I just identified an interesting thing from my junk box... a 240VAC 75A frewheeling diode SCR rectifier.
EFE01CFSE. Circuit 01 on the pdf.
http://www.galco.com/techdoc/crdm/ef_cp.pdf
I'm assuming the control leads turn it on and off. Is this the heart of a charger? Just need to get the voltage up a bit. How is that done? <scurries off to find electronics book>