REBUILDING THE POWER
OF HISTORY.

 Welcome to the world’s leading shop for building the engines that won World War II.

Vintage V12’s specializes in building Merlin, Griffon and Allison engines for restoration and racing.

LEARN WHAT WE DO AND
WHY WE DO IT.

P-51D Ferocious Frankie
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Strega/Mustang Air Racer
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Our History

Vintage V12’s has been putting the heart back into World War II fighters since 1981. Current owner, Jose Flores, started working in the shop at age 16 and always had a love of these mechanical works of art, plus a passion for restoring and racing Merlin, Griffon and Allison powered airplanes.

Today, Vintage V12’s is the world’s leading team of engineers and mechanics breathing life into these planes that saved and changed the world. From complete restorations for museums, airshows and private collections, to championship winning planes at the Reno Air Races, Vintage V12’s offer unparalleled craftsmanship, performance and safety in every engine that goes back into these amazing planes.

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Removing cam stands from Allison heads

WHAT WE DO

Our goal is to restore our customer's engines to meet or exceed the same level of performance, durability and reliability as the original engine.
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Restoration

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Racing / Performance

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Parts

View Services

Our Process

Restoring a vintage aircraft engine involves a number of important steps to ensure it will meet the original manufacturer performance specifications.

Major steps involved in the process are: disassembly, cleaning, inspection, check fits/tolerances, reassembly and final testing. The following information provides an overview of our engine restoration process.
Jose Flores

1. Customer Consultation

We’re ready to talk about your V12 project

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2. Disassembly

Lifting head off the block

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3. Cleaning

Blasting Allison head preparing for inspection

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4. INSPECTION

Visual inspection on heads

Steve Fits and tolerances

5. CHECK FITS/TOLERANCES

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6. MAGNAFLUX/NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

Performing final clean up before NDT inspection

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7. SUB-ASSEMBLIES

Final boost control rigging on Griffon engine

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8. MAJOR ASSEMBLIES

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9. ENGINE TEST RUN

Engine test running for five hours including power runs

SEE MORE OF OUR PROCESSES IN ACTION

Meet The Team

We credit our many years of success to our high standards, customer satisfaction, and our highly skilled and experienced team of technicians.
Owner/President - 34 years

Jose Flores

Building engines from start to finish and performing engine inspections worldwide.
Mechanic - 30 Years

Steven Valenzuela

Builds cranks, nosecases, wheel cases, magnetos, engine build-ups, and final run ups with 25-hour inspections in the field.
MECHANIC - 14 YEARS

Jonathan Garcia

Experience with teardown, rebuilds of H&B’s, aftercoolers, manifolds, valve adjustments, and preparing engines for testing.
Mechanic - 18 Years

Matt Grantham

Builds H&B’s, cam racks, aftercoolers, ignition harnesses, machining, electrical systems, and final inspections.
CONSULTANT/MACHINIST - 17 YEARS

Bruce Lockwood

Experience with repairing heads, cracks on combustion chambers and replacing valve seats.
MECHANIC - 26 YEARS

Adrian Gonzalez

Experience with teardown, cleaning, inspection of all engine parts and components.
MECHANIC - 13 YEARS

YUICHI SATO

Experience on Inspections, repair and testing of magnetos and starters plus crank assembly, oil pans and bottom end build-ups.
MECHANIC - 4 YEARS

HECTOR RIOS

Inspection, masking and painting of all engine components.
MECHANIC - 22 YEARS

Filomeno Espinoza

Experience with teardown, cleaning of all engine components.
CONSULTANT AND TREASURER - 28 YEARS

DEANNA LEMEN

MECHANIC - 30 YEARS

JUAN DORADOR

Experience working on various processes, including rebuilding, superchargers, reduction gears, oil pans, wheelcases, H&B installations, final build-up, engine test runs and inspections.
MECHANIC - 15 YEARS

MANUEL DE SANTIAGO FLORES

Works with engine tear-downs, cleaning and warehouse parts.
MECHANIC - 4 YEARS

JASSON FLORES FRIAS

Engine tear-downs and assists with H&B assembly, Magnaflux, shipping and parts departments.
ASSISTANT OFFICE MANAGER - 8 YEARS

RIKI SCHULER

Completes data entry, filing and reports.
OFFICE MANAGER - 3 YEARS

SHANELL NICHOLS

Office manager in charge of everyday performance of Vintage V12’s. In other words… she’s the boss.
16 YEARS

Alejandro Adame

Experience on engine teardowns, engine testing, rebuilding accessories, coolant pumps, oil pumps, shift solenoid, and engine final assembly.
18 YEARS

Luis Adame

In charge of the painting department, including visual and Ziglow inspection of all aluminum casting and components.

LET'S DO THIS!

If you’re in need of Merlin, Allison and Griffon engine rebuilds and parts, please contact us and we’ll be happy to assist you through the process.