I think you might have looked at a very old Pulse or Ram jet engine ,they're very simple designed and have only few moving parts ,it should be about 19 to 27 inches long depending on makes and models and about 2 - 3in diameter . I'm sure you will definitely wake your neighbors up within 5 blocks area once you'd started it . Look around in Ebay and you should find one easy but becareful not to burned youself .
Good luck !