Tools, tools, tools
 

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads
or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original
boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.

--
Ed Huntress

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads
or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original
boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

-- Bruce --


I grew up in Las Vegas. As a child, my father would take us to the Sahara
Gold Cup Races at Lake Mead. They had hydroplanes, all powered by Allison
V-12 engines. The turbine engines had not appeared yet. They were all
named "Miss" something. Miss Seattle, Miss Bardahl (remember Bardahl?), and
others. I can still hear them rumbling around, varying in rpms as they
grabbed water and grabbed foamy water. It was quite a race, and happened
every year. I remember the rooster tails, and a crash or two with some
sinking while sitting still. It was discontinued, but not sure when or why.
Now they have all turbine engines, and I don't know if there are any of the
Allisons left.

Steve

Tools, tools, tools
 

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads
or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original
boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something
the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a
need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

-- Bruce --


I grew up in Las Vegas. As a child, my father would take us to the Sahara
Gold Cup Races at Lake Mead. They had hydroplanes, all powered by Allison
V-12 engines. The turbine engines had not appeared yet. They were all
named "Miss" something. Miss Seattle, Miss Bardahl (remember Bardahl?),
and others. I can still hear them rumbling around, varying in rpms as
they grabbed water and grabbed foamy water. It was quite a race, and
happened every year. I remember the rooster tails, and a crash or two
with some sinking while sitting still. It was discontinued, but not sure
when or why. Now they have all turbine engines, and I don't know if there
are any of the Allisons left.

Steve

The unlimited's switched to turbines because the cheap surplus Allison and
Merlin supply dried up. Besides they were running them at such high power
levels that they were very unreliable and required constant rebuilding.

At first, the supply of surplus helicopter turbines was plentiful and cheap.
Plus, they produced all the power needed and could run many hours between
rebuilds.

Now the supply of surplus turbines is running low. The sport is looking
for a replacement engine and might go back to an internal combustion type of
lesser power to reduce both engine cost and boat crashes.

Randy

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads
or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original
boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.

I've seen several 12 cylinder Allisons used in Modified
Tractors for pulling and even one Rolls-Royce (it did good
too). One of the early pullers in Michigan used to have at
least two tractors that used them. They looked like crap and
he even named them Ugly something. They pulled really good
though when he could keep them running right. The guys last
name was Potter, can't remember his first anymore. Google
found him, E.J. Potter. "Michigan Madman" See:

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...chigan-madman/

Here is an image of his Ugly tractor (on the right at the
bottom of the page):

http://www.virtualindian.org/7columncindy.htm

The coolest one I ever saw pull was at the Pontiac
Silverdome and was called "El Toro" if I remember right. It
had TWO Allisons and was really purty looking. They were
configured side-by-side. Oodles of horse power, but he
couldn't get it hooked into the track. I think it was a bit
front-end heavy too :)

I might have some pictures of that one around. Nothing close
up though, I was sitting in the stands with a small
telephoto.

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote:

On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

-- Bruce --


It would make for one hell of a riding mower for big lawns, too. 60
acres mowed in 60 minutes, or less!!! ;-)


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Tools, tools, tools
 

Brent writes:

A working airframe ESPECIALLY a lancaster is nearly priceless

I only know of 2 flying Lancasters and a 3rd tht Landed at the
Canadian aviation museum as a working airframe but that will likely
never fly again. Compare that to 200 flying P51's and there is a point
to be made about rarity

Apparently there are only two flyable Lancasters now. One of them is at
the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum near Hamilton Ontario; I saw that
one in person a week ago. They fly it somewhat regularly
(http://www.warplane.com/pages/ptalk.html).

I got the impression that the "other" Lancaster was in the UK
somewhere. Where is the 3rd that probably won't fly again?

Dave

Tools, tools, tools
 

Dave Martindale wrote:
Brent writes:


A working airframe ESPECIALLY a lancaster is nearly priceless


I only know of 2 flying Lancasters and a 3rd tht Landed at the
Canadian aviation museum as a working airframe but that will likely
never fly again. Compare that to 200 flying P51's and there is a point
to be made about rarity


Apparently there are only two flyable Lancasters now. One of them is at
the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum near Hamilton Ontario; I saw that
one in person a week ago. They fly it somewhat regularly
(http://www.warplane.com/pages/ptalk.html).

I got the impression that the "other" Lancaster was in the UK
somewhere. Where is the 3rd that probably won't fly again?

