Well, here's the deal. Hadfields Chev used a 1,649 cubic inch Merlin [27 litre] & was built like a tank inside to support the weight. It had seating for two people & looked, well, odd.

While out driving in my thrifty Datsun 1200 the other day, I came across a car that really impressed.
It was built a little over 25 years ago using the remains of a French made 1908 MaB car & an engine that the owner found in Philidelphia. It is a 1918 Liberty V12 aircraft engine & it too displaces 1,649 cubic inches [27 litres] & it uses a 5" bore [127mm] & a 7" stroke [178mm]
If I was to install one of these in a 1200 ute, I would probably need to drive it from the tailgate.

He has driven it from Darwin to the ACT at the time of the Bi Centanary [1988] It's on club registration & can still be seen from time to time on the streets of the village where it lives when out for a road test after repairs or servicing.
It has been to New Zealand for a little drive around there too.
The original engine was a four cylinder of about four litre capacity & it still uses the original chassis, axles, gearbox & diff.

It might be old, but it's a much cleaner instalation than the massive job that went into the Chev/ Merlin car & has a lot more road miles on it to boot. Performance is awesome with a claimed torque output of 1,000 lbs/ft & the engine is at max revs when the tach hits a little over 2,000 rpm. That's good enough for about 100 mph [160kph]
Fuel consumption in economy-cruise mode is about 9 MPG [31.3 L/100k]

With consumption like that, I looked at my 1200 coupe & found a new respect for it's legendary economy, then got in & motored home secure in the knowledge that Datsuns need only a small engine to provide all the performance I need.


Does anyone know of any bigger transplants than these.