# Newby Conversion: Honda CRX



## Gnigma (Sep 20, 2007)

I've decided to try my hand at converting a car. I've found a CRX fairly close to me with a bad engine, and it appears to be what I need. 



Skill level: I'm pretty good with everyday stuff. I've restored a '72 Triumph motorcycle, a '66 Ford F-100, a '70 Ford Maverick, an '81 Kawasaki 440 (m/c), and a couple of '82 Yamaha Virago 920s. I've owned old Fords most of my life, so I'm familiar with mechanical problems. Electrically, I was a Motorola service tech for nearly ten years, working on two-way equipment.
Range: I would hope for at least 50 miles; more is better. It'll be mostly a one person commuter.
Performance: I'd like the ability to go 60-75 mph for several miles, typically less than 10 miles a day at that speed. The problem is I'm in Albuquerque, chiefly known as the site of Bugs Bunny's ill-begotten left turn, and there are some pretty hefty hills around here.
Money: I figure this will take a couple of years to complete, given my schedule, and I hope to spread the cost over the build time. I'm expecting in the vicinity of $6000 or so--- you tell me.
Parts: The only thing I've decided for sure is the CRX, and if that falls through, my second choice is a Hyundai Scoupe.
I have truly learned to hate the oil companies over the past few years, and I would do whatever it takes to stop giving them so much money. I really can't do without a trip-capable vehicle, but the wife and I have agreed our next ICE vehicle will have a small diesel. I know, it's still oil, but I will have the option of using home-made bio diesel, or even WVO for local driving. Anyway, after I saw the "Who Killed the Electric Car" movie, I promised myself to fight back and build my own.


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## mattW (Sep 14, 2007)

Welcome to the site! In my opinion the CRX is *the* perfect donor car for EVs. 50 miles is doable as is your top speeds, you might not want to drive that fast when you realise how much energy it takes but it is possible. Take a look at our wiki for the first steps of your conversion and let us know any questions you've got.


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## Jorsher (Mar 14, 2008)

Interesting, I just decided yesterday I was going to start on an electric converted CRX 

I'm on my second CRX now (love them), and am building a 84mm bore sleeved golden eagle block, B16 head, and fat turbo for around 400-500hp. Should be quite fun 

Anyway, my plan is to get a project CRX to convert to electricity as soon as I get the house and have a garage to work in.

Good luck with it! I'd like to see how it turns out. If you have any Honda-related questions, feel free to ask.


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## jag (May 24, 2008)

I have a CRX that I converted and I agree that it's a pretty good candidate. Hondas are nice in that there are a lot of parts from other models that you can use to get a little better performance.
In my conversion (a 1st Generation CRX) we used the rear suspension from a civic station wagon which is a little beefier. I then the disc brakes from an integra on the rear and from a later Integra on the front.

The one problem I had was that it was hard to find a really sturdy clutch for the earlier civics. I probably could have ordered a custom one for a lot of money but I decided to swap the transmission from a later integra which would get me access to more clutches and also allow me to install a Honda OEM limited slip differential.

The one bit of advice I have is to make sure your donor is in pretty good shape (especially if you live in New England as I do). I got a dirt cheap donor and had to spend a lot of time repairing rust holes.

If anyone has any questions about anything, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to help.

-Jeremy


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## Jorsher (Mar 14, 2008)

jag said:


> I have a CRX that I converted and I agree that it's a pretty good candidate. Hondas are nice in that there are a lot of parts from other models that you can use to get a little better performance.
> In my conversion (a 1st Generation CRX) we used the rear suspension from a civic station wagon which is a little beefier. I then the disc brakes from an integra on the rear and from a later Integra on the front.
> 
> The one problem I had was that it was hard to find a really sturdy clutch for the earlier civics. I probably could have ordered a custom one for a lot of money but I decided to swap the transmission from a later integra which would get me access to more clutches and also allow me to install a Honda OEM limited slip differential.
> ...


Yep, my CRX has an ECU from an integra, engine head from a civic si, block will be from a CRV, knuckles from a civic sedan, brakes from an integra type r on the front and I'll be using rears from a 06+ civic si, rsx type-s, or 03+ si. Master cyl from an integra type r, etc etc.

I'd like to do a RWD conversion on the electric converted one, and would use some modified rear suspension components from the awd wagovan.

Jeremy, you might want to look at lsdmotorsports.com for your clutch needs. I've known quite a bit of people that have used them, have purchased one for my d-series crx, and will be using one on my b-series swapped crx. Great clutches for a great price. Don't waste your money on the chinese-made ones on ebay. OBX differentials are cheap and reliable with a few cheap "upgrades," but if you can find an OEM LSD-equipped transmission for a decent deal, I'd go that route.

Fortunately, I live down south where rust is pretty much unheard of. I've never had a car with rust on it 

Jeremy, you have a site or build information anywhere for your build?


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## jag (May 24, 2008)

Jorsher said:


> Yep, my CRX has an ECU from an integra, engine head from a civic si, block will be from a CRV, knuckles from a civic sedan, brakes from an integra type r on the front and I'll be using rears from a 06+ civic si, rsx type-s, or 03+ si. Master cyl from an integra type r, etc etc.
> 
> I'd like to do a RWD conversion on the electric converted one, and would use some modified rear suspension components from the awd wagovan.
> 
> ...



I do have page with some limited and woefully out of date info about my car: http://www.brownout.com/?cat=4

I had to do a little modification to get the honda LSD to fit in my tranny. They don't quite drop into the cable operated clutch transmissions.
It wasn't too bad though.

My gas car is a '96 Integra GS-R with a built supercharged motor (the block is sleeved and bored out to be a 2 liter). The brakes on the front of the CRX are actually the calipers from my integra, I replaced the integra ones with Type-R (or V6 accord) calipers.

I might be replacing the CRX calipers with wilwood calipers. We'll see when I get it back on the road. I'm trying to get by without a booster to avoid having a vacuum pump.

The clutch I'm using is a twin plate Exedy that I found used. It should actually help me out since I recently found out when I took everything apart that the clutch I had in there hadn't even seated yet. It had a habit of just slipping at full throttle but it never seated because you don't really need to use the clutch in electric stop and go driving.
Hopefully this clutch will be pre-seated.

I currently have a part being made at Emachineshop.com to couple the motor to the flywheel (with a taperlock bushing).
Then I have to cut out the adapter plate and bolt it up.

It's been a slow process but I hope to have the car on the road again sometime this fall.

-Jeremy


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## Gnigma (Sep 20, 2007)

Thanks for the input, guys. There's not a lot of rust on the CRX I'm looking at, just some blistering at the rear of the front wheel wells--- benefits of desert climate.


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## jag (May 24, 2008)

It must be nice to not have to worry about rust...


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

jag said:


> It must be nice to not have to worry about rust...


Mmm. Where I live they salt the roads in the winter to melt the ice. Cheap cars with bad rust protection can rust into pieces in a few years if you're not careful. The worst I've heard about was a 6 year old Ford Ka that was in such bad condition at the annual mandatory test that it was deemed unsuitable for the roads and the owner wasn't even allowed to drive it home again (usually you get a month to fix the car if it's not in a too bad shape). It would cost something like 30.000:- SEK (about 3.200 EUR or $5.000) to get it legal again.

It might be that the salt saves life (however, sometimes I wonder since people tend to drive faster instead), but it's definitely killing the cars.


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