Larry, Great find! I remember finding the Popular Mechanics article about the Corvolt (1967, if I recall). Of course as soon as the issue came out, GM scuttled the project. I can't help but wonder where we would be if they hadn't got in their own way.
-Tom On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 11:23 AM, Lawrence Rhodes via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > >Will the 'Lectrics Revolutionize Drag Racing? - By Mike Doherty [Drag > Racing Magazine | April 1967] > >The five-second quarter-mile run is a certainty if racers are quick to > discard the blown fuelers! That's right - the sharpies will be riding > full-size "slot cars" before long. No noise, no smoke. > > >Electric dragsters boast so many advantages over the conventional > Chrysler type that the top innovators among us will soon lead the field in > Top Eliminator competition. > >Electric rails will have perfect distribution (so no wheelies), will not > smoke the tires, will not captivate the crowds with deafening evidence of > power. But the clocks will prove the fuelers obsolete as the "lectrics > zzzzzzzip to five-second times. > >A pipedream you say? The Big Three automakers are investing millions on > the premise that electrics are the answer. The U. S. Government is working > on legislation supporting electrics. California Department of Public Health > officer Frank Stead has declared, "It is clearly evident that between now > and 1980 the gasoline-powered engine must be phased out and replaced with > an electric power package..." > >Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, as well as a dozen storage battery > firms both here and abroad, have been developing electric systems to power > automobiles since the 1950s. Yet electric research was just that - research > - until recently when a combination of increasing smog problems and > governmental control of the industry put new spirit into the competition. > The lids are now off the factory electric car development budgets, and > enthusiastic response to the debut of the first prototypes has supplied > encouragement. > Ford was the first among manufacturers to announce the development of a > feasible electric battery power system, followed closely by General Motors' > revelation of its Electrovair II. Both firms have operating prototypes on > their test grounds, and are racing for refinement to a salable state. > Chrysler is studying electrics, and a number of auto suppliers such as the > Electric Storage Battery Co., Westinghouse, and General Electric are in > various stages of project completion. > According to industry estimates the first mass-produced electrics will be > available within three years if the competition continues. > The entire project was given a shot in the arm on August 30, 1966, when > Senator Warren Magnuson introduced a bill (S. 3785) in Congress known as > the "Electric Vehicle Development Act of 1966." Its purpose is to > "encourage the development of electrically powered vehicles capable of > performing public and private tasks in a practical manner." Its importance > to the makers is brought out by provisions that the Secretary of Commerce > report directly to the President and the Congress on the progress made with > an annual appropriation of $2 million! > Electrics were quite the item in the early 1900s, and had so much promise > when compared with the early gasoline engine cars that in 1905 inventor > Thomas Edison projected to manufacturer Walter Baker, "If you continue to > produce your present quality of electric automobile, and I my present > battery, the gas buggy industry won't stand a chance." > They cut a path in racing circles even then. As early as 1899 an electric > car held the World Land Speed Record of 69 mph. The Baker Torpedo of '05 > was one of the first cars to top 100 mph. > But the problems of limited range and great weight were even too much for > the 1913 combination of Edison and his former employee, Henry Ford. Their > electric Model T project never reached the showrooms. The gasoline > principle's triumph took on a final air when the commercial production of > electrics ceased in the late '30s. > Generally, electric vehicles were considered slow until space-age > technology made exotic new power sources available. The range of the > scientists' efforts provides a choice of "industrial" nickel-iron, > nickel-cadmium, nickel-silver, silver-zinc, silver-cadmium, mercury, and > other batteries. In addition, the recent lithium-chloride cell and the > zinc-air battery are considered for production line use. > Ford has elected to pursue a sodium-sulfur system which uses liquid sodium > and liquid sulfur and an aluminum oxide ceramic electrolyte. Batteries with > more than fifteen times the power density of conventional lead batteries > are expected shortly. At the same time Ford has come up with an electric > motor weighing only one-fourth as much as those now sold with the same > capacity. > GM debuted the Electrovair in late 1966, boasting a silver-zinc battery > pack and a motor of 115 horsepower which weighs only 130 pounds. Although > weighing 800 pounds more that a standard Corvair, the electric startled > reporters by doing 0 - 60 in 16 seconds - quicker than a standard Corvair. > This is only the first step in coaxing performance out of an electric > system, a step which was devised at least two years ago. Does that indicate > what can be expected for release by 1970? > It is apparent that by reducing the the weight and using the batteries and > motors to come, the ten-second stockers will be a reality whenever the > manufacturers choose to sell them. > How the electric power can be successfully converted for present (drag > racing) use is the problem facing today's smart racer. > In analyzing the potential of the electric system for dragster use we are > faced with the considerations of weight and cost, but have the advantages > of design flexibility, streamlining, and low maintenance costs. Our 1970 > "voltster" will weigh a minimum of 1300 pounds - not especially light by > today's standards - but conventional Chryslers will still weigh 1100-1200. > so the difference is not a major drawback. > However, silver-zinc power may keep many would-be electric racers in > piston-engined cars for a while, costing upwards of $4000 for adequate > voltage. Although some electric proponents forsee bank loans using the > silver (valued at two-thirds of the total battery cost) as collateral. > The expense of speed has never kept drag racers from breaking records in > the past, and I'm sure that such a revolutionary concept will find many > willing sponsors. > Now the mechanics. Have you ever ridden in an electric trolley or bus and > failed to notice the instant acceleration as opposed to the sluggish diesel > buses? This experience alone should show you the potential of a lightweight > machine designed to maintain that "instant movement" for 1320 feet.