Having seen this car in the flesh I can tell you at idle it literally picks up any dirt on the road/ground and sandblasts anything within 5-10m from the exhaust at IDLE!
Yes, I think one of the engineers, on Jay Leno's Garage, stated that the exhausts were pointed down and to the rear of the planes so as to add considerable thrust to the thrust of the propeller.
Sandblasted stuff, for real? You have no idea, dude! I've got a real sandblaster for you. My uncle worked for NASA and got me one of the "lunar module" rocket engines. One of the loud ones, right? I put it into my Mustang last spring, and the chicks really dig me.
@@wmden1 Yes. your'e right. they used the thrust from the exhausts to help increase the planes speed by up to 15mph if I remember right. I've seen it mentioned in other videos about the Merlin here on TH-cam as well.
Seen this car in person when I was 17, at my first summernats visit in Canberra, the sound of this thing is beyond deafening, loudest car I've ever heard, super impressive though
I was a regular at the drag racing nationals in Melbourne, Australia back in the 90's. Seen jet cars, top doorslammers, nitro funny cars, etc, trust me this thing is on another level. It genuinely sounds like a war plane.
5 years to build the frame, 6 months to paint, a year for this and a year for that, then when it was done.....it took 6 years to get a big enough set of nuts to push all three of those buttons at the same time and start it...
Hands down... Mad props to the owner, and anyone who put their time into this. This car makes me have a loss of words, but beautiful car and great craftsmanship. Everyone should agree that every last seconds and cent was well worth the idea to build this car. Great job!
It's a heavy engine with a lot of torque. Several racers experimented with aero engines in the early days of drag racing and they were more suited for burnouts than fast ET times. There have been several Merlin-engined cars and they have never held up well when driven by leadfoots. Jay Leno's Merlin Roll Royce had lots of transmission troubles according to him.
During the course of the build it was in a few car magazines here in Australia. It was always interesting to see the progress of the car. The bloke who built it, Rod, had his hotrod shop in Victoria. He retired a few years ago & I think he sold his shop too. I had no idea where the car went as it was only allowed one days worth of rego for an event or some sort of carnival & disappeared as quickly as it was featured in those magazines.
Cool, but he should have put it in a Mustang. Don't get me wrong: I'm a GM guy. But the end result would be a Mustang with the engine of the plane that gave it its name, the P51 Mustang.
Better in a spitfire ;) griffin engine also Mosquito had two of these and Lancaster had 4..POWER!! Bentley made a car with a similar Merlin engine in ,worth a look
lewistjo Bently NEVER made the car it was a hot rodder that converted it. Also there is a Packard Bently, see video here on You Tube used 4M 2500 Packard PT Boat engine..No relation to a Merlin... FYI
I'm a girl and I love it!! by the way,the last versions of the merlin v12 were rated at close to 3000 hp.I do know a little more than you think about cars,owned 2 chev's,a 58,307 powered,61 belair with a little 283,68 holden,307 powered,and a 70 holden,253 powered.Helped do a couple of v8 conversions on friends cars,owned a modified hq holden panel van,hot fj holden,triple carbs,VERY low,hot grey motor,and a couple of chargers as well,6 cylinder hemi powered,both very quick.
That what America was like in the 50 and 60's before we have millions of rules that prevent us from being creative unless you pay a fee, have a license , multiple permits and a whole host of money stealing, extortion laws and rules, that absolutely KILL THE AMERICAN SPIRIT. Good one Mate. I am making you and honorary American and the best 55 I have seen in a long time. RH DSD
I hate to say it, because I love my country, but its true. you want to do something cool, fun, maybe even innovative and it seems that someone is just chomping at the bit to say you can't. since when did that become the American way?
Since agencies found a way to tax and fine and permit every facet of our lives. Rules and Laws are like cobwebs to the Rich, to be pushed aside at will. The Laws are like solid steel chains to the poor and ordinary Joes in my America.
+vinnie4g63 you do know that here in Australia, by law, he can't drive that beautiful beast full time, to drive it on the road at anytime he has to pay exstortion level fees to get it on the road for 3 days to be able to drive it to a show, sadly there are alot of beauties like this locked away because it is too much of a pain to bring them to light, including a burnout car that is a Goggomobile with a 440 magnum motor and the drivers seat in the back of it! you think we have freedom here you are poorly mistaken, hell in QLD (where i live) i can't even do a quarter of the stuff you can in America mainly because they make it too painful and cost/time consuming to find out the rules and regulations without paying through your ring hole (ass), unless you go to a QUOTE certified technician UNQUOTE who will rip you off and tell you you can't do that only to try to steer you towards something that he can sell from his own stock so he can make even more of a profit on! FFS i had a clutch for my car, i wanted to get it installed (due to lack of tools i couldn't myself) no one would do it, you gotta buy the clutch through them!
