For Sale: A 27 Liter Rolls-Royce Merlin V12

This is a 1949 Rolls-Royce Merlin that was most likely built for use in either the TCA Canadair North Star or the BOAC Argonaut, it’s a 724-1C version of the engine that is conservatively rated at 1,660 bhp.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 is undeniably one of the most famous aircraft engines in history, it was developed for use in aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, and Lancaster, but would eventually be used in dozens of different aircraft types.

Above Video: This episode of Jay Leno’s Garage is all about his own personal Merlin V12 engine. His is also fitted to a trailer just like the engine shown in this article, set up for static running as a displace piece.

The Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 is a British engine that was first developed in the early 1930s, benefiting from the line of aero racing engines that had preceded it. The Merlin was originally named the PV-12, though this was changed to Merlin, in line with the Rolls-Royce tradition of naming their aero engines after birds of prey.

The first production versions of the Merlin were produced in 1936, and the first aircraft fitted with the engine were the Fairey Battle, Hawker Hurricane, and of course, the Supermarine Spitfire.

Though the Spitfire is the most famous of the Merlin-engined British aircraft, the majority of Merlin engines went into the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, as each one required four V12s.

The Merlin has a 27 liter (1,650 cubic inch) displacement with an “R.R.50” aluminum alloy crankcase and heads, with a single overhead cam per bank, two valves per cylinder, high-carbon steel liners, and a single-stage supercharger. The supercharger would later be upgraded to a two-stage unit with a two-speed gearbox and an intercooler.

In total, there would be 149,659 Merlin engines made across all variants, it also provided the basis of the Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine, and the Packard V-1650 – the version of the Merlin built in the United States by Packard and used in the North American P-51D Mustang, North American F-82 Twin Mustang, some versions of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, and more.

This Merlin has been completely restored and is now in running condition, fitted to a display trailer. It could also be removed and used in an aircraft once it passed the required inspections.

There are many surviving examples of the Merlin, as well as the Packard V-1650, most are kept alive by the warbird movement – with many WWII-era aircraft being kept in flying condition by museums by specialist engineering companies.

The 1949 Rolls-Royce Merlin Mark 724-1C Shown Here

The engine you see here is a Rolls-Royce Merlin Mark 724-1C that was built at the Hillingdon factory near Glasgow in 1949. It was bought in 2017 as a museum display piece – it had come from a company called Flying Enterprise owned by a Danish millionaire.

Flight Engineering of Leeds, England, rebuilt the engine over two year period. This was a complete nut and bolt restoration, returning the engine to full running condition.

The engine had originally been covered with an inhibiter (a grease like fluid), this prevented corrosion and preserved it for nearly 50 years in as-new condition. As a result, it was essentially a factory-fresh engine that just happened to be 75+ years old.

This is the control panel that allows the engine to be static run on the trailer.

It is now mounted to a Brian James-built trailer which has been adapted with a control panel that allows the engine to be run as a static display, with its cropped Hamilton propeller up front.

The engine is now being offered for sale with a “suitcase” full of manuals from Rolls-Royce Derby, information from Flight Engineering, starting and running instructions, and a Haynes manual. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Iconic Auctioneers