Testarossa Turbine Project, Happening NOW!

If you look on the first page of this thread, you'll see that I posted a link to the company that makes (or made?) that bike. They also have a turbine powered pickup truck.

I don't see anything wrong with trying it, although I tend to think that it won't work very well-- other than for bragging rights and a really cool sound.

 

couldnt you get around that by installing a small engine for reverse ?

 

...that looks like something I would do. Wait until you see my `36 Cord project. ............Jerry

 

How about thrust reversers?

Ah, the possibilities are endless!

 

How about a small battery powered motor for reverse. Then you could get a little hybrid sticker and aggravate more environmentalists!
BT

 

Here's his page http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/

This is going to be an awesome project. The whining by "originality" wankers is an added bonus.

 

Gotta love the humor of the beetle guy!

 

That's a serious project, the TR's subframe mounting system and engine bay may be ideal.

You are standing on the shoulders of giants here though
Renault (Etoile Filante '56), Rover (various '50-'65), Howmet (TX), Lotus 56/56B

I saw the Rover BRM Le Mans car running at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 1999, as an aside, it was a hot day and they had to drive about quite slowly because of crowds in the paddock area and the engineers got very worried about overheating.
It might be an idea to make sure you hook your TR's cooling fans up to an engine compartment thermostat!

The Rover BRM is located here in central england
http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/

Loads of info on Turbine cars at

http://www.forix.com/8w/altpower-turbines.html

A friend of mine has built a tiny WORKING jet turbine for a model aeroplane, about 9 inches long and 3 inches diameter - the real thing! Astonishing.

Good Luck, keep us posted
Martin

Hmmmm - you will need a new rev counter too

 

It sounds like you have "money to burn" lol

 

You don't... it's going to be a "Free Roller"... right 4Yacht? Also are you going to install an "Afterburner" to it???? That's SICK!

 

A turbine is not a jet engine.

 

The Beetle guy also has a twin turbine Vespa!
Craig, I was describing this project to my friend yesterday at our cookout, and he knew the engine you would be using right away. He has built (and rebuilt) those engines while working for Sikorsky. If you need help with something mechanically on the engine he might be able to help. Let me know if you run into problems that need someone else's eyes on them.

BT

 

That 1965 Lemans entry finished 10th overall, driven by no other than Graham Hill and a young mr. J. Stewart. It was optimized for efficiency rather than speed - for instance, a special ceramic heat exchanger was used that actually reduced the top speed, but gave better fuel economy.

When Road & Track gave a full road test on the car, they noted rather sluggish acceleration (10.6 or so 0-60), (only one speed forward) but a top speed around 140 once you got it rolling. Pretty similar to Chrysler's experience...R & T also mentioned that they were admonished to never use the reverse gear - BRM techs were afraid they would get stuck in neutral and overrev the output turbine.

To put it into perspective, 9th was an ailing Iso-Grifo Chevrolet, 11th was a lowly MGB. In fairness, probably Indy was a better venue for a constant speed engine like a turbine - but it was a very interesting experiment.

 

I'm getting a better feeling about the project. It looks like you have considered some of the issues. I am anxious to see how the transmission works out.

You will likely need to mount a disc brake to the output shaft as it will always have torque, even at idle (the turbine boat guys do this or they'd never be able to stop/stand still). Over-reving the output shaft in neutral could be dangerous.

 

Every jet engine I've seen is a turbine, but the application is somewhat different. The Ferrari will have the wheels driven, like the turbine Indy car, while a jet uses the thrust of the exhaust. Venting the hot exhaust out of the car in a practical manner will definitely not be trivial however!

Ken

 

If I remember correctly, the Beetle has its stock engine up-front and the jet engine in back (sort of a "hybrid").

This MR2 has turbocharger jet engines with a small APU up front to power accessories. Interesting but WHY?
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Shaft driven. Kinda like a hydroplane boat. Uses a helicopter turbine with a shaft to the properllor. In this case, the shaft will go to the rear axle to turn both wheels. It's a pretty easy transformation to a car or bike since helicopter engines already move the helicopter by shaft (to the blades). Using an airplane turbine would be just a little more difficult to switch to shaft.

 

One of the best aspects of using the TR for this particular engine is that the exhaust from the turbine is the rectangular opening on the top. So fitting an exhaust through the metal deck cover should look good also! Apparently with this engine you can disengage the power while the engine continue to turn so it has something like a clutch. I think it should sound awesome!
BT

 

The power turbine is more like a torque converter in an automatic transmission. It is turned by the gasses from the 1st stage, so there is always some torque on it when the engine is turning. Without a brake or some other load, it can spin uncontrolled (and potentially fly apart).

 

That sounds exciting! Flying turbine parts....

BT

 

How about a 32 Ford with a turbine........http://www.lemaymuseum.org/news.php?cidx=187&aidx=1

It was the featured car at the yearly LeMay show. They had it in the middle of the yard and would fire it up every hour or two. Pretty cool!!