https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http...kv6W3PaQM2vB113kCaDWOJUZxECs295vKuPDJ0JgXpYrg If you don't think the two are related, read this. Lots of parts swapping, body mods and overcoming adversity. And now I need a Merlin rocker arm cover to go on my wall, dang it! Good article OK video (too short, not enough Merlin swoosh). Hope the link works.
You want a Maytag cam cover for a Merlin... which will confuse everyone. And a very good interview with Steve-O by the way...
There's a P-51 hangared at a small airport about a mile from my house. The owner flies it occasionally and it is of course a thing of beauty. It flew over my business one Saturday a few years back when I had a teenager working for me and I tried without succeeding to tell this kid how historically significant this aircraft was. He had no clue about WWII and didn't seem to be getting what I was telling him until I told him that the P-51 was one of several reasons why we don't speak German in the USA. That's when he said, "so we won that war?" I didn't know what to say after that. By the way, the owner of the Mustang told me that it costs him $3000 per hour to fly it.
The sound of those old War Birds is so exciting and intimidating to hear. I can't imagine the fear the enemy felt when they heard them coming for them.
Shoulda smacked that kid in the back of his head...... P51s, b24s, b29s,etc,.etc.....all of them are awesome!
I live near 1 mile from a field with the occasional 'bird. One Sunday morning, a nice, fine morning, a fella (I'll lay money on that) hauled out full throttle, low & oh so fast, in a P51. Didn't turn, just flat out north. Awesome. Also seen the occasional Spit & a Boomerang, T6's more often. Also a P38, dunno that it was airworthy though.
I met one of the Tuskegee airmen at Cobo Hall at Autorama. He offered to take me up in his P51. 89 years old and still flying and, ya know, I’d have felt safe with him... What an honor. I regret not getting a picture with him. As far as War plains and hot rods relationship... P38 belly tanker... If people here don’t know the connection, they need to get educated... ( he said with a grin.)
There are a few that fly over us here. Rarely are they at WFO, but when they are it rocks you to your core. I can't imagine being on the opposing end of it.
It could be argued--soundly--that engine development post war and the the high compression powerhouses to follow were a direct result of wartime advances, and birthed from such engines as the Allison. Thinks Olds Rocket, OHV Caddy etc.
In Our Thoughts There was a story that went with this Hotrod that I thought fit the bill...that was back in the day after the war an airman came back and bought an old car and make a Hotrod out of it. It no doubt would have had a flathead back then but transitioned here and there to today. The riveted aluminum theme remains as it was done and here she sits in the shadows of a Memorial Vintage Harvard AC like an old friend. Have a great weekend all and... Thank You to all those who are serving, have served and those that served and never came back. Lest We Forget
Perhaps, but the Allison, designed around 1929, was a SOHC four valve with a pentroof combustion chamber. Very advanced for the time and not seen in production cars/bikes until the 1980's.. The early GM OHV engines were a Kettering wedge combustion chamber...The Air cooled radial aircraft engines used two valve hemi chamber developed over many years and used by motorcycles since the 1920's....
The much modified P-51 'Voodoo' (recently broke the world piston engine speed record) makes a fab noise at full chat.....see short vid clip below from out in the desert at Reno
Well that just made my heart skip a beat. I drag race. A few years ago while sitting in my trailer at the drags a P-51 buzzed the strip. The announcer announced that Jack Roush was flying home from a NASCAR race in Bristol in it. Moments later as I sat in my trailer with the rear ramp door open he flew directly over me (I swear I could have touched him with a broom), climbed into a slow roll and headed on toward Willow Run airport, where he keeps it hangered. Awesome
I'm fortunate in that I get to maintain 15 fliers, from an O-1 to a P-51 to a Skyraider with a bunch of other stuff in between. Best part is doing the run-ups on the ground... just have to remember the hearing protection.
I am not a big fan of ‘theme’ hot rods except for the older 1960’s era rods and customs so when I create a design for my drawings, I try to ‘keep it old skhool’. The war planes had a huge impact on the auto industry as a whole and was nearly the birth place of the cars we all love here, as most on the forum are fully aware. So, I did a couple sketches, a while back, with tradition in mind: This one was inspired by the P-40 as an experimental lakes speedster using a fuselage as opposed to a belly tank...just a “what of?”
Thats how thrilling it was for me riding jump seat behind the pilot, 20 ft. off the ocean at Malibu, Ca. 2 years ago!
The warbird theme thing was neat at first then it kinda got crazy, guys going way overboard. A couple of the name shops built cars for a few guys with a lot of disposable income and took cars that could have been real cool and screwed every conceivable airplane part on them, or at least the interiors, some people don't know when to quit. On the other hand the car that 3W Larry built was very restrained and tasteful.
If you like hearing these old girls at full gallop make an effort to go to the Reno Air Races, fastest motor sport on the planet. Guaranteed not to disappoint and be sure to get a pit pass.
Might as well mention that the P-51 came of age as the ultimate long distance fighter that could more than hold it's own against anything the bad guys had after an engine swap. Because of technical politics in the USAAC, Allison V-12s were only available [at that time] with low boost superchargers. The 60 Series Merlin had a great 2 stage 2 speed supercharger and was in production. R-R pulled off an engine swap on a P-51A and the slaughter of B-17 and B-24s over Germany was over. Goering later said the day he saw P-51s over Berlin he knew his fat azz was cooked. Some people claimed the Merlin was a better engine than the Allison, but that's bullshit. It was all about the supercharger [no room in a P-51 for a turbo.] Both are great engines.
Exactly...Although Allison was owned by GM, it was a very small company with 1/10 the engineering staff of Rolls Royce. And the Merlin dual stage supercharger and intercooler designed by Hooker was an excellent piece... In the US, the military set standards for aircraft engine designs that were often unreasonable for the technology of the times.
I live just to the east of Tinker AFB in Oklahoma city. This last year during the annual airshow a P-51 and an F-15 flew directly over our home in formation. Pretty damn cool
Besides "looks" there is just SO much tech / craftsmanship that has transfered over from aviation to autos it would be silly to try to list them all. From metal working, light weight materials, special fabrication techniques, fasteners, plumbing, aerodynamics, high hp engines, forced air induction, high speed tires, electronics, etc.. That's what all those WWII vets used on the strip / flats to set record after record. Having bomber seats and tiger shark graphics on your rod is the least of it. Gary
The Jalopy Journal
