European vs. American Automotive Histories

[Smithy]

Slightly fftopic: but nevertheless a fun story...

David Conwill and Edward's posts about putting big engines in small cars reminded me of an article that English magazine Classic and Sports Car ran a few years back where some chap in England had put a 27 litre Merlin engine from a Hurricane fighter aircraft into a custom-built special body based on a Rolls-Royce Phantom chassis. It was in a "mild" 900HP tune and had four sets of triple downdraught Webers and had a propensity for great wads of flame to shoot out of the exhausts. I remember the fellow had never taken it out of bottom gear where it was good for 70mph.

I don't know whether anyone would be interested but I could dig out the article if some here would like to see it.

 

[Mr. 'H']

^^^ The concept of an airplane engine in a motor car is indeed an interesting proposition. The only one I'm aware of is Jay Leno's EcoJet.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Slightly fftopic: but nevertheless a fun story...

David Conwill and Edward's posts about putting big engines in small cars reminded me of an article that English magazine Classic and Sports Car ran a few years back where some chap in England had put a 27 litre Merlin engine from a Hurricane fighter aircraft into a custom-built special body based on a Rolls-Royce Phantom chassis. It was in a "mild" 900HP tune and had four sets of triple downdraught Webers and had a propensity for great wads of flame to shoot out of the exhausts. I remember the fellow had never taken it out of bottom gear where it was good for 70mph.

I don't know whether anyone would be interested but I could dig out the article if some here would like to see it.

Hmmm...

While I was stationed in England I took off for a long weekend on the motorcycle, heading into Scotland. On Saturday I hooked up with five guys who were doing the same and rode with them the rest of the weekend. On the last day we went back towards Edinborough to visit a friend of one of the guys I was with. Turned out this friend was a builder who had done well for himself. He had a small collection of motorcycles and cars, particularly Rolls Royces. One of the Rolls he told us had been found in a junkyard outside of Chicago. The outstanding bit about it was that he said it had the engine out of a Spitfire installed in it. I didn't get a photo of it, though.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[kps]

One of the Rolls he told us had been found in a junkyard outside of Chicago. The outstanding bit about it was that he said it had the engine out of a Spitfire installed in it.

Supermarine, or Triumph?

 

[Tango Yankee]

Heh heh heh...lol

 

[BellyTank]

I remember, in the '80s, there was a Reliant Scimitar with a Merlin engine.

One of my favourite transplants is one I saw in a mid '80s British magazine-
a Rover 3.5 litre V8, mid-mounted in a Hillman Imp fastback(Sunbeam Stiletto)- VW transaxle, custom adjustable suspension...


B
T

 

[David Conwill]

One of my favourite transplants is one I saw in a mid '80s British magazine-
a Rover 3.5 litre V8, mid-mounted in a Hillman Imp fastback(Sunbeam Stiletto)- VW transaxle, custom adjustable suspension...

The Rover 3.5 (or, as I like to call it, the Buick 215), is amongst the five engines I might swap into my Falcon. They weigh less than the Falcon six, are 15ci larger than the easiest bolt-in six, have two-more cylinders, and look like a baby Nailhead.

And before anybody gives me grief about messing with an old car, it’s already got a non-original engine, so I didn’t start the fire.

-Dave

 

[Smithy]

^^^ The concept of an airplane engine in a motor car is indeed an interesting proposition. The only one I'm aware of is Jay Leno's EcoJet.

Mr H, it wasn't uncommon during the interwar period where you would get racing "specials" which had things like Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines in them, but saying that those aircraft engines were a lot less powerful than later WWII engines.

Hmmm...

While I was stationed in England I took off for a long weekend on the motorcycle, heading into Scotland. On Saturday I hooked up with five guys who were doing the same and rode with them the rest of the weekend. On the last day we went back towards Edinborough to visit a friend of one of the guys I was with. Turned out this friend was a builder who had done well for himself. He had a small collection of motorcycles and cars, particularly Rolls Royces. One of the Rolls he told us had been found in a junkyard outside of Chicago. The outstanding bit about it was that he said it had the engine out of a Spitfire installed in it. I didn't get a photo of it, though.

Cheers,
Tom

Thanks for that Tom, sounds like a similar fruitcake to our friend in the article above!

a Rover 3.5 litre V8, mid-mounted in a Hillman Imp fastback(Sunbeam Stiletto)- VW transaxle, custom adjustable suspension...

If that was set up correctly it would not only fly but would probably also handle bloody well. But that's if it had been set up nicely

 

[Stearmen]

Aero Engines

An early aero engine car was the famous Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! No they did not fly but they were fast. To quote Wikapidia, The first car was powered by a 23,093cc six cylinder Maybach aero engine and called "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". A second "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was powered by 18,882 Benz aero engine. They were designed and raced in Great Britain by Louis Zborowski.

 

[John in Covina]

^^^ The concept of an airplane engine in a motor car is indeed an interesting proposition. The only one I'm aware of is Jay Leno's EcoJet.

Comedian Bill Cosby used to have a skit about a car either he had or friends had when he was a teen that had an airplane engine in it. Don't know if it was based on a real car or a made up story.

 

[Spitfire]

Slightly fftopic: but nevertheless a fun story...

David Conwill and Edward's posts about putting big engines in small cars reminded me of an article that English magazine Classic and Sports Car ran a few years back where some chap in England had put a 27 litre Merlin engine from a Hurricane fighter aircraft into a custom-built special body based on a Rolls-Royce Phantom chassis. It was in a "mild" 900HP tune and had four sets of triple downdraught Webers and had a propensity for great wads of flame to shoot out of the exhausts. I remember the fellow had never taken it out of bottom gear where it was good for 70mph.

