[Mario]

WOW! Just the single under-hood shot shows the enormous amount of work that went into this immaculate conversion. Everything is done so tidily and properly, it looks amazing. How many years did you spend working on this? Definitely post some more photos!
Fantastic work, that's an awesome Insight!
I'm usually a fan of stock rims on Insights, but I'd say these even outclass them!

 

[dat1200]

Willie asked, “Did you have to remove your "earth shaking" stereo set up?”

Yes, and no As noted in a previous response, as a hybrid soundoff car, the 700W rms ‘earth shaking’ system had an amplifier chamber atop the IMA area in a 3” tall and wide enclosure with a lift-up lid to reveal the amps, signal processors and crossovers. I have original photos, but still cannot add them to my responses. In figuring out the best way to cram 1000 lbs. of cells into an Insight without compromising things, one of the three battery modules had to go into the IMA chamber, with the top-most portion of it rising up the same 3” as did the amplifier chamber - sigh, that cool eye candy audio array had to be removed :-( However, I had a plan

As everyone knows, the Insight is all about efficiency, and keeping things as light as possible are a large part of that. Back in the day, I was fortunate to have Phoenix Gold as a sponsorship partner. They had state of the art high power amps that unlike their competition, did not rely on massive chunks of finned metal for heat sinks to dissipate power - the best car amps are traditionally class AB that while having incredible audio quality, are only 50% efficient, waste half of the power going in as heat. Yes, that poor level of efficiency did not fit in with the super efficient Insight, but their lighter weight did. The new kid on the block Class D amplifiers were 90% efficient and so we’re much smaller, lighter and used far less power, but back then they were just becoming available and compared to class AB, they sucked, sound-wise. With the IMA zone battery module displacing the big car amps (and all the other audio gear) there was no place the big brutes could go - too big to fit under the seats.
However, in the two decades since my soundoff days, class D amps are a whole different animal. They meet or beat class AB specs, and are even smaller and more powerful today. Smaller, lighter, super efficient and more power? Sign me up! Wanting to keep the car Show eye candy theme, I designed and built - with lots of metal fab help from my EV buddy Marko, a new amplifier well by modifying the map pocket in the behind-the-seats slant panel. I know what some may be thinking… Wayland’s an older dude now so he has surely grown out of that ridiculous 700W rms stage. Well it’s true, the car no longer has a 700W system… it’s 800W rms now, courtesy’s of twin Alpine class D amps.

Where to put all the other audio stuff? Some may remember the Insight audio setup I used to build that had the nifty ‘Under-seat Amp Plate’ as part of the kit. I was lamenting that having made more than 100 kits, that I didn’t save any of the plates :-( That’s when Marko, the guy that made them (before retiring he worked at a metal fab place) looked around his backyard shop and found exactly two that were left over! And so, under each seat are passive speaker crossovers, the competition grade dual 32 band electronic crossover and bass cube processor. The killer German-made MB Quart bi-amp coaxials are carried over in the doors and fed an honest 160W rms each, and the Wayland-made dual 12 sub fitted with the same MB Quart bass drivers is also carried over fed with just shy of 500W rms.

When it comes to car audio, I agree with the old Rockford Fosgate line “Too much is just right!”

 

[JWayland]

Hello Insight group. There was a question asking what my EV2’s 0-60 time is. While I have not yet officially tested it yet, I can tell you it’s no match for White Zombie As part of my goals, in addition to achieving hyper efficiency, the car needed to be fun - hence it’s sound system, enhanced lighting, and yes, lively acceleration and speed capabilities.

EVs with high-revving AC motors that typically have a wide power band can accelerate well, even if the power-to-weight ratio doesn’t totally make sense. The EV1 took road testers by surprise, as they forecasted a 3000 lb. car with just 137 hp would be an under-powered machine… they were in for a quick education! Back in 1997 Motor Trend road tested the EV1 and said, “Its 7.7-second 0-60-mph ability equals that of potent performers such as the '69 Camaro SS 350. And since the electric motor produces the same 110 pound-feet of torque at one rpm as at 7000, response is instantaneous.” By today’s standards, that 0-60 isn’t anything to salivate over, but it is still in the ‘lively’ category because that 110 ft. lbs. number is multiplied by the EV1’s gear reduction drive’s ratio of ~ 11:1.

