 |
Well the J69-T-25A had to get a new nesting place. My wife and I spend a lot of Summer weekends going to antique engines shows around Indiana and most we have to spend the night. We have slept in our box trailer and also have slept in a tent. The wife suggested (demanded) that we get a camper for the truck to have a bit nicer place to spend the nights. Alas, that kinda spoiled my fun with the Big Red Truck Jet Project, but an air conditioned camper helps beat the hot and humid Indiana nights. |
My first thought was to get a small truck, like a Chevy S10, but it would provide no protection if a rain came up (also typical of Indiana Summers). I then decided that maybe a small van would work out better. I did some measuring and found that the small J69 would fit in a Chevy mini van with room to spare. Also, it would act as a storage shed for the engine. I could also drive it places without getting those strange stares as I did when it was exposed in the rear of the truck. |
 |
 |
After shopping around for a month, I found this 1998 Chevy Venture for a fair price and found after buying it that it had air shocks. That solved a big concern over the rear sagging under the extra weight of the engine. I figured that the engine would perform better as the van is a lot lighter than the dually truck. A 1,000 pound thrust engine is rather small for most jet engines. But, I am an old Geezer and don't need to be setting speed records. |
Since the engine is totally inside the van body, I knew I would have to insulate against the heat. To run the engine, I can open both sliding doors and the rear hatch so there is a lot of free air to help cool, but I still intalled aluminum covered felt pads to the floor, roof, and sides. Installed is a 15 gallon fuel tank. In theory, that is only enough for about about 5 minutes of full thrust running. |
 |
 |
The radio was missing (hey, it was a cheap van). So, it gave me a great place to install the exhaust temperature gauge and the tachometer. On the console is the throttle lever, the ignition/starter switch, and the start fuel solenoid switch. If you have noticed, a lot of my pictures show snow on the ground. That is because I do my building in the Winter. The snow does finally melt away in Indiana. |
Here is a picture of me and my wife that a friend took at a typical Indiana engine show. This was at Steam Corner in the Spring of 2010. And, yes, I did run the jet engine at this particular show. Even tho this engine is older than some of the tractors that are shown, I would not run a jet engine at most of them, unless requested. |
 |
