SOLD: 1987 SAAC Registry

[JohnSlack]

Hi,
Just a quick history lesson on the Merlin. By largest count they were assembeled by Packard so even with the RR connection they
are still somewhat domestic. Also way above the Generous Mistake Allison for power-reliability-and most say the Merlin is the best
QUALITY 12 EVER. Packard was the supplier of engines for tanks as well as marine vessels of WW2. They never get the credit they
deserve, and so much of what we use in todays cars can be traced back to them. Sorry for the rant, it is not meant to upset anyone
just to keep history accurate.
R.R.

To be historically accurate Packard made hundreds of changes to the Rolls Royce Merlin. Packard ditched the problematic and unreliable clutch system that Rolls designed for the supercharger and replaced that system with a roller clutch system adapted from Curtiss Wright's design. While that may not sound like much in fact it was huge. In addition Packard ultimately designed the end to end oiling system for the crankshaft. There were multitudes of other better features that Packard designed into the Merlin engine.

Packard was so far ahead in producing parts for the Merlin that they had hundreds of engines worth when the big switch shut them down at the war's end. The reason that later model U.S. V12s went back to Allison engines was the royalty that Packard had to pay to Rolls Royce was $1,000.00 per engine. Across the 55,000 plus engines that Packard built is $55,000,000.00 in royalties.

As a young man I was taught that a Merlin in a box was faster than an Allison in an airplane.

Now I've been historically accurate.


John

[JohnSlack]

Hi,
Just a quick history lesson on the Merlin. By largest count they were assembled by Packard so even with the RR connection they
are still somewhat domestic. Also way above the Generous Mistake Allison for power-reliability-and most say the Merlin is the best
QUALITY 12 EVER. Packard was the supplier of engines for tanks as well as marine vessels of WW2. They never get the credit they
deserve, and so much of what we use in today's cars can be traced back to them. Sorry for the rant, it is not meant to upset anyone
just to keep history accurate.
R.R.

Thanks, R.R. I was about to make that point that the Merlins in Mustangs were produced by Packard. You beat me to it and were more informative in any case. Good job!

Single stage Merlin engines also powered some Hurricanes, some Spitfires and a bunch of Lancaster bombers. Two stage Packard Merlin engines powered some Spitfires.