Yeah, they get HOT! And they are VERRRYYY LOUD!!!
There are a bunch of videos on youtube...look up "pulse jet"
These are similar in theory and operation to the V-1 "Buzz Bomb" engines the Germans used in WWII.

You could put the radio equipment in the front of the vehicle, furthest away from the heat...they use smaller versions of these things in control-line and R/C airplanes.
Maybe something like a 1/5 scale chassis could be made to work...