Again, I haven’t done exact testing yet, but with 150 kW of inverter power - the EV1’s PIM (power inverter module) was 100 kW, I suspect torque is somewhere around 150 ft. lbs. now, and hp is a pinch over 200. There’s a catch though, as at present the inverter programming is only allowing less than half power. We set up the inverter at least 5 years ago when the car was still up on blocks and set things conservatively. Even at its reduced level, performance is respectable - once it’s cranked to full, it will be traction limited, for sure. I have 0-60 predicted in the mid-6 second range, so a bit slower than the base Model 3 Tesla, but a heck of a lot quicker than a stock Insight Running the numbers through the Wallace Racing Calculator, it comes up with 5.7 seconds to 60 mph, but that may be a bit optimistic. Again though, at 1/2 power it merges onto freeways with ease, cruises at 75 mph with pedal left, and really charges up hills with that constant torque.

The EV1’s PIM capped its top speed at 80 mph (13,500 rpm) in an effort to conserve range, but info from an engineer who was part of GM’s land speed record testing said that with the electronic nanny disabled, they ran the motor at 22,000 rpm for 4 hours continuous without failure. With the great cd and small frontal area of the Insight, I think my EV2 at full power might hit 140 mph, but certainly not on its stock tires!

 

[rickackman]

We can see It really helps when the donor car is in great shape to begin with! Top quality work... If I win the euro millions lottery tonight I'll be right over! Please post a ton more technical details, pictures and some videos.... I want to hear the motor whining ....... Can you tell us the flat road power consumption at 30,40,50,70mph as well please. The controller list price is $8000! John's website.

Silver Steak

I’ve seen Johns work for many years. This is very typical of his talents. There are factories that don’t have work that looks as ‘factory’ as John’s.

 

[Redguy1959]

Wow!!!

 

[firnum]

Beautiful work John! I echo the plebs who struggle with fault codes. What a dream car and better insure it. Thanks for sharing. Suggest you paint it white, I'm happy with mine instead of silver.

 

[rickackman]

I’ve seen a lot of John’s work over many years. There is always one constant. His work makes most factory work look like High School shop class.

 

[rodnhower]

That is incredible John! Over the years I have watched your PlasmaBoyRacing web site looking for updates on the Insight project. I still have my 2000 Citrus which now has 194k miles and a new Greentec battery pack (Jan 2022). Mine still runs great but ultimately I want to convert it to electric. My current project is the DC Plasma Fiero. I have a Warp 9 motor but still need a battery pack and motor control. I don't plan on doing a Siamese motor setup like John Metric, it will be more of a daily driver than race car.

 

[FirstCarFun]

Hello Insight group,

My longest term EV conversion project ‘EV2’ is now a daily driver. Powered by a GM EV1 motor, and fed by a 71.6 kWh battery pack, it’s great feeling the thrust of pure electric torque and hearing that ‘Jetsons’ sound as the induction motor with straight cut helical reduction gears spools up! With a projected 400+ miles, range anxiety is nonexistent. After many setbacks and hurdles to overcome, I’m happy to report its was well worth the wait! It’s been turbine-smooth, handles great, accelerates and pulls hills effortlessly, and cruises at 60 mph while sipping just 10 kW.

View attachment 101867 View attachment 101868 View attachment 101869 View attachment 101870 View attachment 101871 View attachment 101872 View attachment 101874

This is Insane!!! GREAT WORK, 200hp must feel like a blast !!!

 

[dat1200]

Hello Insight Group. Some have asked for more details and photos, so here’s a bit about the strut tower brace. I want to give credit to my close friends / fellow EV fanatics who have contributed to the EV2 project. When it comes to anything metal, it’s my longtime EV buddy and sheet metal artisan Marko Mongillo who did a lot of the fabrication - though I’m not too shabby at it, and together it’s always a team effort.