+TRAV HEX Australia has to have the most fucked up road rules I've ever come across. You guys can't even run a bov to atmosphere there lol. I get why but it just seems retarded when you know all the pollution from the mining equipment is probably 1 million times worse than every turbo car running a venting bov. p.s how's your video game industry going lolololol aids, australia is aids.
Sam Burrows that is incorrect, we aren't allowed to run wastegate gas direct to atmo, BOV's vent clean oxygen from the charge pipe and are completely legal
I read an article where Rod was asked that question, his response was that he saw one of the planes flying once that had that engine in it and he thought to himself 'imagine if you could get that engine/sound into a car'. He set that goal and worked towards it and accomplished it
absolutely INSANE ! thanks for the colossal waste of money and time ! it needed to e done and nutty dudes like me are so glad you did, awesome work, she is perfectly crazy wild
I remember a mechanic in the UK managed to shoehorn a Merlin into a Rolls Royce car (where it truly belongs!). It would do 180+ mph but Rolls Royce washed their hands of any guarantee on car parts due to the sheer amount of power involved. Stopping quickly would be another large problem!
@@derekstocker6661 Rolls Royce took him to court because he refused to remove their radiator grille, badges and Spirit Of Ecstasy mascot. He lost the court case.
Charlie Broomfield managed to shoehorn in a Rolls Royce Meteor engine into an SD1. He wants to try and get it to do 200mph but needs a long enough runway to do it.
right there with ya, I ride and rip mine up all the time! Sure it looks pretty, but feels even better ripping through the gears wide open! I'm more into old bikes, but I like merlin engines! long live p51!
+michael jagger assuming a rev limit of 3k rpm (stock merlin lmiter) and assuming it makes the 3k hp at the limiter then it has AT LEAST 5252 lb ft!!! and thats only if it makes peak torque also at 3k rpm. its very likely peak torque is below the rev limit which means it has MORE than 5252 lb ft of torque lol
Now that is some serious naturally aspirated HP!! I need to be able to "Like" this video a few thousand times! Gotta love an Aussie with endless time on his hands, a dream and a thick wallet, they tend to fabricate some outrageously awesome machines.
Imagine 2 of these engines in a wooden fighter/bomber. The Mosquito is generally considered to be one of the best prop driven planes in WW2. This engine, if I remember correctly, after a couple of years of modifying the fuel system, had around 2500 horsepower. Along with the Mosquito, it was in the Spitfire, and a licensed Allison build of it, was in the P51 Mustang. The RR Merlin is considered, by many, to be the engine that won the war, especially in Europe. In the beginning, it was fast, at low altitude, but not very maneuverable, and had a low ceiling, all because of the fuel system. I don't remember the whole story, but a 2 stage supercharger was designed and built and applied to it, and made it one of the baddest ass engines on the planet, at any realistic altitude. Powered up, and under load, of course it is very loud, but sounds beautiful, from what I have heard in some of these videos.
+michael jagger and you do know that CN competed in point karate which pitting him against bruce lee is like having a lazer tag gun vs a real sniper rifle, "i had you in my sights 1st i win" "Who's missing half their head?"
I'm interested in seeing how fast this beauty is. Bring that beast to Bonneville and let's see the wide open throttle top speed of this car, and hope that the engine doesn't actually yank the car over, like the guy said it wanted to do.
Not really designed for TOP speed potential. Despite the shape...not enough downforce and horrible ground effects. The windshield and overall poor aerodynamics actually would make this dangerous if you fully opened the engine.
Rod lives just up the road from me in Chewton, near Castlemaine Australia.He drove this into Castlemaine once and my whole house shook and i live about 500 meters from the road..its something you have to see to believe..
+Kakto Tak British liquid cooled engines made a lot more horsepower than teh american ones, late merlins made near 2000hp, griffons were a bit over 2000hp, and sabres were about 2500hp
+soaringtractor well firstly i were comparing them to the american inline engines (*cough*allison*cough*) and secondly those radials while they did make more horsepower, also had a significantly higher capacity (merlin 27 litre; griffon 37 litre; sabre 36 litre compared to the r2800s 46 litre.
