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February 2009
The Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA) will meet on the third Saturday of each month during 2009. Meetings will be held at the Clark County Library on 1401 E. Flamingo Road from 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM. Members will be displaying their own electric cars and answering questions before and after each meeting.
Calendar
February 21 Monthly Meeting
March 21 Monthly Meeting
April 18 Monthly Meeting
April 22 UNLV Earth Day Exhibit
May 16 Monthly Meeting
June 20 Monthly Meeting
July 4 Boulder City Damboree Parade
Summerlin Freedom Parade
July 18 Monthly Meeting
August 15 Monthly Meeting
September 19 Monthly Meeting
October 17 Monthly Meeting
November 21 Monthly Meeting
December 5 Santa’s Electric Night Parade (Boulder City)
December 19 Monthly Meeting
LVEVA Board of Directors and Officers:
Richard Furniss, President
Lloyd Reece, Vice President
Bill Kuehl, Secretary/Treasurer
Al Sawyer, Jan Himber , Jon Hallquist, Dan Trujillo
Newsletter Editors and Contributors:
Richard Furniss, Lloyd Reece, Bill Kuehl, Al Sawyer, P.E.,
Jan Himber, Stan Hanel
WATTS HAPPENING
is published monthly by the
Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association,
a chapter of the Electric Auto Association
Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association web site
http://www.lveva.org
Electric Auto Association web site
http://www.eaaev.org
Electric Auto Association
Membership Renewals
323 Los Altos Drive
Aptos, CA 95003-5248
Current EVents contact:
At http://www.eaaev.org/eaaboard.html
Ron Freund
Chairman, CE Publication
Address Correspondence to:
LVEVA
2816 W. El Campo Grande Avenue
No. Las Vegas, NV 89031
Call for Information:
Richard Furniss (702) 453-6196
Jan Himber for Al Sawyer (702) 642-4000
Bill Kuehl (702) 636-0304
Stan Hanel (702) 405-0506
Contents:
-- Electric Auto Association Goes YouTube! General Membership Meeting 2009 on Feb 21st!
-- Battery Beach Burnout Electric Vehicle Races February 21-22nd
-- BYD in Mainland China Unveils F3DM Extended Range Electric Sedan
-- Bill Kuehl’s “Saga of An EV Wannabe” (Part 8)
-- EV Conversion Tips – How to Match Electric Motor RPM to Power Train Gear Ratio
-- The Story of Lectra Motors
-- LVEVA DVD Reference Library
-- EV Repairs and Service
-- EV Conversion and Fabrication Support
-- EVs and EV Parts for Sale
Electric Auto Association Goes YouTube! General Membership Meeting 2009 on Feb 21st!
The Electric Auto Association (EAA) is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of more widespread use of Electric Vehicles (EVs). The EAA currently has over 2,000 active members in 45 chapters, including international chapters in Canada and Europe. The Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA) is a local chapter for the Southern Nevada region.
The EAA will hold an annual General Membership meeting on February 21 from 10 AM to 12 noon, the same day and time as the local monthly chapter meeting of the LVEVA. During its local chapter meeting, the LVEVA will attempt to link up in a virtual meeting with the EAA through an audible telephone conference call to interact with other EAA chapters.
The EAA is also joining the YouTube video movement to attract new members, according to EAA Board of Director member Jerry Pohorsky:
“Although our EAA is over four decades old, our organization is relatively unknown. At many of the EAA events open to the public, we have been told that the visitors had never heard of us before. Our affiliates (CalCars, PlugInAmerica, and now NEDRA have been more visible in the media and have become better known as a result.
EAA members may also tend to represent the older generation. We have traditionally relied on our printed literature and website to reach the public. In order to reach a wider audience and catch the attention of the younger generation, the EAA has Commissioned Filmaker Enza Sebastiani to create a series of short videos to carry our message.
Each video prominently displays our EAA logo and gives a link to our www.ElectricAuto.org home page. Solar Power is shown as a domestic and pollution-free source of power for EVs. We also end the videos with the “No Plug – No Deal” bumper sticker from Plug In America as a suggestion for what the viewer can do to create stronger demand for EVs.
These short and fast-paced videos cover four of the major topics relevant to electric vehicles. They are initially available in High Quality mode on the video website at: http://www.YouTube.com
These videos can also be used as public service announcements on television. YouTube has counters on their website so we can monitor how many times the videos have been viewed.