Has there been discussion in the past on this forum, about the one under-hood part that looks more ‘shop class’ then something from Honda… I’m referring to that raw aluminum square tube 12V battery support that spans across the engine bay? It was one of the first items to be jettisoned from car, as I relocated the 12V system battery (now 13.3V lithium) to the right rear corner of the car (think Shoebox Sub zone). That bracket affair looks like it doesn’t belong in the otherwise typical Honda well done engine bay. It took me a while - actually years, to rethink removing it though, as it is a pretty stout bracket that has beefy bolts into thick aluminum structural members near each strut tower. Maybe it served a dual purpose as both a battery support ‘and’ a kind of strut tower brace? Anyone know the answer? Anyway, the last thing I wanted to do when significantly adding weight (and more power) to the chassis, was to make it less stiff.

I had co-designed and built a custom strut tower brace for White Zombie that noticeably stiffened the car. For that street legal drag car, I went with a look that matched the attitude of the car. We were in Texas at friend Mitch Medford’s ‘Bloodshed’ shop (Zombie 222 Mustang) rebuilding the Zombie after its racing misshap, when I decided to add a reinforcing brace. It was a four man creation, with Marko and I doing metal fab together, Mitch lovingly painting the brace, and Bloodshed coworker Allen patiently interpreting what I wanted as a finishing touch in the form of a CNC’d aluminum badge-trim piece:

The EV2 is an entirely different idea, in that instead of the ‘in-your-face’ brashness of White Zombie, I wanted to impart that my EV2 was something from Honda R & D, with a more factory look. The Zombie’s brace was made from steel, but the all aluminum Insight dictated that light weight aluminum would be used. Marko was totally on board with that as well. He insisted that the main transverse tube needed to have an organic shape that mirrored the car’s body - it couldn't be a straight tube! That turned out to be perfect, as a straight tube wouldn’t have cleared things if he hadn't used his English Wheel to bow the 2” square thick-walked aluminum. I designed the tower pads and the triangular firewall brace that I wanted to look like a factory stamping with a viewing port where you could see the gracefully arced orange 3 phase cables - gotta have some eye candy Again, opposite of the Zombie’s Corvette ‘Torch Red’ paint contrasting against the white body color, the brace for my Insight needed to fit in and match the body color. I somehow achieved an auto body paint job quality lookusing a spray can of Silverstone Metallic paint Instead of a screwed-on machined emblem as we did for the Zombie’s brace, I went with a light-changing decal - special thanks to PVS Graphics. I think it turned out well:


I

I used yellow zinc hardware to match the factory Honda Japanese hardware:

The EV1 motor/gear reduction unit weighs just 152 lbs. and sheds 126 lbs. off the front of the car, as the Honda engine/motor/5 speed transaxle weighs 278 lbs. The removed ☺12V lead acid battery and other removed engine bay components further reduced the weight, too… but, there’s the front battery module at ~ 275 lbs. and other EV components now.

The car feels super solid up front with structural reinforcement of the strut tower brace. In another post, if there’s interest, I could detail how the two larger battery modules serve both as cell containment and structural reinforcement.

 

[Camteves]

Hello Insight group,

My longest term EV conversion project ‘EV2’ is now a daily driver. Powered by a GM EV1 motor, and fed by a 71.6 kWh battery pack, it’s great feeling the thrust of pure electric torque and hearing that ‘Jetsons’ sound as the induction motor with straight cut helical reduction gears spools up! With a projected 400+ miles, range anxiety is nonexistent. After many setbacks and hurdles to overcome, I’m happy to report its was well worth the wait! It’s been turbine-smooth, handles great, accelerates and pulls hills effortlessly, and cruises at 60 mph while sipping just 10 kW.

View attachment 101867 View attachment 101868 View attachment 101869 View attachment 101870 View attachment 101871 View attachment 101872 View attachment 101874

Wow like everyone has said this is just INCREDIBLE! How did you get a hold of an EV1?!

 

[dat1200]

Hello Insight Group. My apologies for being an idiot about the workings of this forum. Could someone let me know how to privately reply to an individual without clogging up forum bandwidth. In particular, two
following this thread have asked about the EV1 motor, and I’d like to answer them.