+soaringtractor that's the way the world works if you build something another firm designed you are supposed to pay royalties. Unless it seems you are American, a little story for you, during WW1 the British designed and developed the depth charge . when America entered the war they requested the design drawings which the Admiralty duly sent them in 1917. two "gentlemen" from the firm chosen to produce the American version promptly patented it!!! Is that America,s idea of fair play?.
You are correct; a supercharged Merlin was around 1600 HP, on high octane gas. The engine was superceded by the larger Griffon. The AVRO Shackleton was based on the Lancaster and had four Griffon's. They were in service with the RAF for decades water the war.
There used to be a red FJ Holden that used to run at the drags at Riverside in Port Melbourne in the mid 60's. From memory it run under the name of Thunderball & had a Hudson bomber motor in it. You always knew when they fired it up by the incredible noise it made but also the ground used to shake! Used to run a bulldozer clutch but by meetings end they were usually fride.
"youll never see the outrageousness of this again" LIES! lol go search up the Brutus car its like a 42(?) litre v12 on a 1907 new york fire engine chassis
Or also see the PACKARD Bently, a 2500 Cu in PT Boat engine..video here on You tube or Google .....There are also Tractor pullers that use up to 3 Allison Merlin or Griffon engines...not rare...
If you don't like the car, then that's fine. It isn't for everybody. That said, the fact that it has such intricate fabrication to begin with and also, the amount of labor and commitment that went into building it, make it worth alot more than the raw materials alone - it can't be replicated with any less effort. The guys who built this monster were the best of the best - an ordinary person would probably waste 20+ full time years attempting the same feat.
The first one to be built here in the uk has just sold for£72500 its called the beast and was built in 1972.The guy used it on the road its legendary all over the world.
Well it is a very rare WW2 fighter plane engine. It was in everything from the Spitfire to the P51 Mustang. But yes, you could get one of them that runs for about $58,278, or £35,000. I am guessing the instrument panel, the custom built frame and the work he put into it would be at least a few hundred thousand. www.milweb.net/webverts/67632/
Ian Clarke What about it? The horsepower for one of those things is between 1,030 and 2060HP depending on the variant. For something as light as a tiny car, that thing should be WAAAY faster than Jay Leno's Tank roadster.
in faq i did, 17 years ago, i rebuild a ford sierra, i used 3 cars to build 1 new. from pushrod v6 to fuel injected inline 4, the inline, overhauled partly by myself and parts where outsourced(lappings) was faster and more rev friendly, rear axle with drum brakes, replaced with disc brakes and fully funcional ABS on a '82 car and GHIA interior. and more recently i did a paintjob myself in a professional paint booth, i also did the sanding, primer, some subtle tuning on the body.
Rod Hadfield sold it to me as 3000 hp. The Magazine he had it published in that I have a pallet full of copies of says 3000 hp right across the top. It is a special edition of "Cruzin" that is published in Australia. There are about 27 pages in the article devoted to the 55.
I have seen this car before it was sold and shipped to America, the craftsmanship is simply outstanding, the builder Rod Hadfield was awarded an Honorary Engineering Degree due to his engineering excellence regarding Street Machine/Hot Rod products his company produced, With reference to persons claiming he performed bad workmanship, this is a perpetuated myth by others who tried to copy his products and then tried to sell them as Rods work.
I've spent over 1/2 hr reading many of the comments about this car,and some of the not so nice comments...we're all different...we all like different things...people will like this car,others wont..I love it for the engineering...it's incredible..but if someone told me they dont like it,thats ok...we're all entitled to our own opinion,and should respect others right to have their own..please,dont fight...
... Credit to such piece of work! And I would like to add, that if you turned the 'notches' outside the 'body/coach' into same quarter and angel - it would look just awesome in a close upp! :))
@tamenga88 It also powered the best fighter of the war and the most famous in the world. The legendary Spitfire. The Hurricane had one as well and the Lancaster Bomber had four of them. The fantastic Mosquito had two. Unfortunately the P51 was a real lame duck in it's original state with the Alison engine but it was transformed into the perfect escort fighter with the Merlin.
I wish I would have had video running when I tried to start it once and someone had opened the fuel bleed valve. It had a lean backfire and destroyed one of the air filters. Was pretty funny seeing my friends running.
A local high school auto shop teacher built a '67 Chevelle with an Allison V12. At ground level the Allison was the equal of the Merlin in power but smaller and lighter.
actually a Lenco is just a series of clutches. It has manually engaged clutch packs that resemble those found in an automatic transmission and a set of planetary gears for each clutch pack. So instead of swapping gears you are simply engaging the next fixed gearset via clutch engagement.
