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It's a real shame that Richard went "all in" to the point he burned out and doesn't even want to even sell the paperwork. I assume his original plan was to make and sell the engine. It may not be as glamourous, but there is money for him to make by selling the paperwork for very little...

Yeah, I hear ya'. I'm only able to post every 9 months or so on the Merlin, and the Stearman is definitely "off topic". I only mention the Stearman to explain my slow progress on the Merlin. Once I am able to work enough to post regularly, I will start my Merlin's own thread. It deserves...

It's been a while, as the Stearman project is taking most of my free time, but after 2 years of working here and there, I have managed to measure and digitize all of the Merlin castings. I am now working on machining and building the engine in virtual space. The beauty of this is that any...

Hey Jos, The Stearman wings and tail are even worse! They are put up in storage. Since I am working out of a 2 car garage and can only work on one part at a time. Here is a picture of how the plane came to rest...pretty much says it all!?! Back to the Merlin, The relatively new "AirCorp...

Here's the Stearman. A before and after on the frame. Long way to go...

That's why the digitizing has been going so slow. As you say, each screw boss is off a bit...I have been taking the time to mic each difference as I digitize the castings into Inventor. The flip side is that, as you note, Terry, my programming likely will not work on any other set of castings...

Yes, I have the proper thread mills all purchased and ready to go. The biggest issue I foresee is the tiny drill bits gumming up with the aluminum. I'll have to find the proper mix of speeds, feeds, and lubricant.

I am restoring a full-size, wrecked 1940 Stearman, which is taking most of my time. I am still working on programming the castings into Inventor during odd times. Once I am ready to start, this project should go a lot faster than previous endeavors with these castings, using CNC and...

Well, I have spent the last couple weeks collecting manuals on the Merlin. Also studied the Ramm videos of his engine running in Australia. He does not document the build at all, but it is obvious he worked out the cooling issues. I have owned several V12 Jags...and honestly the cooling is...

Wellseal is the magic goo developed by RR to keep the Merlin heads sealed.

What kills me the most is that the US offered surplus P-51's for $100 a piece in 1946. After the Korean war they re-offered them for $500. Imagine the investment if you tucked a hand full of those in your back yard!

Of the engine castings or the guys days in postwar England?

I finally got the heads and cylinder blocks. I can see right away that the cylinder spacing is going to be an issue due to differences in the casting shrinkage between the crankcase, cylinder block and heads. The documentation is not what I am used to in technical drawings. I am afraid...

Well, got the castings. They came with valves, keepers, springs, seats, and rockers. They did not come with the rear gearbox or supercharger. I have a couple projects to finish up, and then I'll get serious about looking the Merlin over and come up with a game plan. This build will be...

I realize this is an old thread...but... I just bought a set of the basic engine castings from an estate sale. It appears to have the castings for the basic engine, groups 1 through 4. I wondered if anyone has a line on the castings listed in groups 5 through 9 that hey would be willing to...