 

[LowCarbon]

Hello Insight Group. My apologies for being an idiot about the workings of this forum. Could someone let me know how to privately reply to an individual without clogging up forum bandwidth. In particular, two
following this thread have asked about the EV1 motor, and I’d like to answer them.

1) Click on the icon of your user name on the right side of the title bar at the top. You should get a drop down menu.
2) Select "Conversations." You'll get a list of all your messages with other users. Maybe it'll be empty.
3) Click the "Start conversation" button in the top right of the page.
After that, it's pretty much like any email. Fill in users, subject, text and hit "Send."

 

[IamIan]

1) Click on the icon of your user name on the right side of the title bar at the top. You should get a drop down menu.
2) Select "Conversations." You'll get a list of all your messages with other users. Maybe it'll be empty.
3) Click the "Start conversation" button in the top right of the page.
After that, it's pretty much like any email. Fill in users, subject, text and hit "Send."

For sending a message .. One can also .. leave mouse pointer hover over the avatar of the person (to whom) you want to send a private message .. a dialogue box will open .. on the bottom right of that dialogue box you can then click the "Message" button.

Example screen shot bellow when my mouse pointer left hovering over top of the large purple "L" avatar for "LowCarbon".

 

[rodnhower]

Hello Insight Group. Some have asked for more details and photos, so here’s a bit about the strut tower brace. I want to give credit to my close friends / fellow EV fanatics who have contributed to the EV2 project. When it comes to anything metal, it’s my longtime EV buddy and sheet metal artisan Marko Mongillo who did a lot of the fabrication - though I’m not too shabby at it, and together it’s always a team effort.

Has there been discussion in the past on this forum, about the one under-hood part that looks more ‘shop class’ then something from Honda… I’m referring to that raw aluminum square tube 12V battery support that spans across the engine bay? It was one of the first items to be jettisoned from car, as I relocated the 12V system battery (now 13.3V lithium) to the right rear corner of the car (think Shoebox Sub zone). That bracket affair looks like it doesn’t belong in the otherwise typical Honda well done engine bay. It took me a while - actually years, to rethink removing it though, as it is a pretty stout bracket that has beefy bolts into thick aluminum structural members near each strut tower. Maybe it served a dual purpose as both a battery support ‘and’ a kind of strut tower brace? Anyone know the answer? Anyway, the last thing I wanted to do when significantly adding weight (and more power) to the chassis, was to make it less stiff.

I had co-designed and built a custom strut tower brace for White Zombie that noticeably stiffened the car. For that street legal drag car, I went with a look that matched the attitude of the car. We were in Texas at friend Mitch Medford’s ‘Bloodshed’ shop (Zombie 222 Mustang) rebuilding the Zombie after its racing misshap, when I decided to add a reinforcing brace. It was a four man creation, with Marko and I doing metal fab together, Mitch lovingly painting the brace, and Bloodshed coworker Allen patiently interpreting what I wanted as a finishing touch in the form of a CNC’d aluminum badge-trim piece:

View attachment 102005

The EV2 is an entirely different idea, in that instead of the ‘in-your-face’ brashness of White Zombie, I wanted to impart that my EV2 was something from Honda R & D, with a more factory look. The Zombie’s brace was made from steel, but the all aluminum Insight dictated that light weight aluminum would be used. Marko was totally on board with that as well. He insisted that the main transverse tube needed to have an organic shape that mirrored the car’s body - it couldn't be a straight tube! That turned out to be perfect, as a straight tube wouldn’t have cleared things if he hadn't used his English Wheel to bow the 2” square thick-walked aluminum. I designed the tower pads and the triangular firewall brace that I wanted to look like a factory stamping with a viewing port where you could see the gracefully arced orange 3 phase cables - gotta have some eye candy Again, opposite of the Zombie’s Corvette ‘Torch Red’ paint contrasting against the white body color, the brace for my Insight needed to fit in and match the body color. I somehow achieved an auto body paint job quality lookusing a spray can of Silverstone Metallic paint Instead of a screwed-on machined emblem as we did for the Zombie’s brace, I went with a light-changing decal - special thanks to PVS Graphics. I think it turned out well:


I View attachment 102017

View attachment 102023

I used yellow zinc hardware to match the factory Honda Japanese hardware:

View attachment 102024

View attachment 102025

The EV1 motor/gear reduction unit weighs just 152 lbs. and sheds 126 lbs. off the front of the car, as the Honda engine/motor/5 speed transaxle weighs 278 lbs. The removed ☺12V lead acid battery and other removed engine bay components further reduced the weight, too… but, there’s the front battery module at ~ 275 lbs. and other EV components now.

