Francess' 88 Honda Prelude

Specifications (latest):

Vehicle: 1988 Honda Prelude (4WS)

Owner: Francess Day

Builder: Chris Jones

Power: 50 kW (peak)

Battery: 24 kWh (355 V nominal, 65 Ah, using Panasonic INR18650BD cells)

BMS: ZEVA

Motor: Greatland BLDC motor

Controller: Greatland Controller

Range: ~130 km at highway speeds

Cost: ~$42,000 initially, but the replacement battery was about $12,000.

Francess Day's 1988 Honda Prelude was in fantastic condition when the time came to convert it to electric drive. Without a single spot of rust, the chassis was in great shape, making it an ideal candidate for an EV Conversion.  In December 2018 the engine came out and roughly 9 months later, the Prelude drove out of the workshop a new car.

It's not been without it's troubles - it's maiden voyage ended with a towtruck as a faulty contactor overheated and opened under load. The original 25.5 kWh battery using pouch cells was liquid cooled, but when the coolant leaked into the battery it soon produced an expensive replacement job. The new battery (consisting of 18650-format cylindrical cells) was completed in 2020 and has since had liquid cooling instated in early 2023. The BMS screen has a bug, but by and large, the vehicle has done well since the new pack was installed. It's done about 25,000 km as an EV.

   

The new battery was far more compact.