EEVC NEWSLETTER Published by the Eastern Electric Vehicle Club Peter Cleaveland, Editor Vol 29 No 8 Club Address: P.O. Box 134, Valley Forge, PA 19481-0134 AUGUST, 2009 email: [email protected]. Web site: www.eevc.info President: Oliver Perry, 5 Old Stagecoach Turn Shamong, NJ 08088, (609) 268-0944 Copyright © 2009, Eastern Electric Vehicle Club, all rights reserved Now affiliated with EAA FIRST EVER COAST TO COAST TRIP IN A FACTORY BUILT ELECTRIC CAR By Oliver Perry On July 3rd , Mr. 1995 Ray Carr Schroder. drove into Thank you, Atlantic City, Mr. Speaker. New Jersey, “Good completing a afternoon, so-called first members of ever trip from the House and the Pacific to guests. the Atlantic “Today it is Ocean in a my honor to factory built present a cita- electric car. I tion on behalf happened to of the Chester be on hand in County dele- the crowd on gation of the the boardwalk House to my to witness and constituent, actually cap- Mr. Raymond ture on a Carr of video cam the From page 1 of the July, 1995 Newsletter: Ray Carr and Crew Chief Mike Chester historic event. Wyka (in hat) arrive at Harrah’s Marina casino in the 1912 Baker. Springs, Penn- The follow- sylvania. ing is taken directly from page 3 of the 1995, “Mr. Carr is a real estate developer by Monday September 18th, Legislative Journal trade, and a very successful one at that, but of the House of Representatives of the state today we honor him not for his vocation but of Pennsylvania, the 179th session of the for his avocation. Mr Carr — and I do believe 1995 General Assembly. that ‘Carr’ is a most appropriate name for this “Raymond Carr Presented” fine gentleman — has made two historic “The Speaker. The chair recognizes the cross-country trips in vintage automobiles. gentleman from Chester County, Mr. This past summer he completed a coast to Schroder. coast, 3100 mile journey in an 83 year old Baker electric car. The trip began in Astoria, work of restorer Brian Dawity. On a plate in Oregon, and ended July 3 in Atlantic City, the rear is Baker Motor Vehicle Company, New Jersey. It is believed to be the first sea to Model W, Chassis number 7646. There is sea journey accomplished in a factory built another plate with the body number 2245.” electric car. Ray Carr is headed for his second The original motor was a 48 volt, 26 amp, entry into the Guinness Book of World 1750 rpm General Electric. Dan Carlin and Records for this achievement. Guy Davis installed a Curtis PMC controller, “Mr. Carr averaged about 90 miles per day which was then standard operating procedure at 18 miles per hour in rain, snow, and sum- for upgrading an antique electric car for mer heat, hitting speeds up to 30 mph down- extensive road use. The PMC was hidden so hill. Thanks to painstaking maintenance, he as to not interfere with the authentic look and encountered no mechanical problems. He connected in series with the battery and the hopes this trip encourages American carmak- original drum controller. According to Pete ers to step up their efforts in developing a Cleaveland’s account, nobody knew what the practical, reliable electric automobile. original voltage of the vehicle was but sus- “This afternoon, the 1912 Baker electric car pected that it was 60 volts. The Baker Com- is on display outside the Capitol East Wing by pany seemed content to operate the 48 volt the fountain, and seeing it is a very gorgeous motor with a higher voltage. The Boyertown day out there, I would suggest that all mem- group decided to run the car on 72 volts. Pete bers take a moment from your schedule to go recorded that the first test drive around the see the car. You will not regret taking the time streets of Boyertown went fine. The driver to go out and see it.” End of Journal Quote with a heavy passenger got 19 mph on the In the winter months of 1995 I actually got flat pulling 25 amps and 12 mph up a small to see the vehicle that Ray Carr was prepar- hill. At the time of the article the team decid- ing for his history making trip. Ray Carr had ed that the original GE motor should be dropped it off at the Boyertown Museum of replaced with an up-to-date motor because Historic Vehicles for “special treatment” for parts were not available for the original. They his upcoming venture. The car was placed in also decided to install nickel-metal hydride what was to later become the main display batteries from Ovonic Battery Company. It area of the museum. At the time of my visit was concluded that the wind catching top the large garage type warehouse was the stor- would have to be taken down at times