The NHRA or National Hot Rod Association was founded by Wally Parks in 1951, he wanted to get drag racing off the streets and onto safer, professional level tracks and in doing so he doubtless saved a lot of young men’s lives throughout the 50’s and 60’s.
This great 10:00 minute film covers the first ever national scale NHRA drag racing event in 1955, it’s Super-8 footage so sadly there’s no audio but it’s still well worth a watch.
Some of the cars featured are so unique that I was a a little frustrated that so little information is available on them, it seems that quite a strong cottage-industry had built up around drag racing and hand-built, one-off cars were a fairly common sight at the strip.
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.
This trike is a combination of two of America’s great early workhorses – the Harley-Davidson Servi-Car and the Model T Ford. It was built by Sanders Antique Auto Restoration in Rockford, Illinois using an original 1947 Harley-Davidson Servi-Car and a Model T Ford pick bed which was shortened and sectioned to fit the chassis. The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car…
Dropping a 6.2 liter Corvette LS3 V8 into a Range Rover Classic may seem like sacrilege to some, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The original Rover Rover was powered by a Rover V8, which itself was based on a 215 cubic inch alloy Buick V8. Buick and Chevrolet are both General Motors…
Introduction This is almost certainly the most detailed project we’ve ever featured on Silodrome. It includes a functioning pulse-jet powered scooter, accompanied by synthetic historic images, multiple handmade period-correct toys and kits, hand-painted posters, magazine ads, and an insignia chart – all made bespoke by Randy Regier to create the illusion that a jet-powered scooter, officially…
The Racing Scene is a 1969 film presented by James Garner, interestingly it’s a personal favorite of Quentin Tarantino who showcased it at the New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles alongside the Steve McQueen classic Le Mans. The film covers a wide array of different racing series and formats including sports car racing at the…
The Jack Brabham Trophy Race was held at Brands Hatch in 1971, identical cars were piloted by the Formula 1 paddock’s team bosses, and there would be absolutely no love lost in the competitive battle around the British circuit. The bosses that lined up on the start grid were Frank Williams, Jack Brabham, Colin Chapman,…
The Flint and Tinder 10-Year Hoodie was designed to be the single most American piece of clothing in your closet – it’s made from cotton from the Mississippi Delta, 23 oz extra soft fleece from South Carolina, twill-reinforced seams made in Philadelphia, with heavy-duty zippers machined in Georgia, it’s then cut, sewn, and finished by…
