Do you remember the 1963 Chrysler® Turbine....Chrysler engineers had been intrigued by the idea of a gas turbine powered engine for years, even testing it on a 54 Plymouth. But it wasnt until almost a decade later that they thought they had overcome the problem of excessive exhaust heat. Using a design by Elwood Engel, very similar to the early 60s Thunderbirds he had also designed, Chrysler had Ghia of Italy hand build 55 Chrysler turbines in 1963. Then 200 consumers were selected to test drive them for 3 months each. Their evaluation was simple and concise- its a failure. Despite a quiet vibration-free ride, the terrible mileage (less than 12 mpg), poor acceleration and still too much exhaust heat (however it is not true that it melted blacktop or set shoes on fire) were obstacles that could not be overcome. But the engine proved it could run on unleaded gas, diesel fuel, perfume, and even tequila, which the President of Mexico used on his and it ran fine. Precision Engineered to Chrysler Specifications All but 10 of the 55 Chrysler Turbines were destroyed after the Consumer Evaluation.
I don't think acceleration was a problem on this guys ride.....although the 2 mpg ****s!!! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183551&highlight=jumping+out+of+the+box
The Museum of Transport in St.Louis has a running car on display. Well worth checking that whole place out!
Saw them running at the New York Worlds Fair, 1964 maybe. Still remember the sound of the turbine spooling up.
Here are some pics of the '54 Fiat Turbina. ( a car that also had a extremely low aerodynamic drag...)
Lotus & Granatelly open wheel racers... http://www.stp-uk.com/extra41.html http://www.research-racing.de/Lotus56B-1.htm
Yeah, great! A turbine You could even run with melted ****er, but the mpg is too much. Are there existing any technical drawings of the engine?
My dad took me to the Wash. DC International Car Show in 1963(?) where they had one of the Chrysler Turbines on display.They proceeded to start it, as they could run it in an enclosed space due to the very low amount of emissions.I remember thinking as a twelve year old kid that the thing sounded like an Electrolux Vacuum. Sometime later I remember p***ing one of the Chrysler Turbines on the DC Beltway (I-495),probably during its "consumer evaluation".
Several years ago, Speedway built a 32 roadster with Coors sponsorship. The car was shown at the NSRA Nats in St. Paul. One night it was driven from the fairgrounds to the HQ Hotel, several miles away. I was in the parking lot when it arrived. The model who was the p***enger got out and puked her guts out in the bushes because of the stink of exhaust, and the driver was not much better off. He said that because of the poor throttle respnse, often people thought that he wasnt moving and they cut in front of him just as the car began to come on, causing him to panic brake to keep from diving into them. He was not impressed.
NitroFC, there was one shown at Hershey AACA Fall meet a few years ago, said to be the only complete running car. It's the one that's been on My Favorite Car TV show. The owner said he bought it without a engine and Chrysler would not help him get one. Jay Leno stepped up and found him one. One of the many reasons Leno is my hero.
Ole Don, On the Speedway turbine powered 32, not being familiar with that car, I can only imagine that if it had sluggish acceleration it had a single shaft turbine. I have driven the turbine powered 32 roadster that is in the LeMay museum when the builder still owned it. It has a Boeing 502 turbine in it. That is a 2 shaft unit that is called a "free" turbine. It has approximately 600 ft. lb. of torque at stall. When you mash the loud pedal, all hell breaks loose. The throttle response is as good or better than a small block Chev. By the way, if anyone knows of a 502-10MA for sale, I'm looking for one.
I saw one running and driving around at the MoPar Nationals a few years ago... talk about Chrysler Engineering's "thinking outside of the box"...
Not quite.....it might be the only running eqample in private hands though...and I think that a Chrysler mechanic did end up helping them get it running. Chrysler still has at least one running example, maybe 2. Chrysler still played with the idea into the 80's. I was at the annual fall swap meet in Centerline, Mich. (Detroit suburb where Mopar's HQ is) and on display was an early 80's Diplomat 4dr with the turbine engine in it. I even got to start it. Very smooth and quiet. No idea what ever happened to it.....probably s****ped.
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