WIX Archives

Engineering question (DB engines)

Posted by Rob Mears on Fri Apr 25, 2003 01:47:44 PM

In light of the growing potential of multiple WWII Axis fighter & bomber restorations to flying condition (even replicas), I'm becoming more and more focused on the one factor that's keeping this from becoming a reality - the engines!

With millions upon millions of dollars worth of potential investment quality restorations sitting stagnant in storage lots around the world, what exactly would it take to reverse engineer, and tool up for a production run of DB601/605 engines? At $250,000 for what amounts to little more than a inoperable core, and at least that much more for a proper overhaul, surely there's a profit making possibility for someone who wanted to take on the challenge of tooling up for a new production run. This one feat would open up an entirely new dimension of warbird activity. There's a huge list of German, Japanese, and Italian warbirds that would finally become viable projects.

I'm thinking BMW, GM, or any of the other mass producers of inline reciprocating engines could accommodate the production of these if they stood a chance of making a decent profit, though it would probably be more feasible for a middle-market producer of custom powerplants.

So what's everyone's take on this? Any engineers out there that these engines could be produced for a unit cost equal to that of a Merlin?

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