One of my favorite characters in motor sports is Art Arfons. He was the “designer” of a series of vehicles, which were all called “Green Monster” even though some were red, white and blue!
His most famous Green Monsters were powered by jet engines, normally powering airplanes, with one powered by an ex-F-104 Starfighter General Electric J79 jet engine, producing 78 kN static thrust with four-stage afterburner.
The Green Monster.
The engine was purchased from a scrap dealer for $600 and rebuilt himself, over the objections of General Electric and the government, and despite all manuals for the engine being classified top secret.
After the rebuild, he tested it by tying it to trees in his garden, a procedure which drew complaints from his neighbors.
