ALVIS LEONIDES areo engine

[mogmaner]

spoted this engine for sale at Newark autojumble today .

[snowtracdave]

Would make (probably speaking heresy here) a very interesting trailer mounted exhibit .

Are you going to frighten us with the price or was it case of "If you have to ask you can't afford it " ?

[mogmaner]

he was asking £2500 looks to be in fair con have more info if any one wants it .

[agripper]

Did'nt someone fit one of these in a car a few years back. I have seen a radial fitted to a bike as well. bet that would be a sod to kick start!!

[schliesser92]

Did'nt someone fit one of these in a car a few years back. I have seen a radial fitted to a bike as well. bet that would be a sod to kick start!!

 

Wasn't this the engine from the Bristol Sycamore ?

 

The only aero-engine I know fitted to a car was the Merlin. The "Beast" as it was known was last seen in a field in France.

[Tony B]

Wasn't this the engine from the Bristol Sycamore ?

 

The only aero-engine I know fitted to a car was the Merlin. The "Beast" as it was known was last seen in a field in France.

If you mean John Dodd's vehicle, that was shown to be a Meteor not a Merlin.

[alan turner (RIP)]

tony there was a merlin engined car long bonnet convertible used to go up and down the A2 until it caught fire, mock RR grille which didnt please RR, that was over 30 years ago.

[Tony B]

tony there was a merlin engined car long bonnet convertible used to go up and down the A2 until it caught fire, mock RR grille which didnt please RR, that was over 30 years ago.

That's the one Alan. It was Meteor. There was a lot of discussion and lawsuits at the time. Rolls Royce went after him for use of the radiator, it is their trademark. The car was originally built for someone else before sale to Dodd. The original owner stated quite clearly the engine was a Meteor, his original intention had been to try and fit a Ford Cortina body on it! Spares for the engine were supplied by Avation Jersey, so we had all the details of the engine. Belive me it was a Meteor.

Dodd also claimed the car would do 200mph, he even got one well known motoring journalist to print this. However! What the so called expert didn't notice. It was a KPH speedo.

Edited June 16, 2010 by Tony B

[alan turner (RIP)]

all the mags of the time stated it was a merlin and 27 litres but of course the meteor was a down rated merlin for road (?) use

[Tony B]

all the mags of the time stated it was a merlin and 27 litres but of course the meteor was a down rated merlin for road (?) use

No not realy, they were diffrent engines completly. Meteor was originally a tank engine, built by Rolls then transfered to Rover, in return Rolls got Whittle's and Rover development jet engines. The whole story over the Beast was somewhat dubious, shall we put it. I know one bill for spares wasn't paid.

[radiomike7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIdQFnUvCA

[Tony B]

:shocked: Imagine trying to get that past VOSA?

[steveo578]

I wonder if he ticked the unmodified box on the insurance form?:cool2:

[rog8811]

This is dredging back through a lot of years of history and the old grey cells could let me down but here goes anyway on the subject of the beast... and the 6 wheeler that followed.

 

Was J Dodd the original builder or the guy who put a body on it? I seem to remember he was an auto gearbox specialist who finished the car off.

 

I have wracked my brain for the name of the guy I visited the first time the 6 wheeler was to be driven. When put in gear one drive axle went one way and one went the other, result? it dug itself into the gravel drive....

 

 

EDIT!!!!!!!!! Paul Jamison!!!! that was the man!!

 

Regards rog8811

Edited June 16, 2010 by rog8811
I remembered

[Tony B]

I wonder if he ticked the unmodified box on the insurance form?:cool2:

 

No hand signals!! Not if you want to keep it on the ground! :-D

[rog8811]

and the 6 wheeler that followed.

Found a photo of it sitting at the very spot it dug in!

 

Again only from memory PJ said that this one was indeed a merlin where the other was a Meteor.

I also recall that he had a couple of crated NOS engine mounts for a Lancaster that were about to go off for spares for the BOB Lanc.

 

....and going from the picture it was Paul Jameson! (not how I spelt it before)

Regards rog8811

[Jeff Glasser]

The Alvis 'Leonides' could also be found nailed to the front of the Percival piston 'Provost' an early fifties R.A.F. trainer, several are still airworthy today.

 

£2,500! When I was part owner of Dunkeswell a few years ago, we had to sell an entire, though not airworthy, Provost to recover non payment of storage costs. I think the guys from Wellesbourne Mountford museum gave us a few hundred quid for it, and I think it is now displayed by them.

I often wish I'd bought it from the company just for the engine which seemed in fair condition. Well, it was'nt siezed!

 

Jeff

[malyutkaman]

I worked on a couple of Leonides 127's several years ago, good reliable engines about 550hp if I remember correctly. They were attached to a Hunting Percival Pembroke C mk. III. Unfortunately the aircraft has been abandon for a few years now and looks to be little more than a fancy condo for the local airport birds.

[Sean N]

There's a guy works for Practical Performance Car mag who's puy a Meteor into a Rover SD1, got it running on a mapped Emerald injection system.

[oily]

Charlie Broomfield, .... very clever man, he is! shoehorning a V12 27ltr meteor Centurion Tank Engine into a road-legal Rover 3500 bodyshell, (ok, albeit a slightly modified one!):cool2::cool2:

 

truly AWSOME!

[Jeff Glasser]

Charlie Broomfield, .... very clever man, he is! shoehorning a V12 27ltr meteor Centurion Tank Engine into a road-legal Rover 3500 bodyshell, (ok, albeit a slightly modified one!):cool2::cool2:

 

truly AWSOME!

 

He must be driving it from in the boot!:-D

[R Cubed]

Try these links the first is Charlies SD1 Rover.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy