00:00 At full power it burns four or five litres of fuel a minute. The after burner will get
00:09 through ten litres in no time. We've set a Guinness World Record. We've smashed the
00:15 hundred mile an hour in a homemade jet-powered go-kart.
00:26 Antingham in England is home to a go-kart with a difference.
00:31 Hi, I'm Andy Morris. I build jet engines in my shed. It's an interesting hobby. I was
00:51 brought up by engineers. My grandfather was an engineer, my dad was an engineer. I've
00:55 rebuilt petrol engines myself, but I've just always had an interest in jet engines. I've
01:00 built all the jet engines and put them in go-karts. I think the first one we were lucky
01:05 it moved.
01:06 But Andy's homemade karts have come a long way since then.
01:10 I've set a Guinness World Record with the help of a friend of mine, Tom Bagnell. Tom
01:15 was the pilot, I built the jet engine.
01:17 On the 5th of September 2015, this dynamic duo set out to push themselves to the next
01:25 level and take the kart over 100 miles per hour.
01:31 When we did the run at Elvington, the record before on the quarter mile was 70. We've set
01:43 the Guinness World Record of 112 miles per hour. That was the goal, always has been the
01:48 goal.
01:49 When we got the world record, for me, it was wonderful. 10 years of work, proving that
01:55 we could do it.
01:58 Andy now has a new build and his sights are set on his own record.
02:05 It's lighter than the old go-kart. The engine is more powerful. This is a faster one, meaner
02:12 one, bigger engine. Completely unique, it's all been bespoke built. It's probably a third
02:17 bigger.
02:18 We're hoping to go faster. Well, I'm hoping to go faster. I'm hoping 440 miles an hour,
02:24 if not more. Homemade jet powered go-kart.
02:27 We've got the battery. Underneath the battery is the electrical box. There's a series of
02:33 relays in there. We've got a dashboard, fuel tank, full power. It burns four or five litres
02:41 of fuel a minute. The afterburner will get through 10 litres in no time. Two main fuel
02:47 pumps, again, one for the engine, one for the afterburner. Main inline fuel filter,
02:53 fuel line into the engine. And then we've got this big beast at the back, which is the
02:57 reheat or the afterburner. Add more fuel, ignite it, increases the volume, you get greater
03:04 velocity gases coming out the back of the engine.
03:07 There's still a way to go before Andy's next record attempt. And what better place to test
03:12 a jet engine than in your back garden?
03:15 Well, I'm just putting some bricks in the back of the test trolley to add a bit of weight.
03:20 And then I'll stick two 25 kilo bags of cement in front of it, just hopefully so the thing
03:27 doesn't decide it's going to go through the fence. Plug the main battery in, a direct
03:32 throttle with the compressed air to start the engine. Air defenders, turn the main power
03:40 on. Just a quick visual check everything's where it's meant to be.
03:45 Everything worked, the modification worked, everything's pretty much good. Wait for some
04:11 better weather next year and get it to the track.
04:15 It was loud, I had to wear my air defenders. I could even smell the kerosene in the house.
04:21 And the window walked in the kitchen again.
04:25 So Andy, any advice for aspiring backyard speed demons?
04:29 Build the thing yourself, put your thought in it, design it from the ground up, think
04:33 out the control system, work out the fuel system. Just the journey, to me, that's it.
04:42 Don't buy it, build it.
04:43 [Music]
04:51 (whooshing)
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