Dangerous Banned Racing Tech: Jet Engine Part 3

Ok this one isn't really a jet engine, Actually it is really considered a rocket but its close enough for LeMons.

ANyway the 3rd engine is the Overheated Water Rocket. This one isn't as easy to find detailed instructions on, however the theory makes it that you really don't need instructions on any of it except the nozzle.

This is the theory of how it works. You put some water in a sealed pressure tank. You then heat the water up. As the water heats it expands, however since it can't expand since it is sealed in a tank it increases the pressure inside, as the pressure increases the boiling point of water increases which allows the water to try and expand more which increases the pressure which increases the boiling point which.. well you get the point. So once you get all this extreemely hot water at a high pressure you open a nozzle and the water shoots out the back. Once this water gets out of the tank were the pressure is back to normal it instantly turns into steam.

This rockets most famous use is in the Evil Knieve Sky cycles in his jumps over snake river canyon. Although there is also a video of the current speed record holder in a overheated water rocket car of 214 mph in 2.5 seconds.

Below is an article explaing how this works and the youtube video of the record breaking car.

http://www.gizmag.com/214-mph-in-25-sec-water-powered-record-stands-the-test-of-time/11622/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDDI5h8JQE0

24 Hours of Le Mans

So I watched some of the 24 Hours of Le Mans yesterday. It was not as fun as watching the Movie Le Mans, and not nearly as fun as going to watch the 24 Hours of LeMons.

I didn't realize that Patrick Dempsey had a Le Mans team, and that he was a driver.

EBay Find: 1960 Opel Rekord P I Olympia

Since the Benz was put up to a whopping 700, to probably be sold for parts. I found another beauty.

A 1960 Opel Rekord. Never heard of it, well I really doubt anyone has. The amazing part is the thing runs (video proof) and seems to not be that bad, even comes with 2 sets of tires. Just needs brakes and a paint job. The car is currently going for $26.65. Heck for that you can buy it drop in a small block and still have money to spend on suspension parts. Personally I'd paint it get the index and then look at upgrading the engine away from the nearly 50 year old 1.7 liter 4 banger

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1960-Opel-Rekord-P-I-Olympia-ORIGINAL-1-7L-RUNNER-VIDEO_W0QQitemZ250438685883QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item3a4f4f14bb&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A-1|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Ebay Find: 1982 Mercedes-Benz 280SL

Since I missed posting in the last week or so I guess I'll post 2 times to make up for it.(not that anyone is really reading this)

Found an old 280SL for sale on Ebay. The nice part of this is that the body looks incredibly rough. signs of rust dings missing trim and a ripped top to start. The inside doesn't look much better, but it is suppose to run, even has a working airconditioning and still has the hard top for it. So the car is old enough and in a condition that makes it not worth restoring. It is the sports car model from mercedes for that time which means it should come pretty nicely setup for racing, and with a removable hard top it means we can get rid of the soft top and build the car so if the weather is nice we can run topless if the weather is bad we can put on the hard top. (we wouldn't want to get wet now would we) Plus you got to love the wood paneling on the dash.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-MERCEDES-BENZ-280SL-EURO-CONV-NEEDS-WORK-ONLY-107K_W0QQitemZ180365068324QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item29fe988824&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A-1|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Dangerous Banned Racing Tech: Jet Engine Part 2

The second jet engine is the pulsejet. These are far less complicated and have far fewer parts to build. These are the engines that powered the Buzzbombs of WWII. They have two problems. First the burn extremely hot. Secondly they are incredible loud. Loud as in that you probably will need ear protection for a small one. Although with valveless ones you have no moving parts whatsoever which would make them more full proof.

Below are some links to some designs.
http://www.pulse-jets.com/
http://www.aardvark.co.nz/pjet/
http://www.beck-technologies.com/freeplans.html

Finially a little video of Robert Maddox (the first person I saw using a pulsejet for actual propultion) giving a quick explanation of how his bike is setup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPqDoVjsMVY