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Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
... America wasn’t always a nation of lawsuit-happy crybabies. No sir, once upon a time, before the advent of EPA and OSHA and the Consumer Products Safety Commission and spandexed weenies in bike helmets and rubber-coated playgrounds and multilingual warning stickers on stepladders, risk-takers walked this earth. War-hardened, devil-may-care Americans who knew that “instructions” were something to throw in the trash along with the empty Falstaff bottles. The kind of men who had a garage full of blowtorches and 110 electric welders; chain smokers who gardened with space age insecticides and tether lawn mowers, and bought their kids Jarts and clacker balls and ThingMakers and M-80s for Christmas. ...
... He called it the AP (for “Auxiliary Power”) supercharger. Visually it appeared to be a spiral turbo with a spark plug, and was engaged with a dash-mounted switch; a sort of prehistoric Nitrous setup. When the driver threw the switch, the supercharger unit would receive liquid oxygen for ignition, and then was fed a rocket fuel named “Thermolene,” Turbonique’s trade name for N-propyl nitrate. The exhaust thrust from combustion would spin a turbine impeller up to 100,000 RPM, ramming the engine with such intense boost that it literally turned it into a giant two-stroke. Turbonique dyno-tested an AP unit on a new Chevy 409 in 1963, increasing horsepower from a stock 405 to 835 — backing up their advertised guarantee to “double your horsepower” — although it came with a recommendation not to run the unit for more than 5 minutes, and only with forged cranks, pistons and connecting rods.
The rocket superchargers sold well, but they were only the beginning (and only the mild side) of the Turbonique product line. For those interested in upgraded insanity there were Turbonique Drag Axles, which appeared to be a center section for a quick change differential, but with a mutant spaceship tumor growing from its hinder. That tumor was, in fact, a rocket engine providing direct drive to the rear axle. When not in use the car would drive under conventional power through the front drive shaft. When the driver hit the “panic button,” the rear-mounted rocket immediately engaged and began channeling One. Freaking. Thousand. Thermolene-addled rocket horsepower to the rear skins. Total weight: a scant 100 pounds. It was advised that the driver keep his thumb on the switch during operation since, having no clutch or fuel metering, the only way to control acceleration was by shutting off the fuel supply.
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
I remember hearing about the drag axles back in the day, but never saw one. Needless to say, the NHRA did not approve! And if the NHTSA was around back then, they definitely would not have approved either!
Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! P Henry
When the Government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the Government, there is tyranny.T Jefferson
If you are a boat designer (or know one), talk to me about a shallow draft boat dynamic cavitation drive sometime.
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
If you are a boat designer (or know one), talk to me about a shallow draft boat dynamic cavitation drive sometime.
there are a number of boats running jet engines for power. no in-water drives needed. I lost my links but there is a substantial body of uTube videos.
more practical than a rocket, unless it's liquid fueled.
anyway, always interested in any technology that goes on the water, whatcha got?
Air injection with negative pressure venturi effect. Think SCRAM but with water instead of air and injected air instead of superheated fuel/plasma. No physical contact between the Water & motor (fuels, oils or lubes) at all.
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
interesting since water isn't compressible... small amounts of water have been injected in both piston and jet engines, but very small amounts in proportion to the total exhaust mass. do you have any diagrams, cut-aways, or pictures to help me see it?
I'll have to CAD some up. This was a wild-hair thing I came up with on a napkin while talking to some Israeli Engineers at a conference once...
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
Back around 1977 I flew a guy from wide world of sports to film Kitty Oneil do some rocket car runs on El mirage dry lake, california, from the air. It was spectacular! It looked like a red arrow shooting across the dry lake under us. Think the run was something like 400 mph! She latter gave me a belt buckle and shirt. I wore the shirt out but still have the fancy buckle in the safe. It had her record on the back. I will have to pull it out and report back.
The JATO story wasn't true? I'm truly disappointed, if it is not. That fella would have had the ride of his life for several seconds.... 
