Now's Your Chance To Buy A Turbine-Powered Mustang Drag Racer Named 'Krispy Kritter'
The turbine car was a futuristic vision of the mid-20th century that would never come to be. One man was apparently not satisfied with that answer, and took it upon himself to build his own, which is now available on Bring a Trailer — if you dare.
According to the listing, Ted Trischle purchased a bare 1967 Ford Mustang unibody for this project. Soon afterward, he installed a Westinghouse J34 turbine that had powered a U.S. Navy McDonnell F2H Banshee in its past life, because sometimes overkill is just enough.
By "installed," I mean pretty much just wrapped the Mustang body around the turbine, then slapped a few more parts on to make it roll. It also has custom rear bodywork to fit the giant exhaust.
There isn't much under the hood, just some extra bracing, the front axle from a 1939 Plymouth, and J34's inlet. Finned brake drums from a 1958 Buick help it slow down from drag runs that reportedly exceeded 300 mph, speeds that were likely a bit beyond their original specifications. It's a good thing the car also comes with drag chutes that probably do most of the work.
There's no live axle here, just some leaf springs and shock absorbers that look ill-equipped to handle the speeds this car is reportedly capable of achieving.
Truth in advertising
The turbine takes up pretty much the entire car, including most of the interior. There's a narrow space for the driver on one side, and a fuel tank on the other. The car has slightly different gauges and controls than a standard Mustang, with a tachometer that reads just a bit higher than a 390-cubic-inch V8 can rev, plus an exhaust temperature gauge.
The name "Krispy Kritter" is no joke, according to the extensive documentation that comes with this car. It's more of a warning of what will happen if you don't operate the J34 turbine correctly. From a page titled simply "No, No's":
1. DO NOT PULL THROTTLE COMPLETELT OFF UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO SHUT DOWN THE RUN. (IF YOU DO, do not push throttle forward again—-results,(YOUR CAR AND YOURSELF ONE PUFF OF SMOKE), OVER TEMP. MAINLY.
2. During low RPM in starting you cannot abort until you get it started, run up to 40 or 50%–or the flame will not *burn out.Your car will BURN AROUND YOU, STAND BY WITH FIRE EXTINGUISH, IN CASE.
That's the best warning I've read since a jar of peanuts that said "Warning: May contain peanuts." But it's probably best for whoever buys this to heed these warnings, especially since the seller doesn't know when the engine was last run, and it looks a bit more complicated than a Ford 302.
The auction ends in two days, and has a bid of $10,750 as of the time of writing. Best of all, contrary to the website's name, you don't have to bring a trailer to haul this car home, as one is included.