I don't know whether anyone would be interested but I could dig out the article if some here would like to see it.

This one maybe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHp58Ss5GvM

 

[Edward]

Supermarine, or Triumph?

lol

Always had a soft spot for the Triumph Spitty's bigger brother, the GT6. Later than my normal preferred aesthetic, but really cool. Always put me in mind of a baby E-type coupe...

One of my favourite transplants is one I saw in a mid '80s British magazine-
a Rover 3.5 litre V8, mid-mounted in a Hillman Imp fastback(Sunbeam Stiletto)- VW transaxle, custom adjustable suspension...

Jinkies, that sounds insane. Such a tiny car, the driver must have been straddling that block!

Back in the Sixties, my dad rallied a Ford Anglia 105E which had the engine, back axle and gearbox from a Ford Lotus Cortina in it.... apparently it was 'too fast for its own good'!

 

[vitanola]

I wonder, are there specific reasons why the European governments en masse levied higher taxes on bigger engines?

I mean, this meant that no larger displacement engines were built for the mass markets in Europe, therefore the higher taxes weren't collectable by the governments because these cars weren't really on the roads.

I figure there must have been another more specific reason aside from taxes being collected as to why the European governments favored smaller engines.

Or maybe it wasn't a specific reason but rather a combination of economy, more long distant public transport, etc.

To a great extent the early levies on engine displacement were due to policy decisions on the part of the governments involved TO PRESERVE FOREIGN EXCHANGE. Most european nations (Roumainia and Russia excepted) did not produce commercial quantities of oil, which was thus of necessity imported, and paid for with precious foreign exchange, often limiting the ability of the industry in those countries to import certain necessary raw materials. In the late '90's The Imperial German Government inititiated a campaign against the drinking of coffer, for foreign exchange spent to import coffee beans was limiting the Imperial Navy's expansion plans, as little foreign exchange was available for purchase of certain scarce raw materials.

Early in the 20th century many European governments realised that the thirst of the automobiles for fuel could seriously deplete a nations FX reserves, and imposed displacement taxes to limit the damage done.

 

[David Conwill]

Vitanola, that's a fascinating insight. Previously, I've always heard it explained as a socialist/class-envy thing.

-Dave

 

[Smithy]

This one maybe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHp58Ss5GvM

No, no, no Søren! That thing is as ugly as sin

The one I was talking about was quite lithe, looked a bit like a streched silver Bugatti, definitely a 1930s feel to it.

I'll dig the article out and post it here.

 

[Stearmen]

Blastolene

The one I was talking about was quite lithe, looked a bit like a streched silver Bugatti, definitely a 1930s feel to it.

It wasn't this car by chance? This is the Blastolene Special owned by Jay Leno. It is powered by a Continental V-12 engine out of a M47 Patton tank!

 

[Spitfire]

This one then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGCFCHmJYtA

 

[Speedster]

Slightly fftopic: but nevertheless a fun story...

David Conwill and Edward's posts about putting big engines in small cars reminded me of an article that English magazine Classic and Sports Car ran a few years back where some chap in England had put a 27 litre Merlin engine from a Hurricane fighter aircraft into a custom-built special body based on a Rolls-Royce Phantom chassis. It was in a "mild" 900HP tune and had four sets of triple downdraught Webers and had a propensity for great wads of flame to shoot out of the exhausts. I remember the fellow had never taken it out of bottom gear where it was good for 70mph.

I don't know whether anyone would be interested but I could dig out the article if some here would like to see it.

Could be this one: http://www.supercars.net/cars/4769.html?

There was an article about it in Classic and Sports Car in September 1995, page 84. Not able to scan it though.

 

[Smithy]

This one then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGCFCHmJYtA

That's the one old boy!

Here's the article...

 

[vitanola]

Vitanola, that's a fascinating insight. Previously, I've always heard it explained as a socialist/class-envy thing.

-Dave

In the case of Great Britain, the "class envy" card was used to justify the restrictions to the electorate, most notably to gain the support of some leftist MP's, but one may be intrigued by by the observation that the taxes on fiscal HP were initially enacted under the strongly Conservative Salisbury/Balfour government and were subsequently greatly expanded under the Conservative Baldwin government.

Remember that in those days international settlements, and so FX, was in gold, which was a money in strictly limited supply, one which governments in distress could not easily inflate, however dire the immediate need so to do.

As we in the United States were the worlds largest oil producer in the period under consideration we were not affected by the FX question regarding the importation of oil. In the years since the abandonment of the convertablilty of gold in 1971, (incidentally the years since our emergence as the world's greatest net importer of petroleum) we have run into occasional economic crises which have been exascerbated by the trade deficit engendered by our tremendous importation of this necessity, but even in this we have been at a great advantage, for the Dollar is the world's reserve currency, and oil is priced in Dollars. This situation creates a de-facto subsidy of our national oil purchases which is paid for by those importers who must first convert their currencies to dollars to obtain oil.

The promoters of the Euro had hoped to eventually shift the dollar from its dominant position in the petroleum trade, and so end their subsidy of our consumption . It remains to be seen whether they shall succeed in this goal. The recent Greek troubles (and the problems which are abrew in Portugal, Spain and Italy) may delay or prevent this. IN the current environment, the Dollar remains the strongest amongst a welter of distressed currencies, although the markets appear as if they may be pricing in a considerable dollar inflation in the medium-term.