Here are the four topics we have addressed along with a link to each of the videos:
1. “Clean and Green” compares Zero Emission electric vehicles with internal combustion vehicles at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KddMba2kC21
2. “Eco-nomics” address the low fuel costs of electric vehicles compared with petroleum-powered vehicles at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7EyDZ-iH2Y
3. “Plug it in!” is a rebuttal to the “You don’t have to plug it in” message heard on some hybrid commercials at: http://youtube.com/watch?v-TG8JGsTVtUY
4. “Declaration of (Energy) Independence” presents domestically generated electricity as an alternative to “foreign oil” and introduces the concept of “Vehicle to Grid” (V2G) at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jwHur3AHEw
Each of these video clips has a “Watch in High Quality” mode for those with high speed internet access. If the video does not play smoothly the first time, it often will be much better when using the YouTube “replay” feature for subsequent viewings.
Fell free to send these links to others as a way of spreading the word about the benefits of driving electric vehicles and promoting the EAA.”
Battery Beach Burnout Electric Vehicle Races February 21-22nd
The annual Battery Beach Burnout will be staged by the Florida Electric Auto Association (FLEAA) on the weekend of February 21-22nd of this month at Florida Atlantic University in the city of Jupiter. The event web site is at: http://www.batterybeach.com
“The free event consists of multiple competitions involving electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), including an auto-cross, scooter-cross, vehicle performance tests, Electrathon and a show-n-shine event.
The FLEAA is expecting clost to 100 vehicles to participate in the multiple events and be on display throughout the weekend.
There will also be vehicle and other alternative energy displays as well as vendors on-site throughout the weekend. The vehicle and teams that participate in the events are comprise of individuals, professionals, high schools and colleges from around the country.
This event is free for spectators and is opent to the public. There will be a registration fee for participants of $20 for automobiles (EV, HEV, PHEV) and $10 for scooters, motorcycles, karts and Electrathons.
Check It Out!”
Editor’s Note: Though no formal sanctioned NEDRA electric drag racing event has been scheduled in conjunction with the Battery Beach Burnout, an informal drag racing meet will be staged on Friday night, February 20th at the nearby Palm Beach International Raceway Drag Strip by former NEDRA president Shawn Lawless and other electric drag racing enthusiasts:
From EV Discussion List (1/7/2009)
“The BBB was a great time last year. As you may or may not know the organizers have decided on not having a formal drag racing event this year. If last year is any indication, they will still have an excellent turnout with the events they do have planned. That being said, those of us who drag raced last year are returning this year to Moroso, (Now Palm Beach International Raceway) on Friday night for an unofficial race. We have been staying in touch via this list and direct emails. It would be great to see you there. Bob Salem will be there with his hot rod VW pickup. Matt Graham is coming out with a couple of good running street conversions as well.
FYI, The best in the land, (Killacycle and Current Eliminator) won't be there as far as I know but with a little luck maybe we can make a few runs good enough to keep them on their toes.”
Shawn Lawless
Email: lawless@aol.com
BYD's Electric Car 'Game Changer'
By Bill Moore
Editor’s Note: Open Access Article originally published in EV World, December 26, 2008
Build Your Dream carmaker in China may just have claimed the title.
While Toyota confidently commanded the majority of hybrid car sales, with Ford and Honda trailing far behind, a virtually unknown car company in Shenzhen, China was quietly plotting a revolution, one that could in short order turn the automotive world on its head.
If their F3DM (dual mode) plug-in electric car lives up to its promise, BYD (Build Your Dream) will have solved the problem of how to cheaply build a high-power electric car battery pack. Installed in the company's F3 sedan and mated to a gasoline engine generator, hence the term 'dual mode', the F3DM is the first commercially mass produced range extended electric car. In 'electric-first' ™ driving mode, the four passenger car can travel 100 km (62 miles) before the gasoline engine turns to supply electricity to propel the car another 380 km (236 mi.) beyond the initial range of its still-secret battery pack, it it a total driving range of nearly 300 miles. Recharge time can be as little as 10 minutes. The car boasts two separate charging ports, one for common 110 household current, the second for quick-charging from high-voltage and amperage charging stations.
It is that pack, dubbed ETpower by the company, that is the heart of both the F3DM, the F3e -- an all-electric version -- and the future, larger F6DM model. The battery utilizes a proprietary iron ferrous (Fe) chemistry that "can deliver twice the voltage" of NiMH batteries, yet costs less than competing energy storage systems. According to BYD, the battery is thermally stable, contains no hazardous materials and should give long cycle life, as well as be temperature tolerant. It estimates the battery is good for some 2000 charging cycles or the equivalent of 600,000 miles, a claim that, if substantiated, will be the 'game changer' the electric car industry has been searching for for more than a century.
Installed in the F3e, the company claims the battery will allow the car to do 0-100km in 8 seconds and travel 300 km (186 miles). Beyond this scant amount of information, the company is -- quite reasonably, if frustratingly -- revealing little else about their technology.
