27 liter Rolls Royce Merlin V12, in a car...

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Originally Posted by mattwithcats
Jay Leno has put a V12 Rolls Royce 27 liter Merlin engine,
from a World War II Spitfire fighter aircraft,
into a car...

https://youtu.be/8AKCnIO2QeM

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/ent...m-a-wwii-fighter-plane/ar-AAAKAmQ#page=2


It's a fascinating piece of work, but as Jay noted, he didn't build it.The car was a project put together by a gentleman in the UK who had used a Rolls chassis and fitted it with the Merlin engine. It was an incomplete project that Jay purchased and, for the last 11 years, has been working on having completed. They built a new body for it, put a more robust transmission in it, as the one that the original owner had used was a Jaguar unit that immediately broke under power. They put a Dana 60 rear in it, all kinds of extensive work and with a great deal of help from his friends including Gale Banks.

It's really nice to see a completed one of these. Aircraft retrofits into boats was extremely common post-war, but folks tried with cars too, though they usually ended up being pretty cobbled together. He's done a fantastic job getting all the right people involved in this and getting it completed.
 
I recall a 1970's/80's era UK effort with a Merlin in a more modern looking chassis. The owner had a custom design drawn up around the engine (IIRC it had 6 wheels) and never finished it because of the price of the custom glass, and probably other reasons.

The Merlin (and its Packard equivalent) are a poor choice for an automobile engine, because they were designed as a constant RPM motor. The airplane speed was controlled by blade pitch, not engine speed.
 
Originally Posted by HangFire
I recall a 1970's/80's era UK effort with a Merlin in a more modern looking chassis. The owner had a custom design drawn up around the engine (IIRC it had 6 wheels) and never finished it because of the price of the custom glass, and probably other reasons.

The Merlin (and its Packard equivalent) are a poor choice for an automobile engine, because they were designed as a constant RPM motor. The airplane speed was controlled by blade pitch, not engine speed.


The earlier Liberty V12 was a very common "hot rod" power plant for race boats "back in the day". Sometimes they'd use several of them, which was a sight to see.
 
I once talked with a gentleman at the Detroit International Auto Show who had put an Allison V1710 in a car and had it on display (basement, not the main floor). He called it the Allison Car and had a web site at the time, maybe 5 years ago, but I can't find it now.

And then there was The Beast that Englishman John Dodd built in the 70's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxMxFE37Sxw

I think this was the one that Jay Leno was referring to in his video.
 
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Originally Posted by HangFire
The airplane speed was controlled by blade pitch, not engine speed.


Uhh...kinda, but kinda not. It is the combination of power and pitch on a variable pitch, or constant speed prop equipped airplane. Speed is controlled by power setting (manifold pressure), and the governor will maintain the RPM setting to a point.

The Merlin is quite an engine.
 
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That's pretty wild! That's what Jay likes to do! He has more than one warehouse full of almost one of a kind toys, that's where some of his money is being stored! One warehouse is where they work on stuff, and that's where his new projects arrive at. The other storage consists of completely finished vehicles.

He also has a motorcycle that is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C18 turboshaft helicopter engine, I've seen it quite a few times at the Rock store on Mulholland Dr. in-between Calabasas and Malibu Ca. Jay goes there once every month or two or more, and he is very approachable and a very down to earth. He is not stuck up! If someone else has not yet mobbed him, you can talk to him. I've talked to him many times. He's just a regular guy on Sunday morning, a rich eccentric regular guy...lol, really, he does not come off as being eccentric. If you ever see him at a cars show or a bike event, you can talk to him.

P.S. I don't mean to step on your thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFS8pzBZU5c

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTT_Turbine_Superbike
 
And Jay Leno's 1917 Fiat with an aircraft engine; 21.7 litres and built with no brakes. It killed the previous owner, Leno says.

The crash also cracked the block. He shows the patch (I can't recognize it as anything, but I'm no mechanic, though I changed my car's licence-plate light two days ago and have been resting since).

He estimates it can go 147 mph and videos it on the freeway.
 
Looks up John Dodd's Rolls-Royce powered 'Beast'....there are YouTube videos of it driving, running the quarter-mile...it was made in the 1970's, and looks like a 1970's station wagon gone wrong.
 
Originally Posted by Uphill_Both_Ways
And Jay Leno's 1917 Fiat with an aircraft engine; 21.7 litres and built with no brakes. It killed the previous owner, Leno says.

The crash also cracked the block. He shows the patch (I can't recognize it as anything, but I'm no mechanic, though I changed my car's licence-plate light two days ago and have been resting since).

He estimates it can go 147 mph and videos it on the freeway.



Jay Leno is an idiot.
 
Originally Posted by talest
Originally Posted by Uphill_Both_Ways
And Jay Leno's 1917 Fiat with an aircraft engine; 21.7 litres and built with no brakes. It killed the previous owner, Leno says.

The crash also cracked the block. He shows the patch (I can't recognize it as anything, but I'm no mechanic, though I changed my car's licence-plate light two days ago and have been resting since).

He estimates it can go 147 mph and videos it on the freeway.



Jay Leno is an idiot.

Why do you say that?
 
You may be right. However, he appears to be having fun and not hurting anyone. Heck, he even employs a few folks and we get some really cool cars out of the deal, so l'm all for more idiots like him.

Originally Posted by talest

Jay Leno is an idiot.
 
Originally Posted by talest

Jay Leno is an idiot.




Hmmm..humble beginnings, self made man, enjoys his hobbies, gives back to the community outside of his hobbies and strongly supports his hobby community. I'll take more 'idiots' like him please.
 
My flavor of idiocy is the best.
33.gif
 
Originally Posted by wings&wheels
Originally Posted by talest

Jay Leno is an idiot.




Hmmm..humble beginnings, self made man, enjoys his hobbies, gives back to the community outside of his hobbies and strongly supports his hobby community. I'll take more 'idiots' like him please.


+1
 
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