January 19, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Hi all,
Like most museums we only get more exhibits, and nothing is lost. This means we have a storage problem. Although we have the good fortune of having an old fortress to house our museum. The entrances of the rooms are only just wide enough to display in-line engines. But having three or four Merlins of the same aircraft isn’t very efficient for display purposes.
This means we are looking into possibilties to enable interested parties to obtain RR Merlin engines (mostly XX/22 series as used in lancaster and Halifax) for a reasonable price. These have been recovered from clay/peat ground but are generally in very good condtion for static restoration (not to airworthy).
This isn’t a plug but more a way to find good homes for these items.
If anyone is interested please pm me
Cheers
Cees
By: Cees Broere - 29th January 2008 at 07:04
These engines are two of the better ones that I’ve seen recovered from the ground, alas for me the 20’s don’t have enough usable/interchangable parts to buy one, but I bet the cranks are straight, (especially in the first one)
;a good usable wheelcase must be worth £500 alone.
Stuart,
Recovered engines can be in unbelievable condtion. The engine we have on display in our museum (and is not available 🙂 ) is still fitted to the engine bearers, the complete firewall with all hoses, cables etc. still in place as well as the complete tubular mounting frame that was fitted to the outboard wing pick up point etc. The reduction gear is also missing on this one. With the wooden/resin props the chances of missing reduction gearing is much less.
Cees
By: Cees Broere - 29th January 2008 at 06:59
Cees,
I’m interested though I’d need to be sure that it would yield usable parts for our ground runner such as (1) camshafts – surface rust acceptable but no bends or heavy dents or damage.
(2) Wheelcase (gear section between supercharger and main crankcase) – no significant damage i.e. component mounting flanges and main mating surfaces OK.
What happened to the reduction gear/propeller assemblies for these engines, are they a part of the deal? I presume these were excavated with the engines.Thanks,
Anon.
Anon,
Most Merlin engines I’ve seen that were recovered were missing the reduction gear as this broke away together with the prop on impact. This aircraft gave up it’s four engines and three props. All props are in use as monuments around the country (one as a memorial to Guy Gibson at Steenbergen as the aircraft came from 106 Sqn he was CO of at one point). The engines are straight and we have one wheelcase of the engine on show in our museum where the entire wheelassembly case can be turned easily by hand and the crankcase is dead straight.
Cheers
Cees
By: stuart gowans - 28th January 2008 at 18:51
These engines are two of the better ones that I’ve seen recovered from the ground, alas for me the 20’s don’t have enough usable/interchangable parts to buy one, but I bet the cranks are straight, (especially in the first one)
;a good usable wheelcase must be worth £500 alone.
By: Arabella-Cox - 28th January 2008 at 18:26
Merlin engine
Cees,
I’m interested though I’d need to be sure that it would yield usable parts for our ground runner such as (1) camshafts – surface rust acceptable but no bends or heavy dents or damage.
(2) Wheelcase (gear section between supercharger and main crankcase) – no significant damage i.e. component mounting flanges and main mating surfaces OK.
What happened to the reduction gear/propeller assemblies for these engines, are they a part of the deal? I presume these were excavated with the engines.
Thanks,
Anon.
By: Cees Broere - 27th January 2008 at 11:08
Well here are the photographs,
There are two Merlin 20-series from the same lancaster that were
recovered from clay and are in very good conditon. They can be used for a static restoration (absolutely not for airworthy use) the internals are also in very good nick. As is typical with Merlins the reduction gear has broken off and the carburetor is damaged or missing, but the latter are included. The top pics are of one engine and the bottom two are of the other. The latter pics are not very good as it is very dark in the temporary storage shed, but corrosion is superficial and non-existent on the first.
Price is 2.000 British Pounds each, so if you are still interested let me know and I will forward your requests to our board. The selection will be kept private and things will be handled carefully. Moderators, this is not a plug but purely aimed at providing a good home for these engines. Let me know if you approve or dissapprove.
Cheers
Cees
By: Cees Broere - 26th January 2008 at 15:08
Anon,
We do have some Rotol threebladed prophubs that were fished out of the North Sea but don’t know if they are usable for even static restoration.
Pics of the engines to follow soon.
Cheers
Cees
By: Arabella-Cox - 25th January 2008 at 19:16
Merlins
Cees,
We’re rebuilding a Merlin to ground running condition and would be interested in an engine we could use for spares, if this is a possibility.
We also need prop hubs from this engine such as crashers with broken/bent/missing blades and even with stoved-in domes so we can re-use the hubs. Do you have any of these too?
By: Robert Hilton - 23rd January 2008 at 20:03
If you need any help with moving them Cees, then pm me.
I can’t promise anything, but I can always give it a shot.
By: Cees Broere - 23rd January 2008 at 17:53
Hi all,
We are collecting information about the engines right now and will provide some photographs soon. You must understand that we will handle this with care and will be very cautious to avoid problems. This could be a very sensitive matter and we do not wish to give people the idea that we are selling stuff for a profit.
We are a foundation which means we are not allowed to make a profit but to put any money back into the organisation (and so it shall be done). Also because of the nature of these engines, sending them over will be a bit problematical, and collecting will be the preferred way but that’s too early to discuss that now.
So for the time being, wait and see.
Cheers
Cees
By: moocher - 21st January 2008 at 23:59
Hi all,
Like most museums we only get more exhibits, and nothing is lost. This means we have a storage problem. Although we have the good fortune of having an old fortress to house our museum. The entrances of the rooms are only just wide enough to display in-line engines. But having three or four Merlins of the same aircraft isn’t very efficient for display purposes.
This means we are looking into possibilties to enable interested parties to obtain RR Merlin engines (mostly XX/22 series as used in lancaster and Halifax) for a reasonable price. These have been recovered from clay/peat ground but are generally in very good condtion for static restoration (not to airworthy).
This isn’t a plug but more a way to find good homes for these items.
If anyone is interested please pm meCheers
Cees
Cees,
pmd you with private e mail address, hear from you soon.
By: Fouga23 - 20th January 2008 at 12:03
do you take Monopoly money? :p
By: Cees Broere - 20th January 2008 at 11:35
I foresee a bucket load of private messages heading your way Cees:p
😀 😀 😀
You guessed it
Cheers
Cees
By: TempestV - 20th January 2008 at 10:07
Hi Cees
pm sent!
By: stuart gowans - 20th January 2008 at 09:19
Cees, pm sent (see above!)
By: Denis - 20th January 2008 at 00:35
I foresee a bucket load of private messages heading your way Cees:p