Started in 1995, BYD is best known in China for making lithium batteries, cellphones, cameras and other components for the likes of Nokia, Motorola and Sony, gaining invaluable, high-quality manufacturing experience in the process. The company bought Qinchuan, a small state-owned car company five years ago and assigned some 500 engineers to work on developing electric car technology.
It was about this time a little known Polish professor named Antoni Szynmanowski was lecturing at Beijing's Technical University about hybrid vehicles. His scholarly tome on the subject had sold maybe a 1000 copies in Europe, he told me at the time. Translated into Chinese, it had sold 10,000 copies. Presumably, some of those copies and engineering graduates found their way to BYD.
BYD's F3DM just went on sale in China on December 15, 2008, nearly two years ahead of GM's competing Volt technology, and Toyota's own nascent plug-in hybrid efforts. Perhaps more disconcerting to its larger competitors, the car is being sold for less than $22,000, a fraction of what the Volt is likely to sell for when it hits the market in late 2010. How much the cost of the car, if any, is being subsidized by the government isn't known. When the Volt goes on sale, it will come with a $7,500 tax credit, courtesy of Congress. States like Oregon are also proposing additional tax incentives for plug-in cars. BYD expects to begin North American sales in 2011.
On September 29, 2008 MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a division of Berkshire Hathaway invested $230 million in BYD, taking approximately a 10 percent share in the company.
Editor’s Note: Bill Moore at EV World has revamped his publication web site and moved it to a new server. He is encouraging people with “Do-It-Yourself” EV conversion projects to send him a photo and description of their work at: http://dev.evworld.com/diy/index.cfm
The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part 8)
By Bill Kuehl, LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer
Editor’s Note (Synopsis): This month continues the eighth of a nine-part series of practical EV conversion and driving tips written by LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer Bill Kuehl, who is also a co-founder and former president of the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association. The series recounts some of his thirty years of experiences as part of a small group of pioneers who believed they could convert gasoline vehicles into roadworthy electric battery-powered vehicles. This series of articles was originally published in the LVEVA “Watts Happening” monthly newsletters during 2003. With the recent rise of gasoline prices during the last few months, Bill’s story of his lifelong commitment to enabling EV conversions continues to hold many insights and helpful hints for the “do-it-yourself” EV builder. Bill Kuehl has converted over 200 gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles during the last forty years. He also holds records for ¼-mile electric vehicle drag racing and electric vehicle endurance racing.
During the first three installments of this series, Bill talked about the OPEC oil crisis that restricted the foreign supply of oil and petroleum during October 1973 as being the motivation for his interest in building electric vehicles. The cost of gasoline jumped from 33 cents per gallon to over $1.50 per gallon during a period of just a few months. Bill’s first attempts to make a full-size electric car for commuting to his work site that would cover a round trip of 16 miles resulted in a successful conversion of a 1974 Ford Pinto on a shoestring budget. This successful commuting solution worked for 3 ½ years until Bill’s work site was relocated, forcing him to redesign a vehicle that would have a round trip range of 32 miles. The second part of the series profiled a 1973 Honda Civic conversion that allowed him a range of over 60 miles on a single battery charge as well as allowing him to set an endurance record at a road rally sponsored by the Electric Auto Association that achieved 100.8 miles on a single charge of his lead-acid battery pack.
During the third through fifth part of the series, Bill talked about his acquisition of an Electric Pickup Truck, an electric Datsun 310 conversion, spare motors and controllers that were built by Lectra Motors in Las Vegas. He continued to participate in annual EAA rallies in Sunnyvale, California where he met like-minded EV enthusiasts from California who bought many of the parts and the Datsun 310. Bill also detailed his successful EV conversion of a 1985 Pontiac Fiero, his electric auto cross racing experiences with the Sports Car Club of America that included fellow LVEVA members Jan Himber and Al Sawyer at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a Clean Air Road Rally held in Los Angeles. He continued to help build EV conversions for many local LVEVA members, including former LVEVA Vice-president Bill Yule.
Bill Kuehl’s saga of EV conversion, experimentation and discovery continues…
After participating in the EAA road rally in Sunnyvale, California during September 1994, I continued driving my electric Pontiac Fiero to work and back every day, covering a round trip of 32 miles. On March 2, 1996, I towed my car to the Palm Springs Electric Car Classic Rally in Palm Springs, California. Upon arriving, I found the parking location where the electric cars competing in the event were being staged. The two-day event was being held from Saturday, March 3rd to Sunday, March 4th.
Electric outlets were available for charging the electric cars. I plugged in my car and topped off the batteries for the next day’s run. We were to be in the parking lot at 8 AM for the drivers’ meeting when we would be told the rules of the rally.
The next morning at 8 AM, the rally rules were distributed to all the drivers of the electric cars and any questions by the drivers were answered during the meeting. The overall time limit for running the race would be from the starting time at 9:00 AM to the finish time at 1:00 PM. Anyone returning after 1:00 PM would be disqualified.
