Hot Rods First runs at strip for Green Tee, Electric Roadster

Well, for those of you who have followed the thread of the building of Green Tee, the electric powered, '27 Model T roadster http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=299923 we ran it at the Kick Gas Electric Nationals at Barona raceway yesterday. A quick recap, we set out to build the roadster as an electric hot rod. We basically built the entire car in 6 weeks, finishing up 9pm the night before the race. We had no idea how it would do or what problems we might have.

Well it was a great day. Green Tee ran great with only a couple minor issues which we will solve. I won 3rd place for fastest electric vehicle. Best pass of the day was 8.098 at 80.299mph. This was an 1/8 mile track. 60' times were in the 1.7 range. It just hooked and booked! Some more testing with air pressure on the slicks and it will be even better. Okay, here are some pics. More can be found (including the build up) at http://gallery.lisaandmike.org/27roadster Thanks for following along and all the support in the other thread. It does look like we set the world record in class. Just need to get it into NEDRA for approval.

I will get video posted once I have edited it.

Off the trailer and ready to go


Driving to the line


In line waiting for the first run. Sorry no pics since the wife changed over to the video camera. I'll post videos when I get them edited.


Here's Michael Kadie (co owner/builder) heating the tires up for his first run in it. Later in the day he took 1st in the burn out competition.


End of the day with 3rd place and very happy with the results.

 

video!?!?!

congratulations! something so funny about a roadster lining up like that - with an empty engine bay.

yeah - this will never replace the look/sound of what we all love...but you're definitely on the edge and pushing it. in the end it's about creativity and going fast and you have that.

hope i get to see this run in person someday soon.

 

Congratulations on your trophy! Looks like a heck of a good time.

Mike

 

congrats man - sorry couldnt make it down to check it out - good luck with it!

 

Pretty neat! (Looks like the incomplete projects we used to tow around town when we were kids...)

 

Well?
How fast did it go?
r

 

Man thats really weird seeing that thing at a line with no engine.
Leading the pack for future generations. Congratulations.

 

WOW!!! Conratulations!!!
Coolest looking car in the pics you posted!!! I think a dummy Hemi in the front would be too cool!!! Especially no noise when you run!!
I'll be looking for the video when posted.
Great job!!!

 

We've been building internal combustion engine powered drag cars for 60 years now, and we have gotten quite good at it. An electric motor behaves very differently from an IC engine, and there is a very limited transfer between the two operating principles. I suspect the learning curve will be as sharp as it was for 1955 to 1965, as racers went from multicarbed flatheads to injected and blown nitro motors.

I'm curious as to why you use a rear end instead of wheel motors. Seems to me you could set them up for equal power disipation and solve most traction issues. Also, is that controller set up for regenerative braking?

 

What would it do in the quarter, rough estimate, based on these numbers?

 

Based on a chart I found online, it "should" put in mid 12's. My guess would be high 12's, low 13's. Not bad for a first time out car.

 

very cool...wanted to make it over there but got hung up at the shop...very surreal to see an empty engine bay but very cool nonetheless

 

Okay, I got some videos posted to YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wVkrqZhBmY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP1iGTVmjnI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixEDBCZcnRQ

 

that roadster can move!

i thought my sound was off for video 3.

 

cool. 1st eletric drag car I've seen

 

Why would you want regenerative braking on a drag car??? Seems it is just made to go fast...not far.
Thanks for the update!

 

Not to hijack but there is a guy here in Phoenix that runs in the 8s in the 1/4 with an electric dragster. Very cool.

 

congrats man!

 

I bet if you put on a track-T nose and a hood,it might improve your times,with aerodynamics...Great car!!! Looks like it really leaves...

 

Super cool, and great job on the maiden voyage. I would either put one of those plastic "mock up" engines in it to really fool people, or put a hood on it. The hood would help with aero, at least slightly. Oh, and some spindle mounts in the front and crazy panel paint would really do it for me.

 

Wow that is very cool! Congrats!

 

i wish i could've seen the looks on peoples faces when u pulled up next to them in the staging lanes and they looked over and saw no engine !

 

Leave it open with no engine and video peoples faces when you pass them on the freeway

 

Any more info on the Daytona Coupe? I think we may have done the body and paint work on it at the shop I work at. Kens Customs in Yuba City, CA.

 

Great work, maybe a sign of things to come.

 

Weird to hear the slicks chirp with no engine snarl. Great stuff.

 

Super go!! really neat
I know your doing it for fun,but why run wide front tires that slow ya down?,plus looked like a lot of holes should be drilled in the front brakes and stuff or start with smaller ones,why do a burn out at all and take the peak kick off the batterys by spiking them doing that? And some aero nose to come?cool
I see a lot more speed there then ya got this try.

 

Thanks for the compliments guys. It was a lot of fun seeing peoples reactions. Heck, we almost didn't get it tech'ed because the tech guy thought it was not running and was just on display. We had to convince him we were racing that day. LOL

As for the front tires/brakes, this is what we had on hand. The front end was off my buddies '23 T we built and later took apart. Believe it or not, it was a major budget build, excluding the electronics. I think total, including the purchase of the body and frame, we have less then $3000. A lot of spare items we all had laying around went into this. Retail on the electronics would have added another $15,000 or so.

Plans are to make this street legal now that we have some time. A track nose/hood is planned. I think we are going to do a green flake paint with silver "lightening bolt" flames.

As for the burn out, still need to get a little heat in the tires to hook up. It does take a little peak of the batteries but it's no good if we just spin the tires instead. I was working with air presure and think we can still go down. I was at 8.5 psi when I ran the best run.

Another issue we are having is with brake drag in the front. We think it might be a bad residual valve (Jegs brand). We we ran this front end on my buddies T, we used a Wilwood valve and never had problems with this. Currently the front wheels are very hard to turn and if I crack the bleeders in the front, I get a little squirt of fluid and then the wheels turn very free. I am sure the drag was costing us a couple tenths. Anyone else have this problem with residual valves?

Thanks guys!

 

I'd put a small lawn mower motor up front.

 

I have thought about putting a hamster wheel up there... maybe four and I would tell everyone I had a four banger.