Dave

I was a flight engineer with 269 sqdn RAF where we had Shackletons.
The maritime anti sub warfare derivative of the Lancaster.
I looked after and flew with 4 RR griffons, of 2400hp each on water
methanol at 26lb boost. Only allowed for 5 mins!!
On the squadron we also had some 2(twin) engined ex US Lockheed P2V's?
was it?
If you could get the gearing right with a Griffon,, these should give at
least 1 mega watt at 1500 rpm alternator speed..

I still have all my pilots anf engineers books etc from that time.
Before that I flew Pratt and Whitney radials on Sunderland Flying
boats.Good engines those.
18 hr sorties out over the Atlantic hunting Russian subs. Good to rely
on RR.
Apart from A couple of mag drops never a faulty engine.
Tho Im partly deaf now as a result!!!.
Ted Frater
Dorset UK

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Aug 16, 1:29 pm, Andy Dingley wrote:
...
Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

http://www.warbirdrelics.com/aircraft_for_sale.htm

Looking for a challenging metalworking project?

jw

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Aug 17, 3:46 pm, (Dave Martindale) wrote:
Brent writes:
A working airframe ESPECIALLY a lancaster is nearly priceless
I only know of 2 flying Lancasters and a 3rd tht Landed at the
Canadian aviation museum as a working airframe but that will likely
never fly again. Compare that to 200 flying P51's and there is a point
to be made about rarity

Apparently there are only two flyable Lancasters now. One of them is at
the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum near Hamilton Ontario; I saw that
one in person a week ago. They fly it somewhat regularly
(http://www.warplane.com/pages/ptalk.html).

I got the impression that the "other" Lancaster was in the UK
somewhere. Where is the 3rd that probably won't fly again?

Dave

Number 3 Is in a pretty obvious spot actually

Canadian Aviation Museum In Ottawa

I knew of the Hamilton one the UK one I beleive is part of a Battle of
Britain memorial Museum?

As far as i know the Lancaster in the Aviation museum Landed at the
Museum Airstrip (Old CFB Rockliffe airport i think) And the museum
does NOT fly any plane they only have one of

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:31:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.
That boat was getting old then - mid '50's was prime time.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:31:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit
in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat
show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.
That boat was getting old then - mid '50's was prime time.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Weren't there several Miss Budweisers? I thought there was a series of two
or three.

--
Ed Huntress

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:31:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit
in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat
show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.
That boat was getting old then - mid '50's was prime time.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Weren't there several Miss Budweisers? I thought there was a series of two
or three.

--
Ed Huntress

Google had some interesting old pics of Miss Wahoo, and mentions of the
evolution of the racers through the years.

IIRC (and that's laughable), over the years that my dad took me to the
Sahara cup races, there were "new" boats. Some had the same names, notably
the ones I can remember, Miss Seattle, Miss Wahoo, Miss Bardahl, Miss
Spokane, and many more I could pick out of a list, but not think of right
now. It seems as though some were rebuilt, slightly different paint jobs.
But I remember one that was always bright yellow and one that was always
dark green. The paint jobs were unique to the boat, and they didn't take
another team's colors, but had to come up with a new color or combination
for a new boat.

I can only imagine that with the rigors of that type of racing, no frame
would last long, and the boats would always completely replaced (except for
engine and some hardware) every few years. It seems I can recall a lot of
how they were always scrambling to get one to shore so it could sink in
shallow water within range of the crane. Beasts tho they were, I think they
were a fragile lot.

And, IIRC, they just used the sponsons and main rudder to turn with. Now,
they have more than one vertical rudders, the smaller being at the front of
the sponson. Now, they look like they're doing right hand turns rather than
the bouncy skid-like turns I remember.

Before the race, they used to display them all over Vegas, mostly at the
Sahara. They sat at a 45 on their sides on the trailer, as otherwise, they
were too wide to haul. I remember seeing them really up close. My dad took
me to a lot of things that are now considered very historic that happened
here in Vegas.

Steve

Tools, tools, tools
 

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...

"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:31:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
m...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood
actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit
in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat
show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.
That boat was getting old then - mid '50's was prime time.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Weren't there several Miss Budweisers? I thought there was a series of
two or three.

--
Ed Huntress

Google had some interesting old pics of Miss Wahoo, and mentions of the
evolution of the racers through the years.

IIRC (and that's laughable), over the years that my dad took me to the
Sahara cup races, there were "new" boats. Some had the same names,
notably the ones I can remember, Miss Seattle, Miss Wahoo, Miss Bardahl,
Miss Spokane, and many more I could pick out of a list, but not think of
right now. It seems as though some were rebuilt, slightly different paint
jobs. But I remember one that was always bright yellow and one that was
always dark green. The paint jobs were unique to the boat, and they
didn't take another team's colors, but had to come up with a new color or
combination for a new boat.