There were 9 possible destinations or “checkpoints” along the route within the four hour rally race. At each place, there were tokens to be picked up by each driver. The goal of the competition was to collect as many tokens as you could during the 4-hour period and return by 1:00 PM.
All the drivers were provided with maps marked with each of the destinations and part of the competition was to figure out how far each of these places were located from each other. We had to quickly plot our own course and strategy to reach as many destinations as possible in the given time period. The driver with the highest amount of tokens at 1:00 PM was declared the winner.
After starting the race, I had figured out my course and the first place I headed was up the road to the tramway on the mountain. This would be the hardest place to reach and I wanted to try that destination first with a full charge in my car’s batteries. The course required a 3-mile, 2500-foot climb to the top of the road to get to the aerial tram station. As the road started to get steeper, I had to shift down to second gear, and then to first gear, allowing the motor to keep running at a higher RPM to help cool it. In first gear, I was going 20 to 25 mph the rest of the way up to the top.
After reaching the top of the first run, a rally official there had me sign in on a log sheet and I received a bag of ice for my token. Someone figured the climb would be a hot one for each rally car’s electric motor and controller, that the drivers could use the bag of ice to cool them back down. My controller go t hot but did not require any ice to cool back down.
I started back down the hill. While going down, there was more air flow over the controller and I did not have any trouble with the controller overheating. I did not even have to use it as I was coasting at 45 to 50 mph, helping to cool the controller down even more. The ice came in handy for dinking water as the day was warm.
My second destination was the Wind Farm, which took me out of town several miles to find the checkpoint. After I signed in, I received a token that was a miniature windmill on a stick. I then drove back into town looking for the third destination, Mooreen’s botanical Gardens. After signing in, I received a small cactus plant for my token. After checking my map, I headed for the for the destination, the Oasis Water Park. After signing in, I received a beach ball fro a token.
As the time was about 12 noon, I headed for McDonald’s to get something to eat. I checked my map for the next destination and started off down the road. I noticed the power in my batteries was dropping. I was moving slower and the time was nearing 1:00 PM. I arrived at the Palm Springs Bowling Lanes and, after singing in, received a statue of a man with a bowling ball for my token. I then headed back towards the finish line, trying to limit my battery current draw by traveling slowly in order to keep them from being completely discharged. It seemed to take a long time to get back to the finish line, but I arrived there at 12:50 PM with my batteries very discharged and five tokens to my credit.
There were two classes of electric cars in the rally. A School class was open to student teams who built their electric cars, and a Commuter class for all types of regular electric cars that could be driven on the streets.
After 1 PM, the winners in the School class were announced. The top prized went to River Valley High School from Mohave Valley, Arizona, whose electric VW Rabbit gathered eight tokens for first place. Second place went to Cal State Long Beach whose electric Porsche 914 gathered seven tokens.
In the Commuter class, Jeremy Phillips and I tied the competition with five tokens each. At the drivers’ meeting, we were told that any ties would be run off by doing extra laps around the block with the fastest time determining the winner. Jeremy told the officials that his batteries were out of juice and he did not want to run his car anymore until his batteries were recharged. I told them that my batteries were also discharged, tired and hungry and did not want to drive anymore, either. Someone suggested we have a drag race in the parking lot to decide the winner that that suggestion also died from lack of approval. Chris Martin, the rally originator, decided to have a coin toss to decide the winner. He borrowed a quarter from a student and said that the oldest driver was to call the toss in the air. That was me. He tossed the coin into the air, I called “tails”, the coin hit the ground, came to rest with “tails” up, and I won.
Later, Chris Martin told me that he had wanted me to win and had a hard time finding a two-tailed coin to toss. I received a trophy that was about 20 inches tall with a plaque on the base that read PALM SPRINGS CAR CLASSIC 1996. The base was 5 inches long by 3-1/2 inches wide, with a “1st” emblem on it, alongside of a tall 3-inch x 2-inch x 8-inch tall support. Mounted on the support was winner’s cup with two wings coming out of the center holding a steering wheel between them. The rally was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing the sights in Palm Springs as I had never been there before.
After the rally run was over that afternoon, we parked our Electrics on the main street of Palm Canyon Drive which had been closed off for the annual Palm Springs Car Classic show until 9 PM that evening. The electric cars attracted a lot of attention and we talked with many people about them. On Sunday, we displayed our Electrics at the Palm Springs Golf Course from 9 AM to 4 PM.
Editor’s note: End of Part Eight. “The Saga of an EV Wannabe (Part Nine)” will continue in the March 2009 issue of the LVEVA “Watts Happening” newsletter, and will chronicle more of Bill Kuehl’s pioneering EV conversion projects and racing adventures. Happy Clean Air Motoring!
