The Vincent Black Lightning was the fastest and most desirable motorcycle in the world when it was released in 1948. A factory-delivered Black Lightning was capable of 150 mph if you were brave enough, and no small amount of bravery was required as braking technology hadn’t yet caught up with rapidly increasing horsepower levels. The…
The Airfix Combustion Engine Kit is a model engine powered by batteries that has red lights in the spark plugs to show firing order. It works mechanically just like a real engine, with a crankshaft and cam, conrods and pistons, rocker arms and valves. It’s driven by a small electric motor that requires 3 x…
This short film shows what went into building a car engine back in the 1930s, including casting, forging, machining, assembly, and testing. It’s a remarkable look back at how it was done before the robots took over, the amount of hand work required is impressive – as is the somewhat casual nature of the safety…
This short film was shot in 1987 as part of the British sports television show “Grandstand”, it could very well have been lost to history but fortunately it’s been uploaded from an old VHS tape to YouTube. The clip includes Murray visiting the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello to speak personally with Enzo Ferrari about his…
Walt Siegl is deservedly known as one of the finest custom motorcycle builders in the world, but we’ve always associated him more with Ducatis than any other marque. The Bol d’Or is a step away from Ducati, but not a step away from Italy – it’s a comprehensively modified MV Agusta F3, and it’s no show…
This is an original Concorde attitude display indicator, oftentimes referred to as an artificial horizon. As with many aircraft, the attitude display indicator on the Concorde was positioned front and center for both the captain and co-pilot – directly above the horizontal situation indicator, to the right of the air speed indicator, and to the…
The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge The Tupolev A-3 Aerosledge is an unusual curiosity from the depths of the cold war, the CIA and MI6 doubtless had thick folders on the craft as it was used for collecting both cosmonauts and crashed pilots in the remote areas of Siberia. Alexei Tupolev of the Tupolev Design Bureau originally developed…
The NASA Saturn V Owners’ Workshop Manual is a comprehensive guide to the world’s most famous rocket, best known for its role in sending the Apollo missions, including Apollo 11, to the Moon. Each Saturn V launch cost $185 million in 1960s dollars, that’s over $1.1 billion today, the rocket had a payload to LEO of…
Background: An Inventive Family Marshall and Milton Reeves were American brothers whose inventions made their mark on agriculture, commercial vehicles, and industry. They were Christians known for their humility and when their company became large and successful, they could be found with their sleeves rolled up working on the factory floor alongside their employees. Both…
The Nissan R382 The 1969 Nissan R382 is one of the most impressive Japanese race cars of the 1960s, it’s fitted with a mid-mounted 6 liter V12 capable of touching the 600 hp mark and despite the engine’s complexity, it proved remarkably reliable. Fans of ’60s era Can-Am racing will likely see an immediate resemblance to…
The Fliteboard The Fliteboard is a personal electric hydrofoil, or eFoil, designed to take riders at speeds of up to 40km/h on journeys of up to 25 km/h. As a point of reference, the average speed a wakeboarder travels at is approximately 27 km/h, and a water-skier might travel at speeds of 35-40 km/h, so…
The History of the Pit Stop is an extended interview with one of the greatest Formula 1 engineers in history – Gordon Murray. Pit stops have become a large part of Formula 1, and of motor racing in general, but many of the elements that make up a modern pit stop were developed by Murray…