![[UNCUT] ลูกหมี-ลิลลี่ เหงียน เปิดใจฟาด ปู มัณฑนา I คนดังนั่งเคลียร์ I 15 ก.ค.67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FKQ60Y7bJ6s/mqdefault.jpg)
Having seen this car in the flesh I can tell you at idle it literally picks up any dirt on the road/ground and sandblasts anything within 5-10m from the exhaust at IDLE!
Yes, I think one of the engineers, on Jay Leno's Garage, stated that the exhausts were pointed down and to the rear of the planes so as to add considerable thrust to the thrust of the propeller.
Sandblasted stuff, for real? You have no idea, dude!
I've got a real sandblaster for you. My uncle worked for NASA and got me one of the "lunar module" rocket engines. One of the loud ones, right? I put it into my Mustang last spring, and the chicks really dig me.
@@LMBee00 especially the blonde chicks....
You alive
@@wmden1 Yes. your'e right. they used the thrust from the exhausts to help increase the planes speed by up to 15mph if I remember right. I've seen it mentioned in other videos about the Merlin here on TH-cam as well.
Seen this car in person when I was 17, at my first summernats visit in Canberra, the sound of this thing is beyond deafening, loudest car I've ever heard, super impressive though
I was a regular at the drag racing nationals in Melbourne, Australia back in the 90's. Seen jet cars, top doorslammers, nitro funny cars, etc, trust me this thing is on another level. It genuinely sounds like a war plane.
Born and raised American here to say I have always loved the ... " is that all ya got mate ? " Aussies, makes me proud to be an Earthling ; )
No, he made an incredible piece of engineering, and judging from that painstaking paintwork, a piece of art.
The sound of the Merlin is one of the best ever created.
5 years to build the frame, 6 months to paint, a year for this and a year for that, then when it was done.....it took 6 years to get a big enough set of nuts to push all three of those buttons at the same time and start it...
that had to be the worlds slowest mechanic man i swear
Hands down... Mad props to the owner, and anyone who put their time into this. This car makes me have a loss of words, but beautiful car and great craftsmanship. Everyone should agree that every last seconds and cent was well worth the idea to build this car. Great job!
You alive ?
It's a heavy engine with a lot of torque. Several racers experimented with aero engines in the early days of drag racing and they were more suited for burnouts than fast ET times. There have been several Merlin-engined cars and they have never held up well when driven by leadfoots. Jay Leno's Merlin Roll Royce had lots of transmission troubles according to him.
Amazing! The thing actually sounds like a Spitfire. Love the start sequence.
Who’d have thought?! 😆
That is one SICK ride...!! Before you go for a ride you should contact the control tower
During the course of the build it was in a few car magazines here in Australia. It was always interesting to see the progress of the car. The bloke who built it, Rod, had his hotrod shop in Victoria. He retired a few years ago & I think he sold his shop too. I had no idea where the car went as it was only allowed one days worth of rego for an event or some sort of carnival & disappeared as quickly as it was featured in those magazines.
I saw it in person in Adelaide, though that was fairly soon after it was featured in Australian Toughest Car mag when I was a kid
SwissArmyBumpkin I wasn't quite as lucky, but it sure was a sight to behold
OlympusHeavyCavalry.
Google - Rod Hadfield's Warman, to see what he did next with a RR V12,
a work of art.
last i heard Rod sold it to Jay Leno
@@michaeledwards8058 No, Jat didnt buy. some other cashed up american guy did apparently. Jay does have several cars though that are Merlin powered.
They say"too much power is never enough".What a monster car.Great job.
Cool, but he should have put it in a Mustang.
Don't get me wrong: I'm a GM guy. But the end result would be a Mustang with the engine of the plane that gave it its name, the P51 Mustang.
Better in a spitfire ;) griffin engine also
Mosquito had two of these and Lancaster had 4..POWER!!
Bentley made a car with a similar Merlin engine in ,worth a look
lewistjo Bently NEVER made the car it was a hot rodder that converted it. Also there is a Packard Bently, see video here on You Tube used 4M 2500 Packard PT Boat engine..No relation to a Merlin... FYI
Good point,but the fit would not work.
How would putting the Merlin engine in a 55 Chevy make it a Mustang ? Doesn't make sense.
Yeah, the mustang actually used an american version, this engine is from a spitfire
That is so cool! I put a real jet engine in my Mustang last spring, and the chicks really dig me.
