The Electric Powered Hot Rod- Amped Up

Types of Control Systems Necessary: Every EV will have a battery pack and a motor, but connecting them together with a simple knife switch will produce too much power too soon, and it may burn out the motor. What's needed a motor controller. Motor controllers are power electronic devices that enable a system to provide control of speed and smooth acceleration. Most DC motor controllers work on the principle of pulse width modulation (PWM). The battery power is chopped up into small pulses, and the amount of on time vs. off time of these PWM pulses will determine the amount of power supplied to the motor. Motor controllers receive a signal from a throttle potentiometer, which in turn is connected to the accelerator pedal. The more you step on the pedal, the more power the controller sends to the motor. Commercial motor controllers for golf carts can be rated as low as 2 hp. A high-powered controller for drag racing is commercially available to handle as much as 750 hp for several seconds.

Availability of Components: EV components and kits for passenger cars and race vehicles are available from a number of suppliers as noted at the end of this article.

So, is there an electric street rod in your future? That depends on a number of factors, chief among them are the use of the car and developing technology. If you're planning on driving cross-country to the Nationals, odds are you'll be burning gas to get there. That could change if adaptable hybrid technology becomes available, but don't look for that any time soon. For vehicles traveling shorter distances, batteries for plug-ins are getting better and less expensive, which could mean building an electric street rod would make sense. While it's not likely an electric motor will replace the small-block Chevy in popularity anytime soon, keep in mind hot rodding has gone from four cylinders, to Flatheads, to OHVs and now the latest in computer-controlled internal combustion engines, so don't rule out the possibility.