Griffon 58

[Tinbasherdan]

No, it’s not a spelling mistake, it is griffon- specifically a rolls Royce griffon 58 out of a Shackleton bomber. I meant to post this the other week but forgot…..

Since the untimely demise of the merlin (which incidentally is currently in bits and prepped for rebuild) we borrowed an engine for the next show in the season. As I’m terrible at photos, you get what you get here, but it was a vintage fly-in at breighton aerodrome near selby.

The engine in question is this old girl, swinging 9 foot contra rotators and producing one hell of a prop wash. Being used to the merlin with a test club on and half asleep, this key piece of information escaped me on the first run of the day, and I lost my ear defenders, my glasses and very nearly my shirt down the runway!

And here’s yours truly being awarded the broken con rod from the merlin…..

The engine behind me is an Alvis Leonides- ex sea prince. Basically the same as the engine I’m building for myself and my dad, ours is a provost engine. Oddly enough, mine has the prop this engine should have, a dehavilland hydromatic, and this one is wearing a rotol provost prop

 

[Domdom]

Yep, my Dad was a mechanic on those and Shackleton in general when he was in the RAF. Shackletons had contra rotating props And I suspect if you ran that up as propp’ed in the top pic the trailer would need to be concreted in first Small wonder it didn’t blow your skin clean off.
I recall Dad saying about them staying in service (modified) until the late 80’s. Trying to find the pics of him working on one, eluding me for now.
Brings back some memories. Thanks for posting.

 

[frank horton]

so nice....almost as good as sex.....lol......always wanted a radial for home use but just to expensive now....or to big......

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Yep, my Dad was a mechanic on those and Shackleton in general when he was in the RAF. Shackletons had contra rotating props And I suspect if you ran that up as propp’ed in the top pic the trailer would need to be concreted in first Small wonder it didn’t blow your skin clean off.
I recall Dad saying about them staying in service (modified) until the late 80’s. Trying to find the pics of him working on one, eluding me for now.
Brings back some memories. Thanks for posting.

To be fair we hitched it to the car too, and it just started taking it apart. Fuel filler cover went for a burton, as did the rear bumper infill!

 

[Tinbasherdan]

The shirt I’m wearing there I got out in the states while doing some work for a guy that flew a mustang with a griffon 58 in……..

 

[Melvyn Best]

Are Merlin con rods a weak point? The reason I ask is because a few years ago a customer who worked at Duxford IWM came into the garage I worked at with one on a trailer thahad running problems that turned out to be a broken con rod

 

[Wozzaaah]

No, it’s not a spelling mistake, it is griffon- specifically a rolls Royce griffon 58 out of a Shackleton bomber. I meant to post this the other week but forgot…..

Since the untimely demise of the merlin (which incidentally is currently in bits and prepped for rebuild) we borrowed an engine for the next show in the season. As I’m terrible at photos, you get what you get here, but it was a vintage fly-in at breighton aerodrome near selby.

The engine in question is this old girl, swinging 9 foot contra rotators and producing one hell of a prop wash. Being used to the merlin with a test club on and half asleep, this key piece of information escaped me on the first run of the day, and I lost my ear defenders, my glasses and very nearly my shirt down the runway!

View attachment 357691View attachment 357692

And here’s yours truly being awarded the broken con rod from the merlin…..

View attachment 357693
The engine behind me is an Alvis Leonides- ex sea prince. Basically the same as the engine I’m building for myself and my dad, ours is a provost engine. Oddly enough, mine has the prop this engine should have, a dehavilland hydromatic, and this one is wearing a rotol provost prop

Ha, you look absolutely nothing like I thought!
It's really funny when you have a mental picture of someone based on nothing. Nowhere on here do I ever think you (or anyone else) has ever described what you look like.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Are Merlin con rods a weak point? The reason I ask is because a few years ago a customer who worked at Duxford IWM came into the garage I worked at with one on a trailer thahad running problems that turned out to be a broken con rod

May have been Peter the last time it threw a rod! I’ll have to ask him. Not normally an overly weak point unless over revved, I think this was a case of “just one more season” getting in the way of overhaul. She was past due being overhauled and was going under the knife this winter all being well. Unfortunately she couldn’t hang on any longer

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Ha, you look absolutely nothing like I thought!
It's really funny when you have a mental picture of someone based on nothing. Nowhere on here do I ever think you (or anyone else) has ever described what you look like.

Everyone seems to think I’m in my 40s usually

 

[Wozzaaah]

Everyone seems to think I’m in my 40s usually

That young?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Cheeky git, I’m a sprightly 33

 

[cardiffrob]

Cripes. I had you pegged for nearly 50!

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Cripes. I had you pegged for nearly 50!

And just like that, no longer invited round for tea

 

[Domdom]

To be fair we hitched it to the car too, and it just started taking it apart. Fuel filler cover went for a burton, as did the rear bumper infill!

I’m surprised it didn’t blow the glass out in fairness.

I remembered something Dad told me, fairly sure it was about the Shack, first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe without refuelling.

Oh, and when the Griffon was installed in the Shackleton, when changing the plugs, if you dropped one down into the cowling it was 5 hours work to get the cowling off to retrieve it. It was (allegedly) responsible for the invention of new swear words

 

[brightspark]

Cheeky git, I’m a sprightly 33

hard paper round then

 

[Tinbasherdan]

hard paper round then

Went via Beirut

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Tinbasherdan
What is the engine Guy Martin owns? Do you know?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

@Tinbasherdan
What is the engine Guy Martin owns? Do you know?

It’s not, our company built that engine for him

Edit, read your question wrong! His is an ex Lancaster merlin 224, a Packard build merlin 24

 

[Farside]

Packard build merlin 24

Properly fitting bits, then.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Properly fitting bits, then.

Finish on some castings is nicer but all in all no better or worse that a rolls built engine