Re: Some more Corvette history- of a different sort (Mike Ward)
Very cool, Mikey! I know this may sound like an odd question but why would someone do this? Is this one of those Everest mountain climb things? It just had to be done!! :D
What are the performance stats like? Is it at all equivolent to an internal combustion engine? What kind of HP? Top speed? Quarter mile?? How many miles per gallon? What kind of transmission?
Re: Some more Corvette history- of a different sort (Mike Ward)
Mike,
That’s an interesting 79 model, that I had almost forgotten about. I had a 79 also; L-82 4 speed as one of my first “Company Cars”. It was just one of the fringe benefits at the company I worked for at the time. It was a good place to work for as they provided me with many interesting “Company Cars” over the years. :D
If you ever get down to the P&W facilities in Connecticut, be sure to give Doc Love, Pasta or me a call. We will show you the hospitality of Southern Vette heads and arrange a tour of the NE VH Annex. :D
Geoffrey Coenen
NCRS #2473
NCM Lifetime #105
Precision Valley Corvette Museum Charter Member #20 (I think)
Vettehead #18-1
Retired #1 56, 63, 67, 68, 68, 69, 75, 99 and I want more! :D
Re: Some more Corvette history- of a different sort (Doc Rebuild)
Mac,
The guy built it for the same reasons dogs lick themselves, and had the money to do it too. It occured to me that this might be world's most expensive Corvette also, I just looked up the list price for a bare bones replacement engine - $338,000 USD :eek:
HP (going from memory) was de-rated to about 600, but being that the torque curve of a gas turbine is very different than a typical piston engine, the 1/4 mile ET was not much better than stock. Trap speeds were well above stock as the engine is just entering the bottom end of the curve. Top speed would be well above the capabilities of the stock suspension and tires, but was calculated at 220 MPH.
The biggest hurdle was finding an efficient intake and exhaust system, the engine mass flow was about 3 lbs of air per second at top speed- this volume of air is about equivalent to a large size house. The exhaust gas temp is 600-700 degrees C (about 1200 F) so melting the car (and the one following it) was a real headache to solve.
The transmission is a stock item with the torque converter removed, and a small brake assembly installed instead to keep the output section of the engine from overspeeding when in neutral.
Another headache was finding a way to keep the car at legal speeds in and around town. By design, a gas turbine idles at a relatively high speed (irrelevant on aircraft) but results in a 60 MPH idle in the Corvette. The stock brakes soon overheated, and a set of Hurst Indy-style rotors and calipers was fitted and solved the problem. Around town driving is controlled by modulating the brake pedal, no need to touch the gas pedal other than to melt some annoying ricer behind you.
Final problem was trying to get the A/C to work while the car was stopped- There's no airflow through the grill, as there's no fan! If you look at the pictures on the web site, the large radiator-appearing object over top of the engine is the evaporator for the A/C and not an oil cooler as most people assume.
Doc,
Thanks for the kind invite. It's rare that I visit our sister company in E. Hartford, but I'll certainly plan a visit to the annex one way or the other. Ain't it just amazing how us Vette heads (dot calm) are the friendliest bunch on the planet? :cheers: Sorry if the beer is too dark for Karsen.
Corvette Store
Some more Corvette history- of a different sort
