I've been told to let it roll off my back; what can I do? Can't beat them... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Randy & Tim, Your rocket carts are parts of history. I now can see that when it comes to Bootstrap Engineering, you guys have been there and done that. You guys rock! (Sorry for any crossed wires.) Randy, Are those ceramic reaction chambers, or Stainless Steel painted white?
Wow! I haven't seen that for a while. Turbonique was on the cutting edge of crazy go-fast. There were a few of those that exploded. This was a time when nobody asked: "we can do it but SHOULD WE?" The technology for speed was there but the means to keep it on the track or stop it safely was an afterthought. I think those reaction chambers are cast iron or steel (usually had a light coat of red iron oxide). This stuff is interesting history but better left as museum pieces now.
I do not have the full story readily at hand (but it is chronicled in __at least one__ of the vintage kart forums), but lives were lost and the manufacturer (or designer) did hard time. Those pictures were taken at Garlit's Museum down in Ocala. In comparison, makes welding magnesium sound like something you'd be doing in the parlor with Auntie Em's sewing circle... LOL!
No screamin' S**T! Turbonique had a Mustang that toured the exhibition circuit. It had one of their turbine drive rear-ends (basically a rocket powered turbine diff) It put 1000 horsepower right at the rear wheels with a pretty big fire out the back. I think it ran 7's (good for the time) but was scary to control. I could go on about this stuff forever, seems like yesterday.
We apparently grew up through the same era. Because of two older brothers (10 & 15 years older than myself) I was exposed to things automotive earlier than I should've been. I wanted to be my oldest brother's age__eighteen, in 1958 so I could race Ferraris in SoCal; look what happened to those guys...