Saw this at a car show when I was 10 years old and it blew me away, quite literally
I'm a girl and I love it!! by the way,the last versions of the merlin v12 were rated at close to 3000 hp.I do know a little more than you think about cars,owned 2 chev's,a 58,307 powered,61 belair with a little 283,68 holden,307 powered,and a 70 holden,253 powered.Helped do a couple of v8 conversions on friends cars,owned a modified hq holden panel van,hot fj holden,triple carbs,VERY low,hot grey motor,and a couple of chargers as well,6 cylinder hemi powered,both very quick.
Best and most legendary V12 ever made! Awesome video!
That what America was like in the 50 and 60's before we have millions of rules that prevent us from being creative unless you pay a fee, have a license , multiple permits and a whole host of money stealing, extortion laws and rules, that absolutely KILL THE AMERICAN SPIRIT. Good one Mate. I am making you and honorary American and the best 55 I have seen in a long time. RH DSD
I hate to say it, because I love my country, but its true. you want to do something cool, fun, maybe even innovative and it seems that someone is just chomping at the bit to say you can't. since when did that become the American way?
Since agencies found a way to tax and fine and permit every facet of our lives. Rules and Laws are like cobwebs to the Rich, to be pushed aside at will. The Laws are like solid steel chains to the poor and ordinary Joes in my America.
+vinnie4g63 you do know that here in Australia, by law, he can't drive that beautiful beast full time, to drive it on the road at anytime he has to pay exstortion level fees to get it on the road for 3 days to be able to drive it to a show, sadly there are alot of beauties like this locked away because it is too much of a pain to bring them to light, including a burnout car that is a Goggomobile with a 440 magnum motor and the drivers seat in the back of it! you think we have freedom here you are poorly mistaken, hell in QLD (where i live) i can't even do a quarter of the stuff you can in America mainly because they make it too painful and cost/time consuming to find out the rules and regulations without paying through your ring hole (ass), unless you go to a QUOTE certified technician UNQUOTE who will rip you off and tell you you can't do that only to try to steer you towards something that he can sell from his own stock so he can make even more of a profit on! FFS i had a clutch for my car, i wanted to get it installed (due to lack of tools i couldn't myself) no one would do it, you gotta buy the clutch through them!
+TRAV HEX Australia has to have the most fucked up road rules I've ever come across. You guys can't even run a bov to atmosphere there lol. I get why but it just seems retarded when you know all the pollution from the mining equipment is probably 1 million times worse than every turbo car running a venting bov. p.s how's your video game industry going lolololol aids, australia is aids.
Sam Burrows that is incorrect, we aren't allowed to run wastegate gas direct to atmo, BOV's vent clean oxygen from the charge pipe and are completely legal
I read an article where Rod was asked that question, his response was that he saw one of the planes flying once that had that engine in it and he thought to himself 'imagine if you could get that engine/sound into a car'.
He set that goal and worked towards it and accomplished it
Always loved seeing this thing at the nats. absolutely insane
18 gallons a mile.
0 fucks given.
It's about smiles per gallon not miles per gallon.
in engine oil yes but in fuel is 0,5 miles per galon
What about if you’re considering all the power comes from the torque? So it’s revving real low and not running too rich.
If you could drive it. Not really road legal in Aussie, they just gave it a "special dispensation" to get it in the record books.
absolutely INSANE ! thanks for the colossal waste of money and time ! it needed to e done and nutty dudes like me are so glad you did, awesome work, she is perfectly crazy wild
I want one of those engines just to listen to hater a long stressful day... That is a sweet as any music
I have seen this car in real life and I must say the attention to detail it outstanding. I just wish I got to see it running
"don't break my stuff" lmfao EPIC
Amazing car. The engineering that went into that frame is incredible. Truly awesome build.
Just down the road from me, in Victoria, this guy had some great stuff for Holdens.
Nothing on Earth sounds like that Rolls Royce Merlin V12 , nothing . That thing is incredible to say the least .
This is why I like people.
Wow!
I remember a mechanic in the UK managed to shoehorn a Merlin into a Rolls Royce car (where it truly belongs!). It would do 180+ mph but Rolls Royce washed their hands of any guarantee on car parts due to the sheer amount of power involved. Stopping quickly would be another large problem!
The Beast... :D. that was a Rolls Meteor right?! (same a merlin, but without supercharger and more iron parts)
That was John Dodd, I believe there is some film on YT somewhere about the car, it had a Rolls-Royce grille as well.