>The > most significant features of the electric dragster will be two - perfect > weight distribution and the control of electric power. Able to design the > weight into any location desired, the builder can make maximum traction > possible every time, and with throttle controls not unlike the familiar > slot car units, the driver can employ all the power possible without > spinning the tires. > The surprise of seeing 2500-lb. "funny cars" leaping from the line with a > two-car lead over a dragster would be the result of perfect traction by the > former, smoking tires of the latter. Standard fuel dragster construction > requires that the engine be kept at sufficient rpm to avoid bogging, and > this results in wheelspin. Electric motors do not function this way, and > therefore must be deemed worth at least one full second cut from elapsed > time. > Ideal weight distribution has another advantage - that of much improved > handling. Gone will be the expensive wheelstands, frequent "cross-ups," and > dangerous "edge-of-disaster" driving. With infinitely better control of > traction with the accelerator, weight need not be jammed, stacked, and > torqued onto the rear wheels. More racers will be winning as a result of > consistency, being able to drive a near-perfect line without front wheel > lift or lightness, and without unpredictable torquing tendencies now > experienced by fueler pilots. > > > > > >Electrics will not require the same speed to accomplish any elapsed time > that conventional counterparts do now. Elimination of the traction problem > will make a 5.50-second run feasible with a speed of 220 mph, whereas > fuelers did 8.00 at 200, and now hit 7.50 at 220. > > > > > >Speed can be made a factor, however, by streamlining. The flexibility of > component placement allows for the most radical wind-cheating design. > Looking like the speed of sound while standing still, the electric will be > enclosed, with a height of only 36 inches! > > > > > >Blown 1967 Chrysler dragsters are recording 7.50 e.t.'s and averaging 189 > ft./sec., or 129 mph with a terminal speed of approximately 225 mph. The > 5.50 electric car will require an average of 240 ft./sec., or 163 mph, but > with a finish line speed of 220 mph. The initial speed must be > substantially greater to accomplish the average, and this is the very power > curve of the electric battery/motor system - high initial torque decreasing > with speed. > > > > > >Coupled with the glue-like traction feature, the initial surge of power > will enable shot-out-of-a-cannon starting line performance. Chryslers will > be spotting the "voltsters" three to four car lengths in the first 200 feet > - a lead which will increase until the Chrysler speed pays off near the > finish line. Races between the two will be over in one second, during which > the 'lectric will have taken a three-car lead! > > > > > >Sound fantastic? Just visualize Don Nicholson's Comet funny car, which > runs regular 8.20-175.00 times using the no-wheelspin technique. The car is > boxy and anything but streamlined, weighs 2000 lbs., and has enough of a > tendency to lift the wheels that starting line operation is touchy. The > "voltster," by comparison, will be very slippery, weigh 1300 lbs., and have > no problems with full-throttle starts. > > > > > >The 350-pound motors available today cannot produce the horsepower > required for five-second runs, but one-horse-per-pound models are employed > in the prototypes, and engineers promise even more efficiency before > on-sale. Racers' ingenuity will have no trouble making the modifications > necessary to alter the 1970 motors from 1.5 hp/lb. for street use to at > least 2.0 hp/lb. for a five-second burst. > > > > > >Additional changes of the drag racing picture rendered by adoption of > electric power will include the racer's budget. Although the original cost > of the top-flight dragster may be $15,000-$20,000 because of the silver > content, there will be no $75 nitro bill each weekend, no tires thrown away > after six or eight runs, no nitrated oil to change each run, no popped > blowers at $300 per, no fried pistons, etc. > > > > > >Naturally, maintenance of the electric will amount to more than just a > recharge between meets. Brushes, batteries, and the like may need > attention, yet the weekly cost will be nothing like that for a AA/FD. > > > > > >Entries from other classes, stock and modified, will enjoy similar, if > not quite so dramatic, advantages and will experience conditions similar to > those of the "voltsters." The stockers may be classified by factory > energy/density specifications rather than horsepower and cubic inches. All > types will pull up to recharge outlets in the pits to "fill 'er up." > > > > > >Automakers intend to continue with gasoline engines, of course, so those > that resist the electrics or cannot afford to race one of the new models > will still find plenty of action. The first electrics from Detroit will be > "city cars," hardly high-performance versions, intended for short hops. > Highway models with big-inch piston engines will continue as S/S > competitors until the endurance of battery systems is sufficient to enable > 300 miles without recharge, at which time the factories will release more > powerful combinations suitable for all uses. > > > > > >It's probable that the first production electrics will only do 0-60 in > about ten seconds, but the "voltster" will electrify the sport in more ways > than one. > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/ > attachments/20170117/851c48d3/attachment.htm> > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ > group/NEDRA) > > -- Remember, it is not that the glass is half empty, in reality, the glass is merely twice the size that it needs to be! -TNT'82 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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