Turbonique Micro Turbo Engine Drag Race Vintage Nostalgia Motorcycle Go Cart | eBay
Hard to believe that little thing made that kind of HP and torque...hard to believe what it cost back on the 60's too!!
Turbonique Micro Turbo Engine Drag Race Vintage Nostalgia Motorcycle Go Cart | eBay
Hard to believe that little thing made that kind of HP and torque...hard to believe what it cost back on the 60's too!!
I was always under the impression that the karts that had these were propelled by the thrust of the engine...like a jet dragster. This appears to be coupled directly to an axle via that gearbox. You mean to tell me that the karts that had two of these had 700 HP...seems impossible.
there must have been different setups available along with various HP ratings.
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there must have been different setups available along with various HP ratings.
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I was checking out ATKRIDER's 64 Galaxy reference and found some info pertaining to to the karts:
The first known rocket kart was the one piloted by Jack McClure in the late 60's, this kart was powered by a pair of Turbonique rocket engines.
Later other pilots copied Jack and installed also the same rockets that where sold as kits by a Florida company with the same name.
This little karts where stock out of the factory karts most of them Dart Karts with a single or double Turbonique T-16 rocket engines.
This contraptions where so fast that they beat most of the fastest dragsters of his era as is shown in this picture from the Turbonique catalog.
These rockets used a fuel with the name Thermolene but in fact was N-Propyl Nitrate, this fuel is considered a monopropellant of the family of the nitromethane and is very dangerous under certain conditions and these rockets had a little design error and it was that when they where used at full power it was not any problem but if you panic and shut them off and the later you apply full power again then they exploded like bombs killing it's pilot and for this the owner of Turbonique ended up in jail in Orlando Florida.
I have read more than once that people got killed using these things and that legal issues eventually shuttered the doors on Turbonique. That part of it wouldn't be hard to believe just by looking at the components and the lack of any type of scatter shield or secondary containment in the event of an explosion.
Tucked under the back of a full size car you might have a chance at walking away without a scratch...a go kart or motorcycle :doah:.not so much.
It looks like the thing is made out of cast iron, talk about a grenade! I'd say it was a bad idea to market them to the general public. The one on the Ebay ad was sold through an appliance store!
The first known rocket kart was the one piloted by Jack McClure in the late 60's, this kart was powered by a pair of Turbonique rocket engines.
Later other pilots copied Jack and installed also the same rockets that where sold as kits by a Florida company with the same name.
This little karts where stock out of the factory karts most of them Dart Karts with a single or double Turbonique T-16 rocket engines.
This contraptions where so fast that they beat most of the fastest dragsters of his era as is shown in this picture from the Turbonique catalog.
These rockets used a fuel with the name Thermolene but in fact was N-Propyl Nitrate, this fuel is considered a monopropellant of the family of the nitromethane and is very dangerous under certain conditions and these rockets had a little design error and it was that when they where used at full power it was not any problem but if you panic and shut them off and the later you apply full power again then they exploded like bombs killing it's pilot and for this the owner of Turbonique ended up in jail in Orlando Florida.
I have read more than once that people got killed using these things and that legal issues eventually shuttered the doors on Turbonique. That part of it wouldn't be hard to believe just by looking at the components and the lack of any type of scatter shield or secondary containment in the event of an explosion.
Tucked under the back of a full size car you might have a chance at walking away without a scratch...a go kart or motorcycle :doah:.not so much.
It looks like the thing is made out of cast iron, talk about a grenade! I'd say it was a bad idea to market them to the general public. The one on the Ebay ad was sold through an appliance store!
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So Turbonique built both gas turbines, and rockets.
As a MOPAR fan, I recall hearing about Chrysler's turbine development project. A lot of people don't know about this, and it could have been successful. The history of the Chrysler gas turbine effort, 1954-1964.
Gas turbines (they develop power at the front end of the turbine section via reduction gear box) are in common use today. Tanks, ships, turbo prop aircraft, auxiliary power units, and even the modern "jet" aircraft is a hybrid version called a turbo fan.
As a MOPAR fan, I recall hearing about Chrysler's turbine development project. A lot of people don't know about this, and it could have been successful. The history of the Chrysler gas turbine effort, 1954-1964.
Gas turbines (they develop power at the front end of the turbine section via reduction gear box) are in common use today. Tanks, ships, turbo prop aircraft, auxiliary power units, and even the modern "jet" aircraft is a hybrid version called a turbo fan.
Bill, read the article. It got better fuel economy than the pistons did. Heat was an issue, but I think it was limited to the car itself. It's cool you saw them in person. Personally, I wouldn't want that spinning mass so close to me. When compressor or turbine wheels let go, they really go. Also, controlling temperature is critical, and it's easy to over temp them. The turbine section on the Allison, (4000 SHP) was almost 2000 degrees F. It didn't take much more to start melting them, and knocking pieces of metal out the back end- which knocked other pieces of high spinning molten, etc.
