3000 Horsepower V12 '55 Chevy

[mustang84]

One word description: insanity.

[Sixty8panther]

Hahahah.... I mentioned this one in a TXT to a buddy the

other day about "if I won the lottery" hot rod projects.

[A Horse With No Name]

Sweet! Loved the fabrication work.

Makes me miss my 55 chev, though.

Chris

[balthazar]

I have no idea what "Evo" is, so I don't know if this is the same vehicle, but a 'chap' in England built a Merlin-engined custom car in the late '70s- the vehicle was completely scratch built and bore an uncanny resemblence to the Pinin-Farina Modulo (crossed with El Camino proportions), if anyone remembers that design.

There have been numerous V-12 aircraft-engined cars over the years. This drag car ran low 9s at 160+ in the mid '60s with a 1710 CI Allison V-12.

Edited October 28, 2008 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

I have no idea what "Evo" is, so I don't know if this is the same vehicle, but a 'chap' in England built a Merlin-engined custom car in the late '70s- the vehicle was completely scratch built and bore an uncanny resemblence to the Pinin-Farina Modulo (crossed with El Camino proportions), if anyone remembers that design.

There have been numerous V-12 aircraft-engined cars over the years. This drag car ran low 9s at 160+ in the mid '60s with a 1710 CI Allison V-12.

Evo is one of the top UK car magazines, along with Top Gear and Car. Here's a link to a video on 'The Beast'...sounds very strange, like a squeaking railway car...interesting stuff. Haven't found much in the way of details, except maybe the front end....long hood, kind of a beige shooting brake body style. 27 litres!

I found this on Wikipedia, a bit of info on 'The Beast' and another car:

"Michael Wilcock of Sussex, England built the Swandean Spitfire Special[1], using a Merlin XXV engined acquired from a a scrap yard for one hundred and forty pounds. The engine was installed in a home-brewed chassis confected from two Daimler Dingo scout car chassis. The car was run in the Brighton Speed Trials[2] in 1953, and was sold to James Duffy of St. Louis, Missouri in 1956. As of 2005, the vehicle is still in St. Louis, where it is undergoing restoration.

In the 1960s, Paul Jameson put a Merlin engine into a chassis he had built himself.[citation needed] He did not get around to building a body, and sold the car to Epsom automatic transmission specialist John Dodd, who fitted a fibreglass body based on the shape of the Ford Capri and named the machine "The Beast".[3][dead link] The Beast was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most powerful road car.[citation needed] The engine came from a Boulton Paul Balliol training aircraft.[citation needed] The car used a General Motors TH400 automatic transmission"

Edited October 28, 2008 by moltar

[Sixty8panther]

wow... that's hotter than a milf in short-shorts.

Love the "Big Al" nickname forthe car. Talk about a RADICAL chop.

Must'ev used a camera to see outta the damn thing. :wink:

[Sixty8panther]

Wow. Does Jay Leno know of this car's existence!?

Now THAT is a d!ck extension!!!!

Edited October 28, 2008 by Sixty8panther

[balthazar]

Ahh; "The Thrill of Driving EMO" - got it.

That 'family truckster' in the video looks as POS-y as it sounds, and it sounds like a 40-yr old dryer with 2 pairs of sneakers on 'tumble'. Are those 6 trans Am fender vents? Wow.

Not sure what it is with these UK guys- they're doing a completely off-the-charts project, yet they start with a very ugly British car and just make more of it. The earlier 'Beast' :

The car I was referring to was built by Paul Jameson and was a 6-wheeler (dual axles to the rear). I searched for it via google but apparently there's no pics online.... so from the Balthazar Archives I bring you :

Smaller pic looks like a model, perhaps no body was actually built...

[balthazar]

Same guy who built the drag '34 Ford above built the 'Quad Al'.

You think 27 liters of Packard/ Merlin is impressive (BTW- an Alison V-12 is 28 liters)- try 112 liters :

Here's a build pic of the Merlin in the '55 Chevy:

Engine alone supposedly weighs 2000 lbs.

Edited October 28, 2008 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

I have no idea what "Evo" is, so I don't know if this is the same vehicle, but a 'chap' in England built a Merlin-engined custom car in the late '70s- the vehicle was completely scratch built and bore an uncanny resemblence to the Pinin-Farina Modulo (crossed with El Camino proportions), if anyone remembers that design.

There have been numerous V-12 aircraft-engined cars over the years. This drag car ran low 9s at 160+ in the mid '60s with a 1710 CI Allison V-12.

Thanks for posting the pic, 'balt.

Chris