Thread: Electrathon - A Different Kind of "Hotrod"

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I wish I had a cutie like that to work on the truck, it would have been done last year!
My wife is helpfull sometimes though. Yesterday she held a wrench on a bolt coming up through the fire wall where I bolted the emergency brake cable clip too!

Never been to the saltflats,but it dose look like from info on the net that salt has good hard and bad soft days for racing the clock,some what like our Daytona Beach was. Wounder how much red tape cutting it would take to do Daytona again.
Hay Jim,can we brake that record on the Beach? foooy on going way out to BFE to run =must be a eastcost thing

Hi Bat. I don't know about Daytona Beach; that would probably almost take an act of God. However, there is a place a lot closer than Bonneville; Maxton, North Carolina. Do a search and check out the East Coast Timing Association. They use the same rules and classes as Bonneville, but the trials are run on a one-mile paved course. It's actually an unused airstrip at the back of an airport.

On the silver car and orange car pictured previously, I used 18 gauge perforated angle to make the battery trays. For this car I decided to try something different (and lighter?)...

I bought some 1/16" wall, 1" aluminum angle at the local ACE Hardware. I don't have access to a TIG welder, so I used 3/16" pop-rivets. I cut a piece of angle long enough to go around the perimeter of the battery bottom, allowing 1/4" clearance both directions, plus an extra inch for overlapping the ends. I drilled a 3/16" hole through the fillet of the angle where the bends would be and then made a cut from the edge of what would be the bottom to the hole (see pic). Then I made the bends in a vise with the bottoms of the corners overlapping, overlapped the ends, and riveted them. After checking and adjusting for square, I also riveted the botom of all four corners.

I made eight mounting tabs (four for each tray) from 1/8" x 3/4" flat steel. I drilled and riveted the tabs to the battery trays and then welded the assemblies in place from the bottom of the chassis.

Becase of the weight of the batteries, the bottoms of the side pods need additional support along the outside. In this case I used 1/8" steel round stock (welding rod) to make a pair of diagonal struts for each battery pod. The forward ones are welded to the outer bottom rail in front of the battery tray and to the top rail near the steering wheel crossmember. The rear ones are welded to the outer bottom rail behind the battery tray and to the main roll cage hoop.

To enclose the batteries inside the bodywork, I needed some type of framework to which I could attach the "skin". Some 1/2" conduit would work, but would be heavier than necessary to simply support the body panels. I chose instead to use something a little unconventional. At the local auto parts store I picked up two 6 ft. pieces of 3/8" steel fuel line tubing. It's extremely light, easy to bend, can be welded, and it's hollow so I can drill it for pop-rivets.

I bent the 3/8" fuel line to the same shape as the outer bottom rails and cut them to the same approximate length plus about 1 1/2" on each end. I used the leftover pieces to cut a pair of uprights for each side. The front pieces are sized so that, measured from the bottom of the battery tray, they are 9" tall (the overall height of the batteries with terminals in place + 1/4"). The rear ones are 3/8" taller simply to give the finished side pods a little tapered appearance.

Using a cadre of measuring tools and a lot of "calibrated eyeball", I located and welded the vetical pieces in place. Then, using some masking tape to help me hold the top tubes in place, I trimmed and fit the ends. Once satisfied with the overall fit, I welded them solidly in place.

I made the seat pan out of a piece of thin gauge aluminum diamond plate. To lighten it a bit more, I cut a series of holes in it with a 1 7/8" hole saw. I attached this to the bottom of the frame with 3/16" pop-rivets spaced about 5" apart across the back and down both sides. I left the front edge unnattached for now; it will be riveted simultaneously with the front floor pan.

The last little bit of fabrication is to weld in a couple of heavy duty washers for seat belt mounts (see arrows). I located these by climbing into the car one more time and marking the approximate location of my hips.

Finally, one can of Rustoleum gray auto primer and five cans of Krylon gloss white later, I have a completed frame ready for bodywork.

One last comment - Just before painting, we stood the complete bare frame on the scales. With the seat pan in place it weighs 27 pounds.

wow that's lighter than some mountain bikes! Looks great!

