00:00 It's a bit like riding on top of a firework, it's really, really fast.
00:08 Jet power is great fun, just one of the most incredible things that you can ever experience.
00:12 It is exhilarating but once you get up to 160 miles an hour it's a bit hairy.
00:21 I'm a bit of a show off I suppose, I don't like to do something that somebody has already
00:26 done.
00:27 From a stranger to wild automotive creations, this idea was born in classic Perry fashion.
00:34 We sit in the pub, we all get drunk, we come up with a stupid idea and whoever comes up
00:37 with the stupidest idea, I'll go away and lock myself in the garage for five years and
00:41 build it.
00:42 To build Oklahoma Willy, I first of all bought the jet engine, a Rolls Royce Viper 535.
00:47 It was made in Bedford in 1978 and it was originally in a BAC Strikemaster, which is
00:54 a single engine fighter jet.
00:55 I stripped that down and rebuilt it, chromed everything in polished aluminium and that
01:00 took me two years to complete.
01:01 Then we added the afterburner, which was about another six months work.
01:04 Following that I bought the VW bus to put it on and that took me another three years,
01:08 so all in all about six years work.
01:10 It's a pretty rare, iconic vehicle.
01:12 It's been restored to the highest of standards.
01:15 Most people who come and see it have never seen anything like it in their life.
01:18 A fine build indeed.
01:20 This 1958 split screen VW is one of only 60 in the UK, but none pack as much punch as
01:28 Oklahoma Willy.
01:29 Weighing in at 6,600 pounds, its jet engine is packing 5,000 horsepower, giving this beast
01:38 a potential top speed of 300 miles per hour.
01:41 It would probably fall over, but in theory it would do about 300.
01:46 The top speed that I have done is 157 miles an hour.
01:50 But the original engine still sits in place, making it street legal, providing you don't
01:55 fire up the jet.
01:56 Physically you could start the rocket in the centre of London, but I think it probably
02:00 wouldn't pass the emissions or the noise regulations.
02:03 But yeah, I do drive it regularly on the road.
02:05 We go shopping in it, but we don't tend to buy many groceries because there's nowhere
02:07 to put them.
02:08 There's a maintenance tray here, so you can see the entire thing pulls out and there you
02:15 can see the computer and all of the controls that keep the jet running and keep it safe.
02:18 It's a bit of a mess.
02:22 Looking inside the cab, first impressions when you get in the vehicle is quite what
02:26 you'd expect to see in a 1958 Volkswagen.
02:29 Normal steering wheel, gear lever, handbrake, ignition, speedometer, clutch, brake, accelerator
02:38 on the floor.
02:39 However, I have added a jet, so we have some more controls.
02:42 Here we have the main controls for the jet, and here we have all the monitoring gauges
02:45 and starting buttons.
02:49 Down here, there's what we call a dead man's pedal.
02:57 I must have put my foot on that first of all.
03:00 If during the jet performance anything goes wrong at all, I just release that and everything
03:05 is closed down, the computer closes everything down and it cannot be restarted.
03:10 Terry and Oklahoma Willie appear at events and festivals all over Europe, performing
03:16 quarter mile runs and flame and smoke shows.
03:19 I cover the first eighth mile in about 8.5 seconds and the second eighth mile I do in
03:25 about two and a half seconds, so it's getting quick really, really fast.
03:30 It's a bit like riding on top of a firework, the sensation.
03:33 There's no vibrations.
03:35 It's not that noisy because most of the noise is going behind you.
03:38 It is exhilarating, but once you get up to 160 miles an hour in a 1958 brick, it's a
03:45 bit hairy.
03:53 Before a race, you can get a little bit nervous.
03:55 There's an awful amount of power that you're unleashing in one go.
04:02 You're just focusing on the horizon of the point and making sure you stay dead straight.
04:06 Jet power is great fun.
04:08 It's just such an awesome power.
04:10 The noise, the smell and the sound, one of the most incredible things that you can ever
04:14 experience.
04:15 [inaudible]
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