Facts on Friction is a 1934 Chevrolet film about brakes – and although that might not sound quite as exciting as films about engines and transmissions, it’s actually a good watch.
Drum brakes were standard issue for much of the 20th century life of the automobile, and they’re still mass produced now for high-volume, low-cost vehicles, especially in the developing world. This film gives you a good look inside the brake drum at what’s happening, and why everything is put together the way it is.
Ben Branch has had his work featured on CNN, Popular Mechanics, the official Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, 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 millions of readers around the world and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The Pendulux Altimeter Table Clock looks like it was pulled from the cockpit of a military surplus B-17 bomber in the years after WW2, but in reality it’s a brand new clock made from cast aluminium alloy, brass, and glass. With a hefty weight of 1.6 lbs, the Pendulux clock isn’t a lightweight. The team…
The BMW 2002 Turbo was the quickest version of the mighty little 2002, a car named for its engine size of 2000cc and its number of doors – 2. Now before I get a slew of emails from people telling me the engine is actually 1998cc I should tell you that the engine size was…
The Matra Djet V (pronounced “jet”) and it’s forebear, the René Bonnet Djet, have the distinction of being the first full production car with a mid-engined layout, beating both the De Tomaso Vallelunga and the Lamborghini Miura to the punch. Though it should be pointed out that as with any automotive first, there is considerable…
Neon White Rose Gasoline signs could be seen on highways and byways coast to coast in the early to mid-20th century. The White Rose trademark belonged to The National Refining Company located in Cleveland, Ohio. The company had started out refining kerosene which had been widely used for lighting homes before the invention of the…
The Billykirk No. 495 camera strap is made from premium American latigo leather hide. This type of leather is made using a combination tanning method that typically includes chrome tanning before vegetable tanning. The leather is usually infused with oils and waxes resulting in a strong and flexible leather that’s frequently used for horse saddle…
The Lamborghini LM002 must have seemed like a four wheel drive from a parallel universe when it was introduced in 1986. The larger than life SUV was fitted with a modified version of the 5.2 litre V12 from the Lamborghini Countach, and if that wasn’t enough could tick a box to opt for the 7.2…
