Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more. Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Ben Branch -
1976 Porsche 934/5 IMSA “El Salvador”
This 1976 Porsche 934/5 IMSA Racer, dubbed “El Salvador”, is a former world championship winning racer that’s seen action right around the world. Its first ever race outing was at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1976 where it took an impressive 2nd place (in class) in the capable hands of the Gelo Racing team headed by Georg Loos.
1982 Indianapolis 500 – Full Race
The 1982 Indianapolis 500 was unique for a number of reasons, it was the first year that ground-effect cars were to race around the infamous circuit, the 1st and 2nd place finishers were separated by just 0.16 seconds, which was the closest finish in Indy 500 history up until this point.
Carroll Shelby Engine Co. Tee
This classic Carroll Shelby tee by Wicked Quick is 100% designed and made in the USA, each one is printed on US Slub Cotton (that’s a lightweight, summer friendly type of cotton). The logo design is reminiscent of late 19th century graphic design, which we love, and the light colours and materials make it a perfect Saturday t-shirt for the summer months.
Iron & Resin x Vanson Riding Gloves
Vanson Leathers and Iron & Resin are two companies with a lot in common. They’re both American through and through, they both spend a lot of time working with leather and they both do everything by hand, in the USA.
1970 Hemi Cuda
The Plymouth Barracuda, often just referred to as the “Cuda” or in this case, the Hemi Cuda, is a muscle car that was built by Plymouth between 1964 and 1974.
1958 Porsche-Diesel Junior 108S
The tractor you see pictured here is a fantastic example of the Porsche-Diesel Junior 108S Vineyard Tractor, it was built between 1952 and 1963 and was quite popular with wineries across Europe.
Bard Find: 1972 Lancia Stratos Stradale
We decided to feature this 1972 Lancia Stratos Stradale today despite the fact that we just featured a Stratos last week. I sincerely doubt that any of you will complain about being inundated with a car that re-wrote the rule book for international rally competition and looked utterly spellbinding whilst doing it.
nanoSTRIKER™
The nanoSTRIKER™ is a keychain sized fire starter designed to be carried every day without getting in your way. It contains a ferrocerium rod and a tungsten carbide insert to create a shower of sparks each time it’s scraped.
1951 Vincent Rapide
The Vincent Rapide is widely remembered as one of the first truly modern motorcycles, it used foot controls for gear changes, it had cantilever rear suspension, it used the engine as a stressed frame member and a 4-speed transmission.
1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale by Bertone
The Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, commonly referred to as the “Stratos”, is quite easily one of the most iconic motor cars of the 1970s – This is no mean feat when you consider she sheer number of incredible cars that rolled out of automobile factories around the world during the decade of disco.
The Decoson by Randy Grubb
Randy Grubb is almost certainly the best aluminium fabricator you’ll find anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, his work with 4, 3 and 2 wheeled vehicles using the bauxite based metal is legendary and after taking a look at his newest creation, I can’t help but think of him as a bit of an artist.
Joby Gorillatorch
Although this is perhaps not the most handsome gadget we’ve ever featured, it is possibly the most useful. With its magnetic, twisting legs and powerful LED flashlight, the Joby Gorillatorch is exactly the sort of thing you want when rolling around in the filth under your sump looking for that damned washer you just dropped.