Warbird Information Exchange

hold on a minute boys..... 1st of all it's not mine. a chap out of quebec took the time to send me a letter re : my instrument article in the latest issue of warbirds international magazine, november / december issue. he has a merlin mk III engine for sale. the owner is in ill health, & thought i would be interested in buying it, ( yes, but no dice wallet wise) in the name of spirit regarding an ill man who needs the $$$$ i thought i'd post the offering. according to the owner, & to save the time specs are as follows..... according to rolls royce derby, the engine never flew. it was shipped with the british expeditionary forces evacuating dunkirk, brought back to derby to power generators to build more merlins. 1942 s.m.o.h. according to the owner a tear down engine of this type runs 100 grand at reno. if interested p.m. me & i will give you his address. i believe he has no email, did not leave a phone number. i only provide the lead, & go no further liability wise etc. by the way.. did anybody read my article?? have seen no replies on the thread. all the best, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Price?

no clue as to price, p.m. me i'll send his address & you take it from their. all the best, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

I am sorry to hear of the ill health of the person.
The problem is that not all merlin engines are created equal. A merlin III has next to nothing in it that is of use to a P-51 let alone a racing engine. In perfect condition, that has been stored correctly it is worth about 20,000-30,000 and even that is a bit generous estimation.

This type of engine is really only appropriate for a mid-to-late 1930's aircraft, such as a Fairey Battle, Spit. I, Hurricane I etc. There are so few of these aircraft that the engine is unlikely to have any real monetary value unless there is a project waiting for one. However, the engine's historical value is quite high given that it is such a rare mark, and so complete. No way is it worth even close to $100k. Cheers, Richard

i'm only quoting what the guy said in his letter. he said there is no interest in canada because it guzzles 60 gallons of av gas per hour. i'm just trying to be a good boy scout to help a guy in need. i don't know him from my left thumb, but surely somebody can contact him if interested in his item. i'm sure it's negotiable, it's only human nature to try to get the top buck. myself ..... i'm not big on engines, & i hardly know which end of a screwdriver to hold!!!! the 1 with vodka & orange juice i can handle. my buddies don't call me tool time tom for nothing!!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Hi Tom. You did the right thing to broadcast the details... this chap contacted me too, about three months ago, wanting Mike Potter's contact details (which I didn't feel I could give him without knowing more about the guy). I would love to see the engine go to a good home though, so I pointed him in the direction of Hawker Restorations in England, which would have been the perfect place for this engine to find a suitable airframe. Guess he wanted a lot more than they were willing to pay though. I think the guy's biggest problem is the lack of communication modes to find out more about the engine. These days, anyone interested would expect to be able to see the logs, and check it out on the web at least before taking things further... calling a guy on the phone without any physical representation of the beast itself is a few too many steps backwards for most people I would guess. I hope it goes to a good home though, and doesn't end up in a tractor pull!

Cheers,
Richard

thank you richard!! all the best, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!