Darrell's 1979 Honda Civic Electric Conversion

Civic 1973-1979 Projects
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Randy
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Province/State: Ontario
Hometown: Ajax
Model: 1978 Hatchback

Darrell's 1979 Honda Civic Electric Conversion

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1979 Honda Civic 1200 "Nodha"

I found the car in the back of a car dealership. They weren't about to put it in front of the lot, but it was the only car I was interested in.

It was later used as my honeymoon get-away car. The car was sold to my brother in-law while I was in basic training, but I always wanted it back. Eventually the car was in such poor shape, that the car was given back to me.

I drove the car for a while and fixed whatever bothered me, but eventually something got to me and I couldn't take it any more. Believe it or not, it was the engine! I kept looking at the engine, oil, and dirt and thought that it had to go! I was tired of the points, valves, timing, gas smell, and carburetor adjustments.

While I was in basic training, I learned electronics and through the years I became aware of electric vehicles, but was far from having the ability to buy or convert a car. Through the years I learned more and became able to buy parts. Eventually I decided to go for it!

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Roger was looking for an engine so I told him that he could have mine if he helped me take it out. So away it went. Then my car sat for about a year while I got reassigned. Now that I able to work on my car in my own garage, I have torn apart my car. I want to rebuild or paint everything before I put it together. About a year ago I saw an electric civic on line auctions. I didn't buy the car, but I kept in good contact with the buyer. We exchanged many letters, but eventually he was also fed up. So I bought all of the usable electric components for only $200. Then the car shell was sold on line auctions again. The stuff I bought worked, but needed some TLC.

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I haven't worked on the electric components very much. My goal is to get the car back on the ground, then work on the electric stuff. I'm proud of my interior. I have 1997 Pontiac Sunfire seats that hold me tight. I bought my carpet and padding from Home Depot. It's actually outdoor carpet, but it matches perfectly. My backseat was covered with corduroy cloth and my door panels were covered with vinyl. My plastic panels were scraped, cleaned and sprayed with clear polyurethane paint. My project won't be completed for a long time.
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