The car feels super solid up front with structural reinforcement of the strut tower brace. In another post, if there’s interest, I could detail how the two larger battery modules serve both as cell containment and structural reinforcement.

If there's interest? Are you kidding me! This is very interesting and I want to know more! If you're an Insight diehard or EV diehard this is very interesting!

 

[60mpg_guy]

This is Epic!

 

[JWayland]

As requested, more EV2 photos…

Having learned a lot about color spectrums and beam patterns of LEDs in automotive use from the full conversion to an LED lighting setup in White Zombie, I went to work on Silver Streak - aka EV2. The Zombie has a small 300W DC DC (20 amps at 14.2V) that was on the edge of keeping up with the 12V loads in the Datsun, minimalistic as they are, so LEDs serve a dual purpose. They provide a dramatic improvement in light output while also reducing the lighting load from 12.8 amps down to 4.6 amps. For the EV2, the LED swap is largely done to improve color spectrum and output… with a 2.2 kW DC DC (160 amps at 13.85V) having enough 12V system power is not an issue The standard clear bulbs in the small round front marker lights have been replaced with higher intensity rich amber colored LEDs, as have the turn signal/side marker lights seen in these pictures:

I

For the headlights, I went a cool-white 6000k high output H4 LEDs. For extra open road punch, the Hella FF75 driving lights’ black outlined squished oval shape look like a factory option, while their special GE H7 bulbs enhanced by precision reflectors throw a warmer white (~4K) photon array far down the road. I modified the lower grille to allow the lights to be set inward:

In back, the taillights / brake lights have ruby red higher intensity LEDs, the turn signals have high intensity amber LEDs that unlike slow-to-react bulbs, snap on-off powered by a solid state relay flasher, the backup lights are 6k very bright LEDs, and even the license plate lights are now LED.

It’s in the details…

I created EV2 fender emblems for the car having obtained a pair of NOS genuine EV1 emblems from an ‘all things EV1’ collector friend who found them two decades ago. Fortunately, the chromed-plastic stick-on emblems were a two piece affair, with the ‘EV’ part as one piece, and the ‘1’ being separate, shown here with translucent peel-off still on:

It took a huge effort to find some kind of obscure emblem that I could harvest a ‘2’ from.
It had to:

(1) Be a stick-on type
(2) The actual ‘2’ had to be a separate piece
(3) It had to be chromed, not black or red
(4) It had to be in a closely matching font style
(5) It had it be the correct size

After nearly giving up on it, I found this on eBay coming from Japan:

Here is a not too clear picture of an EV1 showing the fender emblem location;

The process:

The EV2 fender badging has turned out pretty good:

More pictures to come…

 

[JWayland]

EV2 details continued…
We created digital files, both from a picture of the actual fender emblems, and by digitally building a new one from scratch:

The 3D-printed 3 phase connector housing designed by me and made by Adam Lansing
of ‘Hawkeye Innovations, LLC’:

In matching silver-grey, the ‘GASOLINE-ELECTRIC’ HYBRID’ decal has been replaced
by this decal made by EV friend Casey Mynnot:

For those who picked up on the expired tags…the as of yesterday, current plate stickers good to 2025 are now affixed:

As of just a few days ago, I finished creating the interior trim of the hatch area. All City Print of Vancouver, Washington did an amazing job embroidering. Grey plastic push rivets allow access to devices underneath. Honda Insight ventilation covers are functional while giving the modded interior a factory look:

Lift-up lid reveals one of the three battery modules. Lid underside’s raw aluminum will
have graphics added soon:

Formed Plexiglass charger door for access to controls:

 

[Metro-Mike]

NICE......

 

[Natalya]

That trunk is beyond excellent.