I can only imagine that with the rigors of that type of racing, no frame
would last long, and the boats would always completely replaced (except
for engine and some hardware) every few years. It seems I can recall a
lot of how they were always scrambling to get one to shore so it could
sink in shallow water within range of the crane. Beasts tho they were, I
think they were a fragile lot.

And, IIRC, they just used the sponsons and main rudder to turn with. Now,
they have more than one vertical rudders, the smaller being at the front
of the sponson. Now, they look like they're doing right hand turns rather
than the bouncy skid-like turns I remember.

Before the race, they used to display them all over Vegas, mostly at the
Sahara. They sat at a 45 on their sides on the trailer, as otherwise,
they were too wide to haul. I remember seeing them really up close. My
dad took me to a lot of things that are now considered very historic that
happened here in Vegas.

Steve

That must have been quite a sight. The only time I saw unlimiteds in the
water was in Ft. Lauderdale, 1961 or '62, on the Intercoastal Waterway,
although I saw them on TV several times. They were thrilling things for a
kid.

--
Ed Huntress

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Ed Huntress" wrote


That must have been quite a sight. The only time I saw unlimiteds in the
water was in Ft. Lauderdale, 1961 or '62, on the Intercoastal Waterway,
although I saw them on TV several times. They were thrilling things for a
kid.

--
Ed Huntress

Don't know if you've ever been to Lake Mead. Imagine a grandstand seat
where you can see a bowl of water about ten to twelve miles square. The
races were actually better if you got farther away, and could get them from
that perspective.

Kinda of like sitting up front at a Las Vegas show. The absolute worst seat
in the house. You're too close to see anything, can't see all the stage,
and always have your neck crooked.

Steve

Tools, tools, tools
 

"SteveB" wrote in message
...

"Ed Huntress" wrote


That must have been quite a sight. The only time I saw unlimiteds in the
water was in Ft. Lauderdale, 1961 or '62, on the Intercoastal Waterway,
although I saw them on TV several times. They were thrilling things for a
kid.

--
Ed Huntress

Don't know if you've ever been to Lake Mead. Imagine a grandstand seat
where you can see a bowl of water about ten to twelve miles square. The
races were actually better if you got farther away, and could get them
from that perspective.

Kinda of like sitting up front at a Las Vegas show. The absolute worst
seat in the house. You're too close to see anything, can't see all the
stage, and always have your neck crooked.

Steve

No, I've only been to Vegas once and even then I spent most of my time
listening to lectures about cutting tools. g I've never seen Lake Mead.

Maybe some day.

--
Ed Huntress

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 23:54:37 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ed
Huntress" quickly quoth:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:31:45 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:


"Gerald Miller" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:12:35 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

Some have been used for tractor-pull motors. Also, some Hollywood actor
back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. It fit
in
very nicely but fuel mileage sucked.
They also KICK ASS in an unlimited racing hydroplane.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Yeah, I almost forgot them. The first Merlin I ever saw was at a boat
show,
where they displayed Miss Budweiser with the engine cover off. That must
have been 1962 or '63.
That boat was getting old then - mid '50's was prime time.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Weren't there several Miss Budweisers? I thought there was a series of two
or three.

They've carried the designators U-1, U-12, and U-13.

I remember back in my drinking days (early '80s) standing waist-deep
in the water of San Diego Bay, watching the thunderboats roar by. We
were on the outside of the curve, too. sigh

That was back when Miss Budweiser was red and the Circus-Circus hydro
was a lovely pink.

---
A book burrows into your life in a very profound way
because the experience of reading is not passive.
--Erica Jong

Tools, tools, tools
 

"Randal O'Brian" wrote

The unlimited's switched to turbines because the cheap surplus Allison and
Merlin supply dried up. Besides they were running them at such high power
levels that they were very unreliable and required constant rebuilding.

At first, the supply of surplus helicopter turbines was plentiful and
cheap. Plus, they produced all the power needed and could run many hours
between rebuilds.

Now the supply of surplus turbines is running low. The sport is looking
for a replacement engine and might go back to an internal combustion type
of lesser power to reduce both engine cost and boat crashes.

Randy

From a strictly metal working standpoint, it has been a long interesting
road. World speed records (was it Donald Campbell?), all new sorts of
things. A testament to long winters and testosterone boredom.

Steve

Tools, tools, tools
 

On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 00:26:52 -0600, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Ed Huntress" wrote


That must have been quite a sight. The only time I saw unlimiteds in the
water was in Ft. Lauderdale, 1961 or '62, on the Intercoastal Waterway,
although I saw them on TV several times. They were thrilling things for a
kid.

