08 - Front Battery Rack

Cutting the steel pieces for the front rack

See this diagram for pictures of the pieces below.

Cut two pieces of 2" angle iron, 1/8" thick and 7" long. Drill two 10mm holes in each piece to match the towing bolts on the Honda civic. The holes are 15mm down from the top edge of the angle iron. The first hole is 20mm back from the front edge and the second hole is another 30mm back. Then unbolt the front towing brackets on the Civic and install these two pieces.

With the angle iron installed, measure the inside distance between the two pieces of angle iron, subtract 3/8" from this distance and call this length "X". I've found "X" to be about 34 5/8". Cut two pieces of 1 1/2" angle iron (1/8" thick) to length "X". Drill 5/16" holes in each end of these these two longer pieces. The hole centers should be 3/4" in from each end and 5/8" from the outside vertical wall of the angle iron. Drill one additional hole in each piece 27 1/2" in from the driver's end of the angle iron.

Cut two pieces of steel bar 3/16" thick, 1" wide and 9 1/2" long. In one bar (driver's side) drill a 3/8" hole with a center 5/8" in from each end. In the other bar (passenger side), drill a 3/8" hole with a center 5/8" in from one end and a 15/64" (6mm) hole with a center 5/8" in from the other end.

Cut a piece of 2" angle iron (1/8" thick) 3" long. Drill a 3/8" hole centered on one face, 1/2" in from the end. Drill a 15/64" (6mm) hole on the opposite face, 1" in from the other end and 7/8" in from the side edge.

Now assemble the pieces. Bolt the driver's side steel bar to the 3" long piece of 2" angle iron on the inside. Use a 3/8"-16 x 1" bolt and put the bolt head on the inside with the threaded end pointing out. Secure this with a 3/8" nylock nut, but don't fully tighten it just yet. Place this assembly on the driver's side chassis and bolt it in place with a 6mm bolt through the threaded hole provided in the Civic. The steel bar should dangle down and rest just inside the 2" angle iron bolted to the towing bracket on the driver side.

There's a simple picture of this in the first picture at this link:

http://civic-ev.blogspot.com/2008/07/battery-racks-continued.html

http://civic-ev.blogspot.com/2008/09/shortening-front-rack-to-remove.html (this shows the shortened 7" side pieces (Thanks, Ross!))

Bolt the passenger-side steel bar to the original Civic mounting hole with a 6mm bolt through the 6mm hole in the bar. Don't fully tighten it yet. The bar should dangle down and rest just outside the 2" angle iron attached to the towing bracket on the passenger side.

Lay the two pieces of "X" length 1 1/2" angle iron inside the two 2" angle iron pieces bolted to the towing brackets. You will probably have to remove the rear towing bolt to get the front piece to rotate into place. Make sure the front piece is as far towards the front bumper as possible to prevent battery interference with the clutch hydraulic assembly. Make sure the second piece of "X" length angle iron is placed so there is 6 7/8" inside distance between the pieces at all points. Use small clamps to hold these long pieces of angle iron in place and double check the 6 7/8" separation.

Use two small clamps to hold the two dangling steel bars so that the lower hole on the end of the bar lines up approximately 5/8" in from the rear end of the 2" angle iron attached to the towing brackets.

With all steel in place, use a fine-tipped permanent marker or scratch awl to mark the lower holes through the the vertical steel bars and the four holes in all four corners of the "X" length angle iron.

Dis-assemble everything, drill the two 3/8" and four 5/16" holes you marked in the 7" long pieces of 2" angle iron.

Re-assemble the pieces and add bolts through the holes you just drilled. Use 3/8"-16 x 1" bolts with nylock nuts to attach the vertical steel bars to the rear ends of the 2" angle iron. Use temporary 5/16" bolts to hold the two "X" length angle iron pieces in place.

Make sure everything fits together, then dis-assemble the pieces and put them aside (or keep them in place for the time being) so that the parts can be powder-coated.

Re-assembly After Powder-Coating

After the front rack pieces have been sand-blasted and powder-coated with the other battery rack pieces, you need to re-assemble them. Keep in mind that the powder-coating may have made the holes smaller, so you might have to re-drill them so the bolts fit through.

Install the two 7" pieces of 2" angle iron on the towing-hook bolts. You might consider leaving out the rear bolt until you slide the piece of "X" length angle iron (front-most piece) into place.

Install the 3" piece of 2" angle iron with its vertical steel bar to the driver's side chassis with the 6mm bolt and 3/8" bolt with nylock nut. Attach the bottom end of the steel bar to the 2" angle iron attached to the towing bracket with a 3/8-16 x 1" bolt with nylock nut. Make sure the bolt head is toward the center of the car and the threaded end points toward the outside.

Install the passenger side vertical steel bar with it's 6mm bolt into the chassis hole and 3/8"-16 x 1" bolt with nylock nut into the 2" angle iron attached to the towing bracket. Make sure the lower bolt head is towards the center of the car with the threaded end pointed towards the outside.

Install the two pieces of 1 1/2" angle iron ("X" length) by placing them in the 2" angle iron supports. The four 5/16" holes you drilled in the corners should line up as before.

Cut four pieces of 5/16" all-thread (grade 8 or better) 9 3/4" long. Add a 5/16 nut to each piece so that 3/4" of threads are exposed. Install these four pieces vertically into the four driver-side-most 5/16" holes and add a 5/16 nylock nut to the underside to hold things in place. Add two more 5/16"-18 x 1" bolts with nylock nuts (threaded end down) into the two passenger-side-most 5/16" holes.

Tighten down all nylock nuts to hold everything in place.

Licensed under the TAPR Open Hardware License (www.tapr.org/OHL)