@@derekstocker6661 Rolls Royce took him to court because he refused to remove their radiator grille, badges and Spirit Of Ecstasy mascot. He lost the court case.
Charlie Broomfield managed to shoehorn in a Rolls Royce Meteor engine into an SD1. He wants to try and get it to do 200mph but needs a long enough runway to do it.
@@jaggass And a huge set of gonads to much,right?
That is fantastic first time ive ever seen this car and im 41 amazing 55 merline Chevrolet
right there with ya, I ride and rip mine up all the time! Sure it looks pretty, but feels even better ripping through the gears wide open! I'm more into old bikes, but I like merlin engines! long live p51!
I cant imagine the lbft of torque this has
+michael jagger assuming a rev limit of 3k rpm (stock merlin lmiter) and assuming it makes the 3k hp at the limiter then it has AT LEAST 5252 lb ft!!! and thats only if it makes peak torque also at 3k rpm.
its very likely peak torque is below the rev limit which means it has MORE than 5252 lb ft of torque lol
eatthisvr6 5252lb ft!!! that's insane if this does make 3000hp.
I would put money on the fact that the motor has had some work done to it. That 3000hp mark, probably is on the LOW end.
You could probably keep it at 50mph all day in 1st gear.
More than a warehouse full of mother in-laws
Now that is some serious naturally aspirated HP!! I need to be able to "Like" this video a few thousand times! Gotta love an Aussie with endless time on his hands, a dream and a thick wallet, they tend to fabricate some outrageously awesome machines.
The merlin was supercharged, there was an na variant called the meteor that they put in tanks
@cameron170 -
2 stage supercharger at that!
@@cavekritter1 2-stage, 2-speed.
Great vid, always wanted to hear Rod's 55 Chevy running!
Well, having seen the car in the flesh and had a good chat to Rod, i can definitely tell you that this car looks WAY better in person.
3:55 did the dude on the left pick his last name out of a box of scrabble tiles? How do you even say that?!
weird ass way to spell a sneeze...
+Nauman Javed what a pair... the scrabble guy with the unpronounceable name and the dude from the klutts family.
I agree... it should have been a Mustang. I also agree that Peter Klutt is annoying.
Nah. Ford is shit.
@John McHumanson you first, nerd
@@The_Gallowglass
And you second pal
I have seen this car in person. It was at a car show and this thing is a beast and the paint on it is perfect.
Imagine 2 of these engines in a wooden fighter/bomber. The Mosquito is generally considered to be one of the best prop driven planes in WW2. This engine, if I remember correctly, after a couple of years of modifying the fuel system, had around 2500 horsepower. Along with the Mosquito, it was in the Spitfire, and a licensed Allison build of it, was in the P51 Mustang. The RR Merlin is considered, by many, to be the engine that won the war, especially in Europe. In the beginning, it was fast, at low altitude, but not very maneuverable, and had a low ceiling, all because of the fuel system. I don't remember the whole story, but a 2 stage supercharger was designed and built and applied to it, and made it one of the baddest ass engines on the planet, at any realistic altitude. Powered up, and under load, of course it is very loud, but sounds beautiful, from what I have heard in some of these videos.
1:16 - LOLOL! "Don't break my stuff." :-D
..Just AMAZING !!!!!
That car is unbelievable. It's like a cartoon brought to life.
Spartan043 chuck norris's version of wacky races
Andy Foster yeah but chuck norris is strong and powerful and can sustain anything bruce lee was killed by a headache
+michael jagger and you do know that CN competed in point karate which pitting him against bruce lee is like having a lazer tag gun vs a real sniper rifle, "i had you in my sights 1st i win" "Who's missing half their head?"
ohhhh yeehhh!!!craftmanship at it finest...beautiful machine!!...I LOVE IT!!!
I'm interested in seeing how fast this beauty is. Bring that beast to Bonneville and let's see the wide open throttle top speed of this car, and hope that the engine doesn't actually yank the car over, like the guy said it wanted to do.
Not really designed for TOP speed potential. Despite the shape...not enough downforce and horrible ground effects. The windshield and overall poor aerodynamics actually would make this dangerous if you fully opened the engine.
Hahaha the poor Merlin wonders why it cannot even go to flight idle :) :D
Ikr. Like WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME
Sweet... What a Honey! Sounded and ran great...
Rod lives just up the road from me in Chewton, near Castlemaine Australia.He drove this into Castlemaine once and my whole house shook and i live about 500 meters from the road..its something you have to see to believe..
And it's in right hand drive, which means I can legally own one.