--
Ed Huntress

Don't know if you've ever been to Lake Mead. Imagine a grandstand seat
where you can see a bowl of water about ten to twelve miles square. The
races were actually better if you got farther away, and could get them from
that perspective.

Kinda of like sitting up front at a Las Vegas show. The absolute worst seat
in the house. You're too close to see anything, can't see all the stage,
and always have your neck crooked.

Steve

I was at Long Reach on a practice day in '60 or '61 so never actually
saw Miss Supertest in a race, only practice. Latter, 1967 onward, I
chummed with a cousin and heard many stories of the teenaged escapades
of Bob Hayward.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

Tools, tools, tools
 

SteveB wrote:

"Bruce L. Bergman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:48:42 -0600, "SteveB" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote...
On Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:10:17 -0700, "SteveB" wrote:

The P51 engine (if that's what it is) would be almost priceless. Heads
or
not.

Oh come off it! They're not cheap, but they're hardly "priceless". A
few tens of thousand, depending on model and condition.

If you want a Merlin (Hey, I'm a Brit), there are two dealers for them
and their spares within an hour's drive of my house. And that's not
counting R-R themselves, who are just down the road.

Then, as you say, let's pop down there and pick up a set. I'm sure there
are different grades. Some in original cosmoline. Some in original
boxes.
Others reworked several times.

Oh, come on! They're valuable. Quit nit picking. It's not something the
average "bloke" would have laying around their garage, or even have a need
for in their lifetime.

If they were still readily available /at/ /a/ /reasonable/ /price/
on the surplus market I can think of lots of fun reasons to have a
Merlin motor or two laying around the garage waiting for a project...

They'd make good large spark-ignition emergency generator plant,
probably good for 100KW continuous (not overstressed) and 150KW surge.
Which would be plenty for any light industrial setting where you don't
want to deal with the noise and smoke of a Diesel, since a gasoline
engine is inherently easier to silence. Easy enough to set-up as
multi-fuel on natural gas or LPG or gasoline.

And it would be fun to build your own Monster Truck without having
to spend big bucks for high-deck racing blocks with Superchargers and
Nitromethane to get the power you need. Or they're just the right
size for a larger single-engine ski boat with the power to tow
multiple skiers at once - look out, Lake Mead.

It's been said before, there is no substitute for Cubic Inches.

-- Bruce --


I grew up in Las Vegas. As a child, my father would take us to the Sahara
Gold Cup Races at Lake Mead. They had hydroplanes, all powered by Allison
V-12 engines. The turbine engines had not appeared yet. They were all
named "Miss" something. Miss Seattle, Miss Bardahl (remember Bardahl?), and
others. I can still hear them rumbling around, varying in rpms as they
grabbed water and grabbed foamy water. It was quite a race, and happened
every year. I remember the rooster tails, and a crash or two with some
sinking while sitting still. It was discontinued, but not sure when or why.
Now they have all turbine engines, and I don't know if there are any of the
Allisons left.

Steve

Allison 501D13 would do it. :)


John

Tools, tools, tools
 

On 16 Aug, 20:48, "SteveB" wrote:

It's not something the average "bloke" would have laying around their garage,

More than one of my friends has exactly that, although several are
crash recoveries and never going to be in a usable condition again
(one's still optimisitic of build a Merlin V-twin though!)

One has even managed to lose one (actually a Griffon) "somewhere in
their sheds". They had a mil-surplus boat that used them, they bought
spares back when they were cheap and years later sold one of them (in
crate & Cosmoline) for good money to a US engine builder serving the
Reno circuit. Somewhere still out there is the other half of the
pair...

Tools, tools, tools
 

On 17 Aug, 06:12, "Ed Huntress" wrote:

some Hollywood actor back
in the '70s had one installed in his Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

Not quite. Not Hollywood, certainly _NOT_ a Rolls-Royce (R-R got very
annoyed when it was fitted with a R-R radiator shell and badge), and
it's a pretty well known car with a well-documented history. So's the
other famous road Merlin.

Also most "road Merlins" weren't even Merlins, they were Meteors (a
land-based Merlin, built as a tank engine) or Meteorites (a V8
Meteor). Getting a Merlin to work at sea-level with a PTO is a
difficult and pointless task requiring huge changes. You're far better
off starting with a Meteor.

Tools, tools, tools
 

On 17 Aug, 04:33, Brent wrote:

to make it more mass producible and more serviceabble but that the
changes were sent back to RR and incorporated into later merlins

No, the Packard Merlin has significant changes that never went
anywhere near a R-R Merlin. Most significant is probably how the
liners are sealed. You can't convert one to the other.

Early P-51s did use R-R Merlins, but these probably all disappeared in
wartime, rather than in the big post-war disposal sales.