EV Conversion Tips – How to Match Electric Motor RPM to Power Train Gear Ratio
By Richard Furniss, Bill Kuehl and Stan Hanel
During a recent LVEVA monthly meeting, one member brought up a problem with the failure of an electric motor in an electric van conversion project. The driver had been trying to accelerate the electric van to a speed beyond 50 mph to see how the power train would perform and determine whether the electric van would be capable of achieving safe highway speeds. During the test, the commutator bars on the electric motor armature became separated and the motor caught fire.
This type of electric motor failure is usually due to over-rotation of the armature beyond its maximum revolutions-per-minute (rpm) operating range. Most electric motors used in electric car conversion projects have a safe operating range at about 3,000 to 5,000 revolutions per minute.
The electric motor specifications are often provided by the motor manufacturer or distributor through their web sites. If the horsepower of the motor is sufficient to drive the vehicle, the EV electric motor speed range must also be sufficient to drive the vehicle power train in conjunction with the existing manual transmission available in the vehicle to highway speeds exceeding 60 mph. Most four- or five-speed manual transmissions have sets of gear ratios that are available to the driver for achieving these different speeds.
However, for larger and heavier vehicles like vans or SUVs, there may also be additional gear reduction built into the transmission to relieve the amount of work needed from the original gasoline engine when moving the vehicle through the gear ranges of its power train. Because of the inherent torque in an electric motor, this additional gear reduction may not be necessary and may also be counter-productive as well as inefficient. The electric motor may have to spin much faster than necessary to move the vehicle in each of its different gear settings.
One way to determine the gear ratio at each of the transmission speeds is to make a vertical chalk mark on the sidewall of one of the drive wheel tires. With one person viewing the electric motor, have two other people push the vehicle forward or backward one full revolution of the tire, while the person monitoring the motor counts the number of turns that the electric motor makes in each gear range.
This will give the overall gear reduction ratio for each gear range (for example, 1st gear = 30 motor turns:1 tire rotation, 2nd gear = 20 motor turns:1 tire rotation, etc.). To determine motor rpm for each speed and gear ratio combination, measure the circumference of the tire to determine how many feet are covered by the vehicle during one full rotation. Multiply “miles per hour” by 5,280 “feet per mile” to determine “feet per hour” speed, then divide that number by the circumference of the tire to give the speed in “tire rotations/hour”. To determine the number of motor turns per tire rotation, multiply the result by the top number of the gear ratio at each speed and gear setting.
The formula for determining the motor rpm at each vehicle speed should look something like this:
Motor rpm = s * (5,280/c) * (g/1)
where “s” is the vehicle speed in mph, “c” is the circumference of the tire in feet, and “g” is the top number of the gear ratio.
Create a table that matches vehicle speed (in mph) to electric motor rpm through each of the different gear ranges in the transmission, such as:
1st gear
5 mph = ______ rpm
10 mph = ______ rpm
:
:
35 mph = ______ rpm
2nd gear
10 mph = ______ rpm
:
:
45 mph = ______ rpm
3rd gear
20 mph = ______ rpm
:
:
60 mph = ______ rpm
4th gear
30 mph = ______ rpm
:
80 mph = ______ rpm
Make sure that the electric motor chosen is able to sustain its normal operating range through each of the power train gear ratios. If there is too much gear reduction offsetting the work of the electric motor, a different transmission with less gear reduction may be needed.
Electric vehicle drivers should also be careful how they use the clutch in a manual transmission power train when shifting gears. Revving the electric motor up to full rpm speed and then releasing the clutch may cause the motor to spin beyond its maximum rpm rating when it is unloaded. Unlike a gasoline internal combustion engine whose internal piston friction will automatically slow down the engine as the fuel supply and clutch are released, an uncoupled electric motor will continue to spin even faster under centrifugal force after it is disconnected from its load. Much in-town driving with an electric motor and a standard manual transmission can often be done by leaving the motor in second gear. Shifting should be done more gradually when the motor is operating at mid-range rpm speeds. A dashboard tachometer can help the driver gauge the appropriate time to make these gear shifts when accelerating.
Proper matching of the electric motor to the electric vehicle transmission and power train will create a more efficient drive system that will save years of maintenance down the road.
The Story of Lectra Motors
by Al Sawyer, P.E. , Jan Himber and Stan Hanel
Editors’ Note: Thank you to LVEVA Board of Directors members Lloyd Reece and Daniel Trujillo for providing photos of their Lectra Motors electric car restorations for this article.