going age area and prep place for many of the cross country. antique vehicles displayed in a smaller build- In April of 95 Pete reported in the EEVC ing across the parking lot. The building was Newsletter that Guy Davis had successfully once home to the truck manufacturer Boyer- replaced the old motor and achieved speeds town Body Works. Guy Davis, Dan Carlin, of 30 mph with no difficulty but was having and Dave Patterson had turned a section of trouble with range with lead acid batteries. the building into a repair center for all types The May issue of the EEVC Newsletter of restorations and electric car makeovers. reported that the wheel spokes had been Ray Carr’s crew chief Mike Wyka, Guy tightened and the rims fitted with a brand Davis founder and first president of the new set of 580x120 Michelin tires made in EEVC, Dan Carlin and Dave Patterson, mem- France. A small add-on instrument panel for bers of the EEVC, and Pete Cleaveland, edi- the Curtis Controller was tucked away under tor of the EEVC Newsletter, were the first to the seat along with a 12 volt fan to keep the actually get their hands on the vehicle. Pete controller cooled. The wooden floors of the recorded in the February issue of the EEVC under-the-seat compartment had been Newsletter, “The car is a thing of beauty, with replaced with an aluminum plate with lots of everything that could possibly be shiny holes for cooling. And, instead of using the gleaming. The body is a deep blue, and the nickel metal hydride batteries Carr decided to fenders an even deeper blue — almost black, use twelve 6 volt Exide batteries. in fact. The top is black, while the trim is The Baker was a chain drive vehicle and nicely varnished wood — all a tribute to Bill due to a nonstandard pitch of the chain the Pollock’s restoration shop and the careful team found no back up chain suitable for 2 replacement should the original one break. automobile because of its fine engineering Guy Davis was very concerned that it might features. not last the trip. Thankfully it did last with no I am not sure what a factory built vehicle is problems. supposed to be mean to when it comes to cer- According to historical records the world’s tifying that the Ray Carr 1995 restored Baker first electric car is believed to have been con- was “factory built.” Certainly the motor, con- structed in 1839 by Robert Anderson of troller, tires and battery pack were not the Aberdeen, Scotland. In 1870 Sir David original factory built version of the 1912 Salmons built an electric car with a Baker Runabout. Newer factory built tech- lightweight motor in England, but the great nology was added to the older in order to weight of the storage batteries made it make the trip across the country in a reason- impractical. In 1886 a practical electric taxi able amount of time. In baseball, records set was introduced in England with a top speed with newer balls, bats, and rules in newer ball of eight miles per hour. parks, frequently come into question. So too, In 1893 Walter C. Baker as a young stu- technicality speaking, we must leave Ray dent built his first electric car in the United Carr’s questionable factory built Baker for States. It was called the Electrobat Automo- readers and record keepers to debate. The bile for the World Exposition in Chicago. body, however, was authentic. Baker became a pioneer in the ball bearing Ray Carr acquired his Baker runabout industry and began building cars for sale in from the William F. Harrah automotive col- Cleveland, OH in 1898. He displayed the lection in 1986 for $13,000. The absence of first shaft driven automobile in Madison early ownership papers makes it impossible Square Garden in 1898. In 1902 Baker was to trace the history of the runabout. Body the first to drive a car over 100 mph in his markings suggest it was the 7646th vehicle electric “Torpedo” at Ormond Beach, FL. built by the Baker Motor Company and the The first large-scale operation in the 2245th runabout. American automobile industry was the Elec- tric Vehicle Company, formed in 1899. In The driver 1904 it produced 2000 taxicabs as well as Ray Carr, previous to his trip across the electric trucks and buses. US in the Baker, had gone into the Guinness According to a short history published by Book of Records as the owner and driver of Ray Carr the first-ever-coast to coast trip on the oldest automobile to ever cross the United battery power was made in a vehicle built in States, a feat he accomplished in May 1994 1968 by students from the California Institute in a little red 1902 Northern runabout.