How Jay Leno Resurrected His Chrysler Turbine Car
When you own an experimental car from nearly 70 years ago, parts are only the start of your problems when things go wrong. If anyone is going to be an example of problems like this it’s Jay Leno. The man has a collection that spans pretty much the entire existence of the automobile, and that brings about a whole host of unique problems to solve when things go wrong.
The latest example is the Turbine Bronze Chrysler coupe that was recently brought back to life after an unfortunate engine seizure some time ago. Jay bought the car directly from Chrysler and drove it around regularly for a few years before the turbine stopped one day and turned the car into a very fancy, very interesting, very expensive rolling paperweight. If you think whatever car you have is impossible to get parts for, now imagine the parts you are searching for are aircraft-grade and were produced as part of an experimental program 70 years in the past. There are no spare parts. None.
So what to do? Well, you go to the place that built the parts in the first place. Jay shipped the car to Williams International in Detroit, Michigan. The man who picked up the phone was Gregg Williams, the son of the man who was instrumental in the initial development and production. Williams International is still in the business of gas turbine engines and offered a space to repair the turbine engine from Jay’s car. Now they just needed to reverse engineer the powerplant to figure out what went wrong.
Instead, Jay and Gregg decided on an easier route and started making phone calls. Before long there were engineers from the initial development, many of whom were well into their 80s, who rallied to supply any knowledge and input they could. Jay mentions that these very engineers might have squirreled away blueprints and drawings that could help reproduce parts.
Even with the drawings, producing turbine parts is on a totally different level than making a short run of pistons or forging a crankshaft. The speeds and temperatures that turbines run at are radically different than those of standard automotive engines. Luckily Williams was able to step in with the production capability and material science to put Jay’s Turbine back on the road. Fascinatingly, according to Gregg, multiple parts were produced using metal 3D printing.
After it’s back together, the pair go for a cruise in the car and talk about some of the finer points of driving something that idles at 20,000rpm. The engine is also so well-balanced that vibration is nearly non-existent. It’s surely a wild feeling from the driver or passenger seat as the Turbine whirrs down the road, and luckily the car is running again so that even more people can experience the feeling firsthand.
The video was cool to see the process to get the car running again.
So now that Williams International has recreated the designs and specs for the Chrysler turbine, can they make another one for the right price?
Paul, we have a saying in the machine tool business, “given enough time and money anything is possible”.
Or, as my former CEO used to say, we will provide the customer anything that they want – and willing to pay for.
I suggest sourcing a turbine engine copy from Williams and then hosting it in a Gen 3 Mazda RX-7 .
How did Jay do it?
…MONEY!!!
Probably more important than money is ACCESS.
In other words, people answer his calls.
Fame, and a good reputation among both car guys and the public, will do that.
Old engineers love to revisit their accomplishments. They would jump at the chance to work on one again. I rode in one of these at the ’64 World’s Fair and then worked on the last version at Highland Park in a ’76 B body. Neat machine that would beat a 300 hp Chevy Impala in a drag race.
Not just MONEY, but many, many dumptruck fulls of money.
Money and desire, not to mention know how. I’ve been to his shop, he can make anything there. He is also one of the nicest car guys I’ve ever met. ……………Jim.
Here’s hoping Jay Leno has made plans for his large collection, unlike Bill Harrah, whose collection was mostly sold off after his death.
Good point. He’s experienced lotsa accidents the last few years. The Peterson in a new building?
Throughout history there have been people with the money to preserve that history. Clearly motorheads are blessed by Jay’s desire and ability.
Yes. There are always people with lots of money, but very few have the passion, dedication, work ethic (yes he does work on his own cars and motorcycles, and also on his stand-up comedy)) and ability to preserve and restore such a wonderful collection — and to share it all with the public. He is a blessing to all of us car and motorcycle geeks.
Always loved that car. I’ve built the models, collected promotional material and read the books. Still have never seen one in person. Maybe I’ll take a trip out west!
If you are anywhere near St. Louis they have one at the National Museum of Transport. One time I was there, and was lucky enough to be there on a day when they fired it up!
Brian, Do you happen to be the guy who attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto, Ontario? Owned a Lotus, Bentley and Black Shadow motorcycle.
The Gilmore museum in Hickory Corners, MI has one. It’s near Kalamazoo.
Yes it does run, and I have ridden. In it. One of the experiences of my life. That is one of the best car museums of the world.
Gilmore Museum near Kalamazoo Michigan usually has one on display.
You can see one at The Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. I think there one at The Gilmore Museum as well.
Saw one at a Concors in Detroit a few years ago, drove right by me as I was walking the show, not sure who owned it. Anyway, to beat a dead horse, I hear the Gilmore has one.. ha
There is one in suburban Detroit at Stahl’s collection in New Baltimore.
The Detroit Historical Museum also had one and probably still does although I haven’t been there in a several years.
Many years ago, there was show I attended at the Chrysler proving grounds and we were able to see one of these cars in person and my father was able to drive a turbine outfitted Dodge Diplomat (I think) and Dad was being gentle with the car till the engineer told him to “step on it” and off they went in a burst of acceleration and a squeal of the tires.
And when you have Jay’s money cost is not an issue…
Being Jay Leno didn’t hurt any, either.
My grandfather had a service station in down town Los Altos, CA in the late ’50’s through the late 60’s. As a kid, I liked pumping gas and washing the windshields on the cars that came in. One day when I was there a guy drove up in a turbine! I got to talk with him a bit, asking questions of course. I still remember him asking me “where is the dipstick for the engine oil?
Well, the engine used the oil from the transmission, so there was only one dipstick! I pointed to the one dipstick, and my dad said, “No, it can’t be that one”, but I was correct!
At about 12 years old, it felt great!
Cool video. Would have loved to see some of the technical aspects, including how they made the new parts.
YES, part II!
Dr. Sam Williams is responsible for the engines that power the plane I fly to make a living. He went on to make cruise missile engines and then funded the research and development to build the first bizjet engines. The FJ44-3 engines on the Citation 3+ that I fly weigh 516 pounds and produces over 2,800 pounds of thrust.
Yes, Jay Leno has the money needed. But the story points out that he rolled up his sleeves and put on his thinking cap. I loved reading that he and Greg actually called up 80 year old engineers and asked them to help.
Yes, Jay has money. Jay also loves his cars and loves digging in. He’s a car guy.
My parents would pacify us crying infants by 1) running a vacuum cleaner outside our room, and/or 2) taking us for car ride (in a ‘64 Polara, actually). The Chrysler Turbine would have been the perfect solution!
I saw one of those cars waiting at a stoplight in Fairfield Connecticut during that era.
There are a few in museums that I have seen. I doubt any of them run.
Since Jay has reproduced parts for his he can help the museums get theirs running
I remember seeing one at a car show in Bloomington, IL in the early ’80’s. not sure who owned that one, but it was impressive to see in person.