EJ Potter, the Michigan Madman, built a few projects many folks aren’t aware of. Best known for his Widow Maker Chevy V8 motorcycle drag racers and his Allison V12 tractors, I thought some of you might like to see his Super Slot Car since we were just discussing electric motorcycles using generators instead of batteries.
EJ Potter was the epitome of a doer, a fellow that built and tested his ideas instead of engaging in long and pointless conversations about whether or not they would work. His Super Slot Car was another great example.
As EJ tells it, in the mid 1960s, with all of the talk about air pollution and electric cars, he began thinking about building an electric drag racer. He knew that the starter motor from a big jet engine could produce over 200 horsepower, but batteries would never deliver the juice he would need. So off he went, gathering starter motors, generators, gearboxes and an Allison engine and he headed into his workshop.
He built a trailer with two big reels of electrical cable and some electric motors to reel the cable back up. In between the reels sat an Allison V12 powered electric generator which poured the juice to the cables. His 4 wheel drive electric race car had 2 pickups underneath which drew electricity from the cables which were laid down on the race track.
It took about 3 minutes to lay out one quarter mile of cable. The car would line up, he would close the switch and off it went, leaping forward and whining like some big electric shaver. He says it got up to about 120 mph.
EJ says the car wasn’t successful because he couldn’t find any car companies at the time willing to sponsor an electric car and magazines didn’t publicize it because advertisers weren’t keen on electric cars, at least, that’s what he says.
However you look at it, the Super Slot Car was ahead of its time and it’s a cool example of using electric motors but getting the electricity from something other than batteries. Maybe not practical off the track, but very neat, nevertheless.
UPDATE: While writing this, I had no idea, E.J. Potter has just passed away. Please see the following post for more details of EJ’s life.
Photos credit: EJ Potter
LWL says
Well keeping the power generator off the car sure would shed the weight but of course its usefullness is pretty limited. I might not totally get what the product would be but it was creative, inventive and as you point out Paul, he did it as opposed to talking about it. Bam done. Respect.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
You really have to look at this car along side all of his other projects. There was no intention here of a product for anyone else, this WAS the product, a racer he built for himself. Direct drive Chevy V8 motorcycles, jet engine trikes, Allison engine tractors, he was a builder and he is an example of the spirit of doing.
Decline says
Seems a bit convoluted and bit overly simple yet complex in the solution and in a way I love. Just odd and out there making no excuses for itself. Just being what is and being bizarrely lovely in the process. Some reason trying to imagine it being set up and run reminded me of SRL machines.
Though not bike or car related just engineering nightmare goodness of because it can be built. (http://srl.org/machines.html in case someone hasn’t heard of them or just scour youtube as there’s a fair bit of stuff out there).
Wish their was some footage of this car making a run though.
GuitarSlinger says
Well …. if you’re gonna continue the discussion about generator powered E/V’s you really need to include ( though not an M/C ) Neil Young’s Lincvolt in the discussion
http://www.lincvolt.com/
So far its the only Micro Turbine generator powered E/V …. that at least for a little while …… actually worked
Well at least until it did the Car-BQ thing to itself and the garage it was in .
For what its worth initially I was quite excited by the whole Micro Turbine thing … even going so far as to consider investing into the Isle of Man company thats manufacturing the best of the Micro Turbines in all sizes for almost any application . Until that is TATA purchased the company .
Since the initial excitement ……. watching one after another of the MT/Hybrid attempts fail miserably I’ve gone off the whole concept .. now agreeing with BMW & M-B engineers that the best bet is on Hydrogen once the cost and energy to create it issues are resolved . Which we’re a whole lot closer to than solving the Li battery instability , need for Rare Earth and the amount of energy needed to produce an EV/Hybrid
B50 Jim says
I love it! There’s no need to discuss the pros and cons of Micro turbine hybrids, battery vs. hydrogen, etc., etc., etc. That’s not the issue here. This is racing, pure and simple. The idea is to build and race the world’s biggest slot cars. Sure, it’s limited to drag racing, but so are all dragsters. I think laying down a quarter mile of conductor, building hellacious electric-powered racers and running them off is insanely fun! Why not? It could be a great way to keep drag strips open in urban areas because the racers would be virtually silent except for gear whine and tire noise. The source of power, be it a diesel-electric power uint from an old locomotive or an industrial-strength hookup to the local power company, would be quiet as well. Imagine the possibilities for some truly radical dragsters, be they cars or bikes. With virtually unlimited energy on tap, the only challenge would be to get the massive potential power available from electric motors to the strip. Bring on the electric diggers!
Dano says
A very creative solution to the question.
It’s much like a subway, the El-evated in Chicago w/ a third rail. My fathers Uncle used to run the old trams in Boston & other large cities that were powered by overhead wires.
Paul is right, this guy is just a wonderful “doer”.
My buddy asks “Why?” & I say “because he can!”
I never knew such a neat vehicle existed, it’s nice to see works of imagineering that have come to fruition.
