Where can you get a turbine engine? And can you get them cheap?
Where can you get a turbine engine? And can you get them cheap?
hmmm.... do the words cheap and turbine really go together well?
Probably not but no one has ever accused me of having extra common sense.
Too bad there's no such thing as Grassroots Aviation Magazine.
I'd just hang around the airport until everyone goes home. I bet those suckers just pop right off.
But seriously, there was a story in Hot Rod about a guy who stuffed a Vietnam-era Boeing T50 jet turbine engine (from a helicopter) into a '68 GMC. He bought it from a place called Avon Aero. It cost him $6000 and was considered "freshened but not airworthy-certified".
Here it is: http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0908_1968_gmc_pickup/index.html
All cheap turbines come from gov surplus. The nature of military purchase is that you have to contract for a ballizion of anything in order to make it worth the contractor's efforts to jump through all the hoops an pay off all theproper people. That means that after the current skirmishes, washington isstill on the hook for all those neat cruise missle engines. Think of the skateboard and go-cart opportunities!
Gov surplus doesn't necessarily means running and usually in lots. Learned that when I worked as an instructor at an A&P school and we looked at gov surplus for training aids. Most are obsolete models with limited to no parts sources or stripped. Doesn't mean they aren't out there, just not as easy to find running. And cheap is a relative term, in respect to car pricing probably not going to happen but in respect to aviation term yeah possible. Cheap in aviation is expensive in car terms. Which is a big reason why I mess around with cars and not old airplanes. The APUs used on our helicopters cost in the nieghborhood of low 6 digits and our turbine engines are in the 7 digits and there are 2 installed putting out about 4700 shp each. Not trying to bring down the party as I'd like to see it done myself. With some patience and perseverence you might be able to find a good running APU for about what a challenge car would cost though. Maybe even with a generator attached.
There is a guy here in Oregon that builds and sells turbine engines. I think he is in medford. I saw an article in the newspaper about his business, I will see if I can find a website for you!
There is a HUGE grass roots aviation community. EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, dedicated to all sorts of homebuilt aircraft. They just have much larger budget for "grassroots" than we do. But hey, you do get an extra dimension to play with!
mr2peak wrote: There is a HUGE grass roots aviation community. EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, dedicated to all sorts of homebuilt aircraft. They just have much larger budget for "grassroots" than we do. But hey, you do get an extra dimension to play with!
The EAA is awesome I grew up drooling all over "sport aviation" magazine which is their primary publication. If you want info on inexpensive (well relatively) turbine engines that would be the first place I would go looking.
Do not tempt me into flight.. I have a hard enough time keeping my feet on the ground as it is
Found a few turbine engines on eBay:
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Caveat Emptor!
Carter
i was at EEA this yr,in oshkosh wi. they had a small gas turbine engine there in vendors row used parts, they were askin $1500. for it,. it was small tho,no specs
if you were gonna build a car, you would search for a shaft drive gear box built on it, like from a helicopter.
now if money was no object ,, check out turbinemarine.com, some of the info may be useful, but they are a top level money company!!!!
How big are you looking for? I been to most of the "built from a turbocharger" sights and they are interesting. I was looking for small turbines and found several companies that make nice units for jet powered remote control airplanes and boats. They are still a little pricey.
sorry ,i thought you was gonna put it into a real car, you know somthin people drive around in!!
There is one on the North West side of the engine pile at Sahd's (Columbia, Pa.). FWIW, there is a 427 (steel crank, 4 bolt)on top of the pile, (3) 350 4 bolt main engines on the North East side and a T400 on the East side of the pile.
I looked up Wikipedia,, gas turbine GE T58,, thats the baby you gotta get, small ,light , up to 1800hp. and shaft drive. i can remember GE Lynn gas turbine plant around 1966, and remember how small they were, one mysteriously disappeared, never was found. Vietnam was heatin up ,so nobody cared, production increased 100%in 1yr.
lookin at turbinemarine.com site looks a lot like t58s, donno, thet probably got a lock all surplus sales, some how Arizona comes to mind.
MAN!! what car that would make!
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