00:00It's a bit like riding on top of a firework, it's really, really fast.
00:08Jet power is great fun, just one of the most incredible things that you can ever experience.
00:13It is exhilarating, but once you get up to 160mph it's a bit hairy.
00:20I'm a bit of a show off I suppose, I don't like to do something that somebody has already
00:27done.
00:28From stranger to wild automotive creations, this idea was born in classic Perry fashion.
00:34We sit in the pub, we all get drunk, we come up with a stupid idea and whoever comes up
00:37with the stupidest idea, I'll go away and lock myself in the garage for five years and
00:41build it.
00:42To build Oklahoma Willy, I first of all bought the jet engine, a Rolls Royce Viper 535.
00:48It was made in Bedford in 1978 and it was originally in a BAC Strikemaster, which is
00:54a single engine fighter jet.
00:56I stripped that down and rebuilt it, chromed everything in polished aluminium and that
01:00took me two years to complete.
01:02Then we added the afterburner, which was about another six months work.
01:04Following that I bought the VW bus to put it on and that took me another three years,
01:08so all in all about six years work.
01:10It's a pretty rare, iconic vehicle.
01:12It's been restored to the highest of standards.
01:15Most people who come and see it have never seen anything like it in their life.
01:18A fine build indeed.
01:20This 1958 split screen VW is one of only 60 in the UK, but none pack as much punch as
01:28Oklahoma Willy.
01:30Weighing in at 6,600 pounds, it's jet engine is packing 5,000 horsepower, giving this beast
01:38a potential top speed of 300 miles per hour.
01:42It would probably fall over, but in theory it would do about 300.
01:46The top speed that I have done is 157 miles an hour.
01:50The original engine still sits in place, making it street legal, providing you don't fire
01:56up the jet.
01:57Physically, you could start the rocket in the centre of London, but I think it probably
02:00wouldn't pass the emissions or the noise regulations, but yeah, I do drive it regularly on the road.
02:05We go shopping in it, but we don't tend to buy many groceries because there's nowhere
02:08to put them.
02:09There's a maintenance tray here, so you can see the entire thing pulls out and there you
02:15can see the computer and all of the controls that keep the jet running and keep it safe.
02:21We're looking inside the cab.
02:25First impressions when you get in the vehicle is quite what you'd expect to see in a 1958
02:28Volkswagen.
02:29Normal steering wheel, gear lever, handbrake, ignition, speedometer, clutch, brake, accelerator
02:38on the floor.
02:39However, I have added a jet, so we have some more controls.
02:42Here we have the main controls for the jet and here we have all the monitoring gauges
02:46and starting buttons.
02:51Down here, there's what we call a dead man's pedal.
02:58I must have put my foot on that first of all.
03:00If during the jet performance anything goes wrong at all, I just release that and everything
03:05is closed down, the computer closes everything down and it cannot be restarted.
03:10Perry and Oklahoma Willie appear at events and festivals all over Europe, performing
03:16quarter mile runs and flame and smoke shows.
03:19I cover the first 8th mile in about 8.5 seconds and the second 8th mile I do in about 2.5
03:26seconds, so it's getting quick really, really fast.
03:29It's a bit like riding on top of a firework, the sensation.
03:33There's no vibrations.
03:35It's not that noisy because most of the noise is going behind you.
03:38It is exhilarating, but once you get up to 160 miles an hour in a 1958 brick, it's a
03:45bit hairy.
03:50Before a race, you can get a little bit nervous.
03:55There's an awful amount of power that you're unleashing in one go.
04:02You're just focusing on the horizon at a point and making sure you stay dead straight.
04:06Jet power is great fun.
04:08It's just such an awesome power.
04:10The noise, the smell and the sound, one of the most incredible things that you can ever
04:14experience.
04:19For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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