Well, with three and a half estimated months left to finish my build, it’s about time I start a build thread, complete with pictures for the eye-candy addicts.
Here’s my car, a 1990 Honda CRX. Ain’t he a gem? Yes, I said he. As my wife always says, he is a stick shift. I got him last summer, and we named him C-Rex.
When we got him, he had 3” lowering springs on him and it would bottom out on every bump in the road. I replaced those with a 1 ½” lowering, with increased spring stiffness performance coils for better handling (and anticipating a slightly heavier endcar, even with lithiums). I also found a nice set of Enkei rims that are just a touch scuffed up – when the conversion’s finished I plan to repaint them pearl silver. The rest of the car will also be receiving a paint job after the electric conversion is finished, new windshield, new rubber moldings, etc. What, you don’t like cancerous sunspots on the top of your roof?
Although this is a build thread and not a blog, people often ask me why I am bothering with all this, so I thought I’d say it once. I’m converting my car because I want the U.S. to be less reliant on foreign oil. Will my car make a difference? I don’t kid myself. But slowly the country is turning its eyes to electric and I hope to be one of the early users. Additionally, I was born and raised in the Motor City, and cars are a huge part of my life. Being an electrical engineer as well, it’s the perfect blend of interests to make a great (and expensive) hobby. My goal for the car is to be fast, fun to drive, practical range, and intuitive to use. I want any of my friends to be able to borrow the car and not have to explain “well, just click that lever three times to prime the pump… and you can’t use the heat while you’re using valet mode…” or whatever. The car HAS to have an intuitive OEM look and feel or the American public will never want one.
But they will want a C-Rex…
Here’s my car, a 1990 Honda CRX. Ain’t he a gem? Yes, I said he. As my wife always says, he is a stick shift. I got him last summer, and we named him C-Rex.
When we got him, he had 3” lowering springs on him and it would bottom out on every bump in the road. I replaced those with a 1 ½” lowering, with increased spring stiffness performance coils for better handling (and anticipating a slightly heavier endcar, even with lithiums). I also found a nice set of Enkei rims that are just a touch scuffed up – when the conversion’s finished I plan to repaint them pearl silver. The rest of the car will also be receiving a paint job after the electric conversion is finished, new windshield, new rubber moldings, etc. What, you don’t like cancerous sunspots on the top of your roof?
Although this is a build thread and not a blog, people often ask me why I am bothering with all this, so I thought I’d say it once. I’m converting my car because I want the U.S. to be less reliant on foreign oil. Will my car make a difference? I don’t kid myself. But slowly the country is turning its eyes to electric and I hope to be one of the early users. Additionally, I was born and raised in the Motor City, and cars are a huge part of my life. Being an electrical engineer as well, it’s the perfect blend of interests to make a great (and expensive) hobby. My goal for the car is to be fast, fun to drive, practical range, and intuitive to use. I want any of my friends to be able to borrow the car and not have to explain “well, just click that lever three times to prime the pump… and you can’t use the heat while you’re using valet mode…” or whatever. The car HAS to have an intuitive OEM look and feel or the American public will never want one.
But they will want a C-Rex…