In 1976, Albert J. (Al) Sawyer was working as an electrical engineer at the Nuclear Research & Development Station (NRDS) at the Nevada Test Site. He was employed by EG&G Inc., a prime contractor to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Space Nuclear Propulsion Office (SNPO). He was fortunate enough to be assigned to a very exciting project: to develop a remotely controlled vehicle that could be sent into areas hazardous to humans. This machine required some sort of precisely controllable propulsion. After careful consideration of the conditions under which the machine would be operating, it was decided that electric drive would be the best way to go. Developing this drive system gave Al the idea that he might be able to build himself an electric car to commute to work.
Al had never seen an electric car before and had only seen pictures of early vehicles built around the 1900’s. Consequently, he had no idea where to begin. He realized that to stay within his own limited budget he would have to find an old gasoline car and convert it to electric drive. He located a 1963 Corvair 4-door sedan, sitting neglected in someone’s back yard. He purchased it for $35. He removed the engine and sold it for $30. Now he had a usable chassis for $5. He bough a surplus Jack & Heinz aircraft generator for $45 as well as some relays, switches & welding cable from a surplus catalog. So far, he had spent about $100. He went to a local battery shop (aptly named “The Battery Shop”), where he purchased 16 factory-reject Gould 6-volt golf cart batteries for $20 each. A few more small items cost only a few dollars. Now he had all the parts and materials for under $500.
Al reconfigured the aircraft generator to run as a motor rated at about 19 horsepower. He designed a very rudimentary speed control system using the surplus relays, switches and a large resistor purchased earlier. A friend loaded him the use of his machine shop to make the adapter plate needed to mount the motor to the Corvair transmission housing. The rest of the conversion work was done on weekends in the driveway of Al’s house. At last, after many weekends of work, the car was ready for a test drive. A rousing cheer went up from the watching neighbors as the car rolled briskly down the street. Since most of them didn’t believe it would actually work, they had been referring to the car as “Al’s Folly”. But the car ran, and ran well! Al drove it to work for several months. This first electric conversion would later be referred to as X-1 (experimental model #1).
At about this time, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) was starting an incentive program to promote electric and hybrid vehicles as a viable means of transportation. Al wrote to the DOE offering his project for their consideration. The answering letter he received read something like this:
“Dear Sir:
Your efforts, while commendable, are not what we are looking for.
Sincerely, …”
Disheartened, Al continued to drive his car to work.
One day in 1977, Al was having lunch with Charles R. Amadon, an instrumentation technologist at EG&G. Charlie put forth the idea of forming a corporation and raising funds to develop a marketable electric car, with or without assistance from the DOE. Al agreed. Al, Charlie and a group of their friends and coworkers formed Western Research Industries, Inc. (WRI) with the following board of directors:
Albert J. Sawyer, P.E. President
Charles R. Amadon Vice-President
Dr. G. Hayes Turney Secretary/Treasurer
Lloyd M. Kelley Director
Robert E. Clemensen Director
Ted Barney Director
Working evenings and weekends, these men raised enough money to build X-2. It was a hybrid vehicle that employed an electric drive train with a gasoline generator to extend the range. This car was built on a 1967 Subaru chassis. It was not suitable for marketing, but it was very good looking and performed well. It served to raise interest in the community through trade shows and television interviews. Because of this good publicity, enough stock was sold to produce the LEKTRIKAR 1. It was built using a new 1980 Datsun 310 chassis. This car was not built with surplus parts. It had a Prestolite MC4001 electric motor, a Cableform MK4 controller, a Lester charger and 18 Trojan T-135 6-volt batteries. This was a beautiful, great performing car which was just what the DOE was “looking for”. This car met and exceeded the requirements of the DOE. One performance requirement of the DOE was for the car to accelerate from 0 to 30 mph in 15 seconds. The LEKTRIKAR 1 accelerated from 0 to 30 mph in 8 seconds.
With the DOE’s recognition, things began to look up for WRI. Al and Charlie decided it was time to devote their full time to building electric cars, so they resigned from EG&G. WRI’s first order was from the City of Floricent, Missouri, accompanied by a check for $50,000. The next order was from Clark County, Nevada. WRI was off and running. There were approximately 20 cars and pick-up trucks produced under the LEKTRIKAR logo and the word got out to the industry that a small company was building great electric cars in Las Vegas, Nevada. It came to the attention of the head of a Los Angeles computer company (who would wish to remain anonymous) who said he wanted to help.
