Continued from the back story of the other components I've acquired for this project... I opted out of converting my 91 civic hatch (decided to get it running again as a gasser for my girlfriend) and found this 96 tercel on CL for $250
Yes, it's frickin' ugly, and that's not even the reason the guy sold it. His friends thought he was taking it to the junkyard, so they gave it that nice little paint job before sending it off only to find he'd gotten a buyer on CL (me). Pretty irresponsible thing to do even if its getting sent to a yard, but I don't mind so much. Here's the real reason he sold it:
See that hole in the engine block? That's a big-ass hole in the engine block.
I managed to get the engine, exhaust system, radiator, and fuel tank out. I will try to sell the latter three items as they are in pretty good shape.
Here's what it looks like now.
One of my parents' neighbors is a retired HVAC guy who has the tools to safely evacuate the coolant in the AC, which I left hanging in there. Getting the engine out with the trans still mounted at the rear was quite a battle, but I managed. In retrospect I probably should've just taken the whole thing out, making the adapter plate creation and alignment easier.
Here are all the useful components I ripped from that orange utility cart:
Next steps:
-Controller (planning on buying/building open revolt
)
-More batteries (either 6 more used 6v or 6 12v. seeking local sources. So far I know there's an exide plant about an hour away, and an industrial equipment install/supply/repair place about 2 hours away. I'm not lucky enough to have a neighborhood EV dealer like Ben Nelson, but I wouldn't mind driving up to the nearest (ZAP in Boston area) if the price is right. Any help in the battery acquisition area would be much appreciated)
-Adapter plate (Still haven't decided on whether to embark on this myself or find a machinist - still making rounds with my connections.)
-1 rear wheel cylinder (pas. side rear brake doesn't work)
-Body work (fix the only rust on the car at the rear of the rocker panels and PAINT this ugly beast back to stock black.