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...