Later, in 1980, Western Research Industries was phased out and LECTRA MOTORS, Inc. was created with the computer company head as the major stockholder. He could see that the company needed more experienced business people to guide it. He hired a CEO and a Vice-President of Operations from the business department of the city of Berkeley, California to guide the progress of the new company. Albert J. Sawyer’s new title was now President and Director of Research. Charles R. Amadon was Executive Vice-President. New quarters were established at 5380 Valley View Blvd. in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company staffed up, tooled up and started production of a full line of electric vehicles. Some of the models produced were as follows:
Lectra 2+2 - A front wheel drive 2-door sedan built on a Datsun 310
Lectra 400 – A front wheel drive 4-door sedan built on a Datsun 310 with 4-door chassis
Lectra 100 – A pick-up truck built on a Datsun Li’l Hustler pick-up chassis
Lectra 200 – A rear wheel drive sedan built on a Datsun 210 chassis
Lectra Centauri – A rear wheel drive luxury sprots car built on a Datsun 200SX chassis (Al’s favorite!)
Nissan Motors was contacted to provide Lectra Motors with gliders (new cars without engines). Nissan would not deal for less than a boat load of vehicles. Of course, since Lectra Motors was a small struggling company, this was beyond their financial capabilities. Consequently, it was necessary to purchase new cars from cooperative dealers in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. The gasoline components were pulled out of the new cars to make room for the electric components and sold back to parts the dealers or to parts distributors. Lectra Motors’ production rate was about 30 cars per month. These were sold before they were built. They were sold mostly to municipalities and utility companies. One was even sold to the Toyota Corporation in Japan in the early 1980s, years before the Toyoto Electric RAV-4 and Toyota Prius hybrid appeared on the American market.
Since the Lectra Motors cars were going to be sold in large quantities, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) also had very stringent requirements. Consequently, they each put these cars through a 35 mph crash test. These tests proved that not only did the crash dummies survive but no battery materials (lead, plastic, acid or gas) entered the passenger compartment.
Lectra Motors introduced several innovative “firsts” into the electric vehicle industry. Among them were battery-powered hot water heaters and defrosters, battery-powered air conditioning, and “under the bed” battery pack installations in the pick-up trucks. Production continued at the rate of 30 vehicles per month through 1981. During this time, Lectra Motors received proposals from several other electric car companies for mergers as well as requests to set up factories in New Zealand and Athens, Greece. These were mostly thwarted by the major stockholder.
By 1982, the company was ready to double output to 60 cars per month. After commitments had been made to purchase cars and materials for the increase, the major stockholder suddenly withdrew his support. Unfortunately, there was a clause in the by-laws of the corporation which allowed the major stockholder to call a special meeting for the express purpose of removing any or all of the company executives from office. This he proceeded to do, putting all the employees and executive out on the street. On July 10, 1982, the last Lectra Motors executive vacated the building on Valley View Blvd. and Lectra Motors, Inc. ceased to exist.
Lectra Motors is no longer in business but there are still a number of the company’s vehicles on the streets and by-ways of America today. There are currently three Lectra Motors vehicles owned by members of the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association in the Las Vegas area, including one that Al drove for almost 10 years as his personal mode of transportation around town. All three vehicles have been passed around the LVEVA membership as “starter vehicles” for first-time EV owners who have received generous support from Al Sawyer and Jan Himber regarding restoration and maintenance. Al, at the age of 76, proudly drove Jan Himber’s Lectra 2+2 in a National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) drag race event in Las Vegas during 2000. He currently holds a world record in the SP/F racing class at: http://www.nedra.com/record_holders.html
Original Lectra Motors sales brochures and vehicle specifications can be found at this link: http://ilbcnu.org/misc_docs/1981_lectra_electric_brochure.doc
LVEVA DVD Reference Library
The LVEVA maintains a growing library of DVD reference videos that are available to its members that can be borrowed for one month at a time. Bill Kuehl, LVEVA Secretary/Treasurer is also the LVEVA video librarian. He can be contacted to pick up and return these videos at each monthly chapter meeting. The current list of videos that are available for a one month rental are:
1. “Who Killed the Elecric Car” Documentary
2. Plug in Partners National Campaign (2006)
3. EAA Silicon Valley CalCars PHEV Technology Overview (2005)
4. Boulder City Christmas Parade Highlights (2006)
5. Convert Your Pickup to Electric (DIY Video by GrassrootsEV)
Note: This video can be copied to viewer’s hard disk to keep!
6. Tom Gage of AC Propulsion speaks at EAA Silicon Valley (2005)
7. Monster Garage EV conversion (Jesse James)
and John Wayland White Zombie Videos (2006)
