to do this part without the help of a machinist. So I'm feeling pretty good today :) The whole coupler/adapter was done with less than $100 in materials. I've seen these types of things go for anywhere from $700-$1000. However, I am unaware of anyone selling one for the crx so buying one wasn't an option. Using the 2"x1/4" steel caused me to spend a little more time welding than I would have to if I had cut the large pieces out of a larger piece. I will probably use the larger piece next time. There will be more waste and higher material cost but I think it will be worth it.
Adapter plate from the Transmission side

Adapter plate from the motor side
Motor and tranny all bolted together and ready to be dropped into the car. The wood is to keep it in place while test spinning the motor using a 12v battery. The test spin runs really smoothly so I'm pretty happy with the flywheel centering and balancing that I was able to get with minimal tools. Gotta give a quick thanks to Steve Clunn and his video that shows how to do this kind of thing.
Also, had to cut a little piece from an old server case to cover the hole where the starter used to be.
Here is the flywheel after welding on the taper lock hub. I am only slightly concerned that the little 120v welder didn't get enough penetration. If this doesn't hold I will go buy a 220v welder and redo it... we will see.

Motor to Transmission Adapter Plate

The beginning of the motor to transmission adapter plate. Made from a 2" x 1/4" steel.
A close up of two of the welds. The one on the right was preheated to 500+ degrees. When welding this thicker material I'm starting to wish I had a 220v welder.

Centering the flywheel on the coupler should probably be done at a machine shop but a dial gauge can be used in a pinch.

After getting it centered a little epoxy was used to hold it in place temporarily then the hub was welded to the flywheel. Again I find myself wanting that 220v welder.


Here the motor, coupler, adapter plate and transmission all test fitted before welding the two sides of the adapter plate together. A single battery can be wired directly to the motor to get it to spin. Seems to spin the tranny pretty well :)

Btw, I have LOTS of batteries now...

Big news! The motor is here!
That is the coupler attached to the drive shaft on top.

The bad news is that I'm taking a week off. The batteries will be here a couple days after I get back then the controller is expected within a week of that. So I will be busy :)

The third battery box is nearing completion. It fits between the firewall and the motor and will hold three batteries.













Clutch & Flywheel
Due to the high torque of the electric motor a clutch upgrade is necessary. The middle column is the old clutch from the crx. The right column is the new setup with the six puck clutch and the chromoly flywheel. The column on the left is from my mustang cobra. You can see the difference in size of a 300+ hp clutch and the 103 hp.

I recently swapped out the clutch and flywheel in my cobra with a King Cobra clutch and an aluminum flywheel. This was good experience as I got to feel what difference a lighter flywheel and stronger clutch make. It will be interesting to see how the electric motor changes the feel as well.















OEM clutch and the new "Stage 4" clutch. This is one of the highest friction clutches that still has the torsion springs.














This is a 2012 taper lock bushing and weld on hub. It will be used to attach the motor drive shaft to the flywheel.















Taperlock hub assembled.















Closeup of the flywheel. The chromoly flywheel is significantly lighter than the stock flywheel. The lighter flywheel should improve efficiency slightly. It was also chosen for its weldability. The six bolt holes in the middle would normally bolt to the crankshaft of the ICE but in this case they are conveniently placed directly over the two set screws in the taperlock hub. The only problem here is that after the hub is welded on there is no access to the third hole in the hub. The third hole is used to disconnect the hub. This may required drilling a hole in the flywheel to remove it.

Pics from today

Hello everyone!
I've been meaning to start a blog for the E-Rex for quite a while but I've been a little too busy welding to get to it. Luckily today Beth set one up for me, and took a bunch of pictures too! Thanks Beth! This post is pics from today, the others are from the last month or so and not necessarily in chronological order. Hopefully I'll be making regular updates to the blog as I'm planning to make a lot more progress soon.

For any randoms who don't know what the E-Rex is: it is basically an old Honda CRX that is being given a second chance at life, only this time it will be a much cleaner life. E-Rex will be getting an electric motor and a HUGE battery pack. The main goals of this EV conversion are to take me to Seattle's Greenlake and back home on a single charge and to have room for my dog in the back. A secondary goal is for the car to be faster than it was in stock form. I figure if I can build a fast enough EV to satisfy my speed addiction then I can stop driving my cobra which will help ween me off of my oil addiction... and if I can do that then why can't the rest of America?


Accelerator pedal, cable cutters, cable, lugs and a crimper

Test fitting the sides of a battery box

Chopping more steel...


Anybody need a 1.6l honda engine?

More photos of Electric car

It is always good to keep a tidy work area for trying stuff out ;-)

Battery box frames

Pulling engines is easy with a cheap harbor freight engine crane. Hmmm, now where am I going to store that monster?


Be sure to use strong hooks even when pulling small engines. This one came dangerously close to losing it :-o

Car Project Pictures

Honda built a nice little 1.6 liter engine that was still running strong at 234,000 miles.

It took me the better part of a day to remove all the ICE components. 99% of the work was done with a 10mm wrench and a pair of pliers :)

Anybody need some old crx parts?

Before...

After much cutting and mig welding the rear battery box frames are test fitted. Needless to say, they fit perfectly!
A BIG thanks to Godot for loaning me the mig welder!