John says
Godspeed EJ
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/themorningsun/obituary.aspx?n=elon-jack-potter-ej&pid=157416538
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
I hadn’t seen that. Very sad to see him now gone, but he had one helluva time while he was here and showed many of us what a guy with a toolbox and the right attitude could do.
Stephan P says
These are also doers and are doing it well
Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cf89tawZX8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my iPad
Lehmanhill says
There was a “more practical” but similar concept studied in Chicago in the 90’s. The idea was to distribute electrical power on variation of the street car idea. In this case, power conductors would be placed in short lengths in the streets. A giant computer would be able to tell that an electric car of the right type was over a given section by reading a wireless signal from the car. The car was just a big slot car with rubbing contacts like a street car. The computer would turn on the drive power only when the car was above the conductors. That way, no one would be hurt by the electricity. One assumes that the car would have a minimal battery so that it could move off the grid and park, etc.
Naturally, this went no where, in part because of liability concerns.
Nortley says
Potter’s book, Michigan Madman, is a must read for any motorhead. The story in it of testing a surplus military jet engine in a boat on the local fishin’ lake may cause rib damage.
dylan says
just like all electric cars- you need to get that energy from someplace. a v-12 allison is NOT smog free performance- just like the coal fired or nuke power plants that fuel your nissan leaf- you are still taking a crap on the earth. sorry. you want smog free performance??? try a bicycle…. or a car like the one fred flinstone had!!!
Hooligan says
That looks like a 1970’s Austin 1100 to me.
Skizick says
That would be an MG 1100, later an Austin America. That car ran the transmision in the oilpan of the engine. Doomed from the git go. The Mich. Madman, rest his ingenious soul, couldn’t have picked a better power plant to *&^%can. Our slot cars had the pickups hinged underneath so they stayed hooked up even when doin’ wheelies. Wonder if EJ’s did that.
Hooligan says
It’s funny how vehicles are re badged to sell them in a particular market. MG Ha ha ha.
Styled by the Italians as far as I remember. Pretty sharp looking, compared to the 50’s looking cars before. Look at a 60’s Austin Cambridge for example. Running the gearbox in engine sump? The engine in this car was a version of the Mini engine.
Most bikes and cars now have engine oil lubricated gearboxes. No problem there.
kim says
Cars from British Leyland Motor Company (BLMC) were rebadged like few others. The Morris Marina above (one name used here in Denmark) came with various levels of interior trim, sometime matched by a slightly more elaborate front, like that of a Riley. Even the diminutive Mini (danish names; Austin Partner and Morris Mascot) might get the full treatment in the form of walmut dashboard, Wolseley front and a rear end few inches longer than standard.
Scotduke says
No it’s not smog-free with its Allison v12 aero engine driving the generator and I suspect he was having a little fun there. And why not? He sounds like he was an entertaining character and I’m sure the racing world will miss him.
The car is indeed an Austin chassis, which was also offered with MG and even Wolsely badges. There were 1100 and 1300 variants, both of which had an A series BMC engine. Quality control wasn’t great, which was a pity as the basic design was a good one and those cars handled pretty well by the standards of the day. The MG model with the 1275 engine could be tuned and taken out to 1340cc – a friend of mine had a race-tuned 1300 MG that was (just about) road legal and which he rallied and did hill climbs. Coming back from town once with me as passenger he took great delight in burning off a Porsche 928 from the lights. The Porsche owner was extremely surprised and tried again at the next set of lights, only to be burned off once more. We were howling with laughter.
Skizick says
Engine oil as tranny oil didn’t seem to be the trouble. Tranny particulates in the engine was more than babbit bearings could bear. If you wonder what an MG 1100 would look like if done sucessfully, see Honda Civic.
B50 Jim says
If I recall, the MG 1100 had a funky hydrodynamic suspension system that connected the front and rear in such a way that when the front wheels hit a bump the rear suspension extended so it elevated the entire car, eliminating fore-and-aft pitching. More important, it helped the car remain flat through corners, and when it all worked right (not as easy as it sounds) the car handled better than anyone believed it should. As Scotduke says, the A series BMC engine had a lot of potential and responded well to “tuning”. MG had all kinds of hot-rod parts for owners who knew how to read between the lines of the parts book, and a well-set-up MG with an A series engine truly could smoke a lot of “fast” cars.
Johnny Stuff says
Wow, I remember reading about EJ Potter when i was a kid in a motorcycle magazine. Loved his “out of the box†thinking. One of the stories I remember was EJ returning tires after just a weekend for warrantee replacement for premature wear. I believe EJ just might be the impetus for the “under normal†conditions warrantee clause.
Jim Lindsay says
EJ Potter came to the uk som time in the mid sixties and rode his Chevy based dragster at British strip, Santa Pod. I was too young to go alone and none of my family were into bikes so I had to just read about it in The Motorcycle magazine (now defunct). His creativity was an inspiration to me and to many others.