Well, I think that's a complete mountain bike and this is just a bare frame. Anyway, it'll gain considerable weight when I add body panels and start bolting on the running gear. The Etek motor weighs right at 30 pounds! Nevertheless, I am happy with it so far. If it comes in around a hundred pounds (without the batteries) I will be happy.

Boy is that thing looking good!!! Do you use any kind of cushion, or just ride the metal?

HRD - In my other cars I used a 1/2" foam pad that is made for using under sleeping bags, cut to fit. I will probably do the same thing here.

Next step: making and installing body panels. For this I am using aluminum "Kick Panel" material available at Lowe's and Home Depot. It is found in the area where they have the screen enclosure stuff for patios, etc. It is available in a dark brown satin finish or gloss white. The aluminum material is .024" thick, 16" wide and 16' long. I just went back for a second roll... I am using white; that's why I painted the frame white. I may give this car a different paint scheme in the future, but for now I'm sticking with the white.

Working with the bare frame simplifies making and installing some of the body panels. Before I put all the wheels and steering hardware back in place, I made and installed the front floor pan and the two long side panels. The floor pan was pretty straightforward; I simply cut a piece of aluminum to the measured length, laid it on the bottom of the frame, marked the edges with a washable marker, and cut to fit. I installed it with 1/8" pop-rivets 3 1/2" apart.

The side panels are not so easy because of the intricate shape. For these I made a pattern from poster board. I taped two sheets end-to-end and then cut them to 16" wide to replicate the size of the aluminum. Using masking tape as my "extra hands", I tried and trimmed the pattern until I was satisfied with the fit. When I got it to fit one side, I took it to the other side to see if it would fit there. There was only a slight difference in length at the very rearmost edge, probably caused by a small difference in the side pods somewhere; not bad for a hand-built structure!

I transferred the pattern to the aluminum with the washable marker and cut it out with aircraft snips. This time, I held the side panel in place with strips of duct tape. Although the picture shows masking tape, the darn stuff wouldn't hold long enough for me to get the rivets in place. I started at the front axle area and worked back, putting a 1/8" rivet about every 5 to 6 inches. No need to go crazy with the rivets here; these panels are more cosmetic than structural. After making the front floor pan and both sides, I have just enough aluminum left to do one side of the nose. It was at this point that I stopped with bodywork and assembled the front end and rear wheel. I have the second roll of aluminum now, so I can finish when i get back to it...

More pics...

The nose is the next part I covered. I had to make the top nose section in two pieces; the aluminum I am using is only 16 inches wide, but the chassis is 21 inches at its widest point.

After locating the approximate point where the chassis gets too wide for the aluminum, I put a 1/16 x 1 aluminum support across for support. This piece is curved to match the steering support. Once it was riveted in place, I was able to fit the "skin" to the frame. After marking and trimming to fit, I riveted both pieces to the frame. The outer skin provides some structural rigidity to the nose, so I placed a rivet every 3 1/2 inches.

For the sides of the nose, I cut patterns. Actually, I re-cut the pattern I had used on the body sides (Hey, poster board ain't cheap!). Again, the same pattern fit both sides. After transferring the pattern to aluminum, I cut out the side pieces and riveted them on. Again, I placed the rivets 3 1/2" apart for structural strength.

The cowl piece was next. This turned out to be one of the most tedious pieces to make. I cut and re-cut the pattern several times before I got it to fit correctly. I wanted it to rise or flare upward so that it would be above the driver's hands on the steering wheel, but not so high that it would obscure forward vision. Also, the trailing edge had to be rolled for strength and safety.

After finally getting the pattern to fit the way I wanted, I transfered it to aluminum. When I cut it out I left an extra half inch along the back edge. I ran a couple of strips of masking tape along the back edge on what would be the outside to protect it from scratching. Then I used a large pair of lineman's pliers and a plastic mallet to roll the edge along the line traced from the pattern. I did not flatten the edge completely, but left it so the roll is about 3/16" thick.

Rolling the back edge left the ends curled somewhat, so I had to correct the shape a bit. I did that by persuading it with bare hands. I kept a rag laid across the nose while I was shaping the cowl, but I still managed to scrach the finish when riveting it in place...

The triangular shaped piece riveted at the front of the side pod is where the master power switch will go (arrow). I also made and riveted the headrest panel in place, but didn't take a picture. The bodywork is all done now except for the tops of the side pods. I will make those later.