Where do go to buy mine?
cough up a couple million and wait a few years and it could be done lol
Make the quad .30 calibers functional- then I'll think about it.
HUBBABUBBA DOOPYDOOP Those things are actually the exhaust pipes
+Mechknight73 Exhaust is under the sides
If you can find the ammo😂🤣😂🤣😂😂
@@itsmail9817 ? .30 is M1 7.62, very plentiful.
Are you just a zero Sub/Zero content Troll?
God damn this thing must have a monstrous transmission to be able to hold up to that gigantic V12 Merlin!
Thank you for posting this.
HOLY SHIT those engines get a P51 to nearly 500 mph, I cant even imagine how fast that thing would go 8-O
3000 HP? I thought WW2 liquid cooled fighter engines were in the range 1000-1500 hp. Is it actually a Spitfire engine or something else?
+Kakto Tak British liquid cooled engines made a lot more horsepower than teh american ones, late merlins made near 2000hp, griffons were a bit over 2000hp, and sabres were about 2500hp
+soaringtractor well firstly i were comparing them to the american inline engines (*cough*allison*cough*) and secondly those radials while they did make more horsepower, also had a significantly higher capacity (merlin 27 litre; griffon 37 litre; sabre 36 litre compared to the r2800s 46 litre.
+soaringtractor that's the way the world works if you build something another firm designed you are supposed to pay royalties. Unless it seems you are American, a little story for you, during WW1 the British designed and developed the depth charge . when America entered the war they requested the design drawings which the Admiralty duly sent them in 1917. two "gentlemen" from the firm chosen to produce the American version promptly patented it!!! Is that America,s idea of fair play?.
Its probraley not 3000 hp, the only way is if he runs full boost with 140 full lead no bullshit avgas which is also unlikely. most likely 1500 hp
You are correct; a supercharged Merlin was around 1600 HP, on high octane gas. The engine was superceded by the larger Griffon. The AVRO Shackleton was based on the Lancaster and had four Griffon's. They were in service with the RAF for decades water the war.
and from the drawings on a napkin to final production, the Mustang was flying in less than 90 days........
beautiful automobile
@Dulein I like how it spews exhaust from every crevice.
what possible clutch and transmission could possibly handle that
Looked like a Dana 80 rear.
Giant engine only 3000 hp, any good racing tranny with proper rating, i would love to know how much torque she has though, i bet its enormous!
@@Don.E.63 if the rev limiter is the stock 3k then it has at LEAST 5252 lb ft lol
Not many will handle the torque
Guessing this thing won't pass emissions...
its a 55 chevy what emissions
+Borderline5440 Cleaner than a VW TDI though.
When it was first completed it passed epa testing & had full street rego
There used to be a red FJ Holden that used to run at the drags at Riverside in Port Melbourne in the mid 60's. From memory it run under the name of Thunderball & had a Hudson bomber motor in it. You always knew when they fired it up by the incredible noise it made but also the ground used to shake! Used to run a bulldozer clutch but by meetings end they were usually fride.
@ShadowwwLFS well it sure looks like it would fly. truly a marvel to see that engine wedged in there...
Probably no good for going round twisty roads at speed - much like most old U.S cars...
"youll never see the outrageousness of this again" LIES! lol go search up the Brutus car its like a 42(?) litre v12 on a 1907 new york fire engine chassis
Or also see the PACKARD Bently, a 2500 Cu in PT Boat engine..video here on You tube or Google .....There are also Tractor pullers that use up to 3 Allison Merlin or Griffon engines...not rare...
@Offroad circus Not as powerful though :)
If you don't like the car, then that's fine. It isn't for everybody. That said, the fact that it has such intricate fabrication to begin with and also, the amount of labor and commitment that went into building it, make it worth alot more than the raw materials alone - it can't be replicated with any less effort.
The guys who built this monster were the best of the best - an ordinary person would probably waste 20+ full time years attempting the same feat.
The first one to be built here in the uk has just sold for£72500 its called the beast and was built in 1972.The guy used it on the road its legendary all over the world.
I dont see how itd cost over a million to build that car, unless a merlin v12 costs 950k.
Well it is a very rare WW2 fighter plane engine. It was in everything from the Spitfire to the P51 Mustang. But yes, you could get one of them that runs for about $58,278, or £35,000. I am guessing the instrument panel, the custom built frame and the work he put into it would be at least a few hundred thousand.
www.milweb.net/webverts/67632/
True, yet.... You are a grammar Nazi, so no one listens to you.
