O/T, John Dodds Rolls Royce ?

[simon]

Anyone remember this from the seventies?
It was built using a V12, 27litre Rolls Royce Merlin engine with a fiberglass body. He got into some hot water with Rolls about using the silver lady on the radiator if I remember rightly. I think it was supposed to be geared for about 200mph.
HMMMM, now I wonder if I could squeeze that engine into a cobra....}> }>

[pcoghlan]

Not sure if it is the same car but I do remember a real Roller somewhere in south London fitted with a Spitfire engine, the plane not the Triumph!

It was called 'The Beast' and the owner was sued by RR and forced to remove the silver lady mascot. :+

Paul

[STEVE G]

I remember the car well.It used to run at Santa Pod when we raced there.Not really a drag car but great fun.It was based on a VERY modified Ford Capri with a RR grille and yes he was forced to remove the Spirit from the grille by RR.The engine was thesame as a spitfire but I believe actually came from a cheiftan tank.I remember reading the car was totalled in a fire in Germany I think.There was also a car( if you could call it that),that had two spitfire engines in that also used to race there.No fun at Santa Pod anymore only alky car running 5's!!!!!!!
Regards Steve G.

[maxGD059]

There was a programme on TV about the car quite a while back. I recall it because of the amazing tick over of the engine- it was about 120rpm!! Wicked sound

Cheers

Richard
(It'll only be a 5 minute job)

[interestedparty]

I seem to remember that John Dodd ran a company repairing auto transmissions, and the Rolls Royce he ran was fitted with one of his autos. Seeing as the car I remember was a real RR and fitted with a Rolls Royce engine, what grounds could RR have had for wanting the 'Spirit of Ecstacy' mascot removed?

John

[Two greens]

I remember the car well with great envy. Am now intrigued by the Tractor Pulling on Sky Sports. Some of those "tractors" have four Merlins on board!!

Regards
Two Greens

[mikey]

It wasnt just the mascot' it was the radiator grille too. It led to all Rolls owners having to sign an agreement that whilst the car was theirs they can not deface the car etc etc. It also includes that if the car breaks down it is recovered free of charge apoparently. This is so the car is hidden (covered over) on the transporter so people can not identify one that has broken down. Many years ago the father of our chaiman in the young cons bought a new one that broke down within the first 12 months. It was towed away and Rolls Royce fixed it free of charge saying that it was a small electrical problem on the coil, had they been pulling the wiring off for some reason. They didn't realise his dad was an enthusiast that knows about cars. They had changed the engine and even tried to diguise the fact by muckying it up a bit.
What lengths and at what cost.
Just out of interest the Merlin Kit /Rolls Royce problem started when a Porsche driver in Germany had been passed easily at 150 mph on the german Autoban. He had identified the grille and badge and contacted Rolls to find out how to get one. Needless to say Rolls were not amused.
Mike.

[ldtopham]

I remember going to Wheels 199? in Lincolnshire some years ago, some mad bloke had a Reliant Robin AKA 'Throbin Robin' and he too, somehow had squeezed a Merlin engine in that!

Lee

[interestedparty]

I have been involved, in the course of my employment, with two RollsRoyces and a Bentley, and I can assure you that whatever may have been the case in the past, it certainly isn't true now that RR owners can get their broken down car picked up for free by RR. Also, the bit about RR owners signing an agreement as detailed above, it may well be that a person buying a new RR from a dealer might find something in the small print but there is no way a subsequent owner of that car could be held to it.

John