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 -
Grover & Friends Box
Grover is an LA based clothing label that focusses on unique, interesting attire specifically designed for Californian summers. All of their gear is handmade in Los Angeles and up until now, it’s only been available for sale through LA boutiques.
1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider by Pinin Farina
This is an all-original 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pinin Farina, only 14 of them were ever made with a further 16 being made by competing coachbuilder Scaglietti. The Mondial 500 was named after Alberto Ascari’s Formula 2 car that had dominated the previous years championship – winning 6 of the 8 races in 1953.
The Book Of Answers (With A Hidden Hip Flask)
There are many great reasons for keeping an illicit stash of grandpa’s cough medicine around the house, though being married is probably the most obvious. This book, titled “The Book Of Answers” contains a 6oz stainless steel flask and has a magnetic backing, so the flask remains firmly in place.
Mercedes-Benz Unimog
The modern Mercedes-Benz Unimog is a verifiable beast, many don’t know that it’s still in production largely due to the fact that Mercedes almost exclusively sells them to either Paris-Dakar teams or emergency services agencies.
Dainese M6 Two Piece Race Suit
The Dainese M6 Two-Piece Race Suit is a piece of gear that serves two purposes, the upper jacket portion of the suit can be worn separately as a standard motorcycle jacket – then on days when you’re going to visit the local circuit you can zip-in the leather pants and ride with a full-body protective suit.
USAF Posters by Nicholas Anderson
These fantastic art deco Air Force posters are the brain child of Nicholas Anderson – a serving USAF officer and a very talented digital artist. Nick sells them for $20 – $25 a pop and then donates $5 of the proceeds to his squadron’s Booster Club.
2013 Mojave Brooklands Jacket by Belstaff
This is the new, updated Mojave Brooklands Jacket by Belstaff for 2013. It’s been reworked and slightly redesigned to make it waterproof, it also now includes advanced, removable D3O armour in the shoulders and elbows with a pocket for a back protector (available separately).
1953 Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder by Fantuzzi
This is a 1953 Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder by Fantuzzi – just 52 of them were built in 1953 by Maserati with the sole aim of challenging the likes of Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz on some of the most iconic race tracks in Europe and around the world.
Norton Manx Cutaway
The Norton Manx is deservedly remembered as one of the most iconic motorcycles of all time, it was built from 1947 until 1962 however even today in 2013 – you can still buy a brand new Featherbed-frame and build your own.
1974 Indianapolis 500 – Full Race
The 1974 Indianapolis 500 was mentioned here on Silodrome last week, when we featured the car that would go on to win the race – the McLaren M16C.
The Pistone-Pedali Motorised Bicycle
I have a huge soft spot for motorised bicycles like this one – dubbed the “Pistone-Pedali” by its creator Chris Rindos. When motorcycles first appeared they looked far more like this than anything we’d consider a motorcycle in the modern day – in fact the first motorcycles were just bicycles with engines attached, much like the hand-built, 49cc machine you see here.
3-Stone Knife Sharpening Set
This 3-Stone Knife Sharpening Set from Orvis includes 3 stones each cut from natural rock, they’re mounted in a natural cedar stand and the kit comes with knife sharpening oil as well as a full set of instructions.