BFKAnthony817
What about the power increase ?
Ian Clarke What about it? The horsepower for one of those things is between 1,030 and 2060HP depending on the variant.
For something as light as a tiny car, that thing should be WAAAY faster than Jay Leno's Tank roadster.
BFKAnthony817
The commentator states it has 3,000 hp.
Wringing an extra 1,000 hp out of an already tuned up engine is not cheap
That engine not only sounds good and gives great power, it looks fucking sick.
Absolutely 💯 wicked,love it
It's not truly Australian until I see it do a crazy burnout!
totally insane. love it
damn that engine sounds good
A truly thundering machine.
I used to watch this show every day on public tv. 💚 🇨🇦 Tv
in faq i did, 17 years ago, i rebuild a ford sierra, i used 3 cars to build 1 new.
from pushrod v6 to fuel injected inline 4, the inline, overhauled partly by myself and parts where outsourced(lappings) was faster and more rev friendly, rear axle with drum brakes, replaced with disc brakes and fully funcional ABS on a '82 car and GHIA interior.
and more recently i did a paintjob myself in a professional paint booth, i also did the sanding, primer, some subtle tuning on the body.
Geeze!! I'd attempt to drive that monster everywhere!! Could you imagine pulling up to Walmart in that and hopping out all Nonchalant X)
The exhaust side pipes alone will blow the competition off the road.
Those headlight covers make it look like a depressed Smurf from the front
seeing this thing actually drive is wayy more than worth seeing a burnout done.
Great car, thankyou for uploading the video :)
Rod Hadfield sold it to me as 3000 hp. The Magazine he had it published in that I have a pallet full of copies of says 3000 hp right across the top. It is a special edition of "Cruzin" that is published in Australia. There are about 27 pages in the article devoted to the 55.
@smncutler414 It already has a 2 step supercharger on it. The supercharger is what allowed it to do combat at high altitude.
painted like a mustang and powered like a spitfire, nice :D
I have seen this car before it was sold and shipped to America, the craftsmanship is simply outstanding, the builder Rod Hadfield was awarded an Honorary Engineering Degree due to his engineering excellence regarding Street Machine/Hot Rod products his company produced, With reference to persons claiming he performed bad workmanship, this is a perpetuated myth by others who tried to copy his products and then tried to sell them as Rods work.
Jay Leno has all sorts of like outrageous cars in his possession.
Man, that car has some balls for sure. But, finding a driver with bigger balls to put that pedal to the wood is another story! lol
I've spent over 1/2 hr reading many of the comments about this car,and some of the not so nice comments...we're all different...we all like different things...people will like this car,others wont..I love it for the engineering...it's incredible..but if someone told me they dont like it,thats ok...we're all entitled to our own opinion,and should respect others right to have their own..please,dont fight...
Merlin engine to this date the best engine design other than we can make it smoke less today.
Rod is the Godfather of our rodding🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🚗
Castlemaine Rods,ggl or u t
In Australia i remember a guy who use to put jet engines in trucks and race them .
... Credit to such piece of work! And I would like to add, that if you turned the 'notches' outside the 'body/coach' into same quarter and angel - it would look just awesome in a close upp! :))
I've Rod Hadfield for many years, he sure is a master craftsman and key person in the Street rodding scene and rod capoital of Aus
Much better than any Monsanto pesticide...
@tamenga88 It also powered the best fighter of the war and the most famous in the world. The legendary Spitfire. The Hurricane had one as well and the Lancaster Bomber had four of them. The fantastic Mosquito had two.
Unfortunately the P51 was a real lame duck in it's original state with the Alison engine but it was transformed into the perfect escort fighter with the Merlin.
Them crazy Aussies. They do know how to build some wild cars.
I wish I would have had video running when I tried to start it once and someone had opened the fuel bleed valve. It had a lean backfire and destroyed one of the air filters. Was pretty funny seeing my friends running.
lol, awesome sound! Some people may complain about this, but I love it :D Merlin
A local high school auto shop teacher built a '67 Chevelle with an Allison V12. At ground level the Allison was the equal of the Merlin in power but smaller and lighter.
Pete, you are hero
awesome piece of machinery
actually a Lenco is just a series of clutches. It has manually engaged clutch packs that resemble those found in an automatic transmission and a set of planetary gears for each clutch pack. So instead of swapping gears you are simply engaging the next fixed gearset via clutch engagement.
There is a guy near me in malaga Spain who has a merlin in a car,the beast.
THAT IS GOING IN MY DREAM GARAGE.