8. Electric Avenue by George Gladic Fox Valley EAA Chapter 2006.
9. Bruce Katz of Polyplus Battery Company speaks at EAASV (2005)
EV Repairs and Service
Western Petroleum Station
2051 E. Sahara (corner of Eastern Avenue and Sahara)
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Contact: Jim Johnson
Telephone: (702) 457-2675
Web site: http://storefront.dexonline.com/jims-texaco
EV Conversion and Fabrication Support
The Hybrid Company
5225 S. Valley View Blvd., Suite 16
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Web site: http://www.thehybridcompany.com
Tel: (702) 539-2337
Fax: (702) 255-2710
Contact: John DeVillier
Precision EV Components Machining Support
Real Products, LLC
3433 Neeham Road #2
North Las Vegas, NV 89030
Contact: Eric Tschabold
Tel: (702) 644-1165
Email: energyz@cox.net
EV Parts and Kits for Sale:
GrassrootsEV.com
Las Vegas Office
Address: 5225 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89118
“Electric Vehicles and Everything for Them”
Contact: Jon Hallquist
Tel: (702) 277-7544
Email: jon@grassrootsev.com
Web site: http://www.grassrootsev.com
OKA NEV
ZEV Parts and Kits for Sale: www.okaauto.com
OKA NEV ZEV KIT cars in stock now for immediate delivery prices start at $5,000 FOB Las Vegas. We also have 4844 ALLTRAX Controllers(48V 400 A DC for Series motor) in stock (more than we need) $550 list, $375.00 NET.
Contact: Miro Kefurt
OKA AUTO USA : www.okaauto.com
Distributor: MIROX Corporation
5015 W. Sahara Ave. #125-130
Las Vegas, Nevada 89146
USA
Tel: (702) 683-8292
E-mail: okaauto@aol.com
The Free Energy Store
Sales and Installation of Alternative Energy Solutions
300 West Utah Avenue, Suite 101
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Tel: (702) 320-0770
Fax: (702) 320-0270
Web site: http://www.freeenergystore.com
Contact: Russ Lord
Email: russ@freeenergystore.com
EV-Charge America
Sales and Installation of Coulomb Technologies "Smartlet" EV Charging Stations
8620 Eastern Ave. Suite 5
Las Vegas, NV. 89123
Contact: Tom Haynie or Bob Rosinski
Tel: (702) 696-1600
Tom Haynie Cell: (702) 738-7456
Fax: (866) 941-6819
Tom Haynie Email: tom@ev-chargeamerica.com
Bob Rosinski Email: bob@ev-chargeamerica.com
For Sale: Chrome "Electric" Emblems for EV's
Mike Chancey - Posted 06/25/00
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Checked: 07/13/03
Chrome "Electric" car emblems, just like the OEM factory lettering. Okay, so you own a beautiful electric vehicle, but does the world know? Show them with these profession quality "ELECTRIC" emblems. Fabricated from weather resistant thermoplastic, these signs feature a bright chrome like finish on the letter faces with a subtle matte black background. They mount easily with the self adhesive HighTack backing. Simply peel off the protective cover, and press the sign into place. Each sign is approximately 1.25" in height and 7" in length. Only $6.00 each or four for $20.00, plus $1.75 shipping and handling per order. Discounts for larger orders available. Send check or money order to:
Mike Chancey, 1700 East 80th Street, Kansas City, MO 64131, or order online.
EVs For Sale:
Electrans 3-wheel Futurista ETV
Range of 55 miles
Top speed of 45 mph.
Department of Transportation (DOT) approval to license this vehicle through the DMV
List price is $13,995
Contact: ElecTrans
Address: 5450 South Cameron #101, Las Vegas, NV 89118
Tel: (702) 889-2146
Web site: www.futurista.biz
For Sale: Electric 1985 Pontiac “Fiero” --Record-Holding Race Car
This 1985 Pontiac “Fiero” Conversion currently holds four National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) Class Records.
1. Class MC/F (Modified Conversion 97-120 volts)
2. Class MC/E (Modified Conversion 121-144 volts)
3. Class MC/D (Modified Conversion 145-168 volts)
4. Class MC/C (Modified Conversion 169-192 volts)
The 1985 Pontiac Fiero has been converted with:
1. A new Netgain Warp-9 Electric DC Motor coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission.
2. A DCP T-REX 1000 Water-cooled Controller with an Input Voltage Range of 96 to 336 Volts
and Motor Current Rating at 1000 Amps.
3. The Battery System is at 192 Volts. The battery pack consists of sixteen 12-volt sealed ODYSSEY PC-680 batteries with the capability of increasing battery pack capacity and voltages to compete in the NEDRA MC/B Class (Modified Conversion 193-240 volts) or to a maximum capacity of 336-volts to compete in the MC/A Class (Modified Conversion 241 volts and higher).
4. Tires are B.F. Goodrich G-Force T/A Drag Radials P215/60 R14 that connect the Electric Motor torque to the road for “no slip” acceleration.
5. Battery Charger is a 120- to 240-volt Variable Transformer with a heavy-duty full bridge rectifier. Additional cables and connectors are installed for Dump Charging from a DC battery pack.
Asking Price: $10,000 or Best Offer.
Contact: William Kuehl
Address: 4504 W. Alexander Road, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89032
Telephone: 702-636-0304
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