Project: Rebuilding an '01 Honda Insight as a nonhybrid

[Red]

My 0.02, drop in the VX engine if you aren't going to go back to stock. Though if I were you, and I was good at TIG welding on Al, I'd weld in a new tube sub frame and still run a VX engine. You'd have to fineness the fenders to get it to fit, but it should work

[Fabio]

Well.. I was thinking this thread was due for an update!

The project has still been more or less on hold.. but it has been steadily becoming more and more ambitious.

I have 3 Honda Insight Shells. All of which are very, very light and stripped of everything but the bare suspension, steering wheel, some glass, and a gas tank.

I have attached an image of one of the Insights.
I think I'll have all 3 together and snap a photo some time soon.

I'm hoping to buy one more Insight tomorrow and another (if I'm really lucky) next week.

Anyways, that could potentially make 5 Insight shells..

And here are the ENGINES I just bought:

This wasn't my plan, but the price was so cheap, I threw out the master plan and just went with what made my wallet happy.

I bought a 3 cylinder gasoline Smart fortwo engine w/ transmission and wiring.

I also bought a 3 cylinder diesel Smart fortwo engine w/ a transmission and wiring.

Then.. I bought 4 (four) bathroom scales.. which I think was an idea I got from one of the Geo Metro masters on this forum.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, one cross country trip in my white school bus and this project will officially be underway.

[RobertSmalls]

Wow, where are you getting all these wrecked Insights? And I'm in the market for a driver's side headlamp assy, rear view mirror, and shift knob. Could also use a piece of the dashboard - my passenger side airbag cover is heavily scuffed.

The Insight weighs 1850lbs or so, and as I remove parts and weigh them, I really have to wonder how light the shell is. Is it under 1000lb as pictured above? On a 1850lb car, a 100lb interior is a lot - so is 66 lbs of fuel, 8lbs of washer fluid, and a 0.5lb horn.

[RobertSmalls]

I should also ask, what are you going to do for an interior, and a front clip? It's hard to do better than Honda did.

[Fabio]

Each of my 3 Insight Chassis are almost totally gutted of everything.

Honda Insight rolling chassis 3 weighs:

810 lbs!

Honda Insight rolling chassis' 1 and 2 have yet to be weighed.

Even though chassis 3 currently weighs only 810 lbs, I am going to be running a new subframe in the back, so the old Insight rear drive is going to be totally removed.
I haven't even started to modify my Insights yet--I just gutted them, and haven't even done that entirely yet! When I'm done, the chassis will weigh in at about 500 lbs and my new drive setup w/ subframe will come in at 500 - 600 lbs--making 1100 lbs total.. That's the goal anyways, it may get more ambitious as I progress..



RobertSmalls:

I'm going to install my new drive train in the rear. More than likely I am going to remove all the floor pans as well and cut off the majority of the front clip that goes beyond the front strut towers.
There will be no interior. Period.

I have almost any Insight part you need.
For $20 I can give you a rear view mirror and a shift knob (manual or auto). Just specify.
I sell airbag covers with my airbags as they are typically damaged in a collision, so I probably won't be able to give you a good deal on that. Sorry..

email me at PGtheXenon@gmail.com if you are interested.
Thanks

[RobertSmalls]

Strip it down light enough and a Briggs & Stratton power plant becomes viable. It would take about 30HP to preserve the power to weight ratio of the original, if your powertrain weighs 100lbs.

You still need a bumper rebar to connect the two frame rails at the front, and reinstall the battery box bracket, which stiffens the chassis at the upper strut mounts.

There's going to be at least some interior: somewhere to sit, controls, instruments. Factory instruments from the engine's donor car would be cheap and easy. A heater core and radio with one speaker would be nice, but they are luxuries. Cars do not strictly need luxuries. There's also the safety aspect of a padded dashboard to consider.

Another safety consideration: ensure that the engine compartment does not ventilate to the passenger compartment, and that it is isolated by a firewall. The Insight's firewall feels like it's made of bubblewrap, and it's awesome.

[malovich]

defrost is a nice "accessory" for any vehicle with a windshield....

[Frank Lee]

^Yup. I could sure live without any radio.

You could almost put pedals in it!

[jpstaub]

Originally Posted by Fabio

I also bought a 3 cylinder diesel Smart fortwo engine w/ a transmission and wiring.

Fabio,

After putting a VW 1.2L TDI in my Insight I can't help but wonder if a Smart diesel wouldn't have been a better fit. The 1.2L definitely made the Insight a more satisfying car to drive so I certainly recommend going with a diesel if you can.

Best wishes,
Jake

[Fabio]

Hey Jake.

I didn't realize you and your team were on this forum.. but I was definitely jealous when I first heard of your project (and that you completed it in almost no time at all!). The diesel Lupo engine, is vastly better then the diesel smart engine, and probably will still be more fuel efficient even if I managed to modify the engine in a way where it actually gains efficiency from deleting the turbo. You made the right call by going Lupo!

This isn't the only project I'm working on at the moment though.. I have several Insight chassis to work with.. and I'm curious, do you think your Insight would have been more efficient if you would have swapped in the entire Lupo drive and deleted all of Hondas IMA BS?
Does the assist even help that much? I would assume that the 1.2 diesel you have in it already has sufficient torque.. Is there anything else you would have done differently if you were more focused on just FE and less on winning the epic X-Prize (which would mandate also making a great overall car.. which you definitely did..)?

Anyways, good job on that Insight!