500mph Failure: The Incredible Wingfoot Express 2 and A History of Rocket Cars 1928-1965
This is the story of Walter Arfons' incredible Wingfoot Express 2 rocket land speed car. It's also a history of some pretty incredible rocket powered cars from the 1920s through the 1960s. Machines that raced on dirt tracks, performed at fairs, and even ran at the Indianapolis 500.
The story of the creation of the Wingfoot Express 2 is one of perseverance, dedication, mechanical skill, and pure guts. It was a giant rolling science experiment designed to not only break the world's land speed record, but also break the sound barrier.
To say that this thing was a glorious failure would be an amazing understatement. Imagine building the first ever JATO rocket powered land speed car from scratch at your home shop, having it break 500mph on the salt flats and still being labeled a failure?
Rough, but we're here to tell you why.
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Coventry Climax: The Forklift Company That Dominated F1 - A History
This is the story of a company that is one of the most incredible in auto racing history. An operation known for making small engines for fire pumps, for manufacturing forklifts, and for creating marine diesel engines would become the most dominating F1 engine builder of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
How did this happen? Why did this happen? Who MADE this happen?
All those questions are answered here. You'll learn about the genesis of the company's racing program, the successful projects, the failed projects, the triumphs, and the brilliance of the people behind them all. Many people think Coventry Climax was an engine. In fact it was many engines and much, much success.
A British company that was driven by passion, sometimes hidden passion, came to dominated the likes of Ferrari and all the others at their peak. This is truly a tale for the gearhead ages.
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Fastest Car In The World: The 1906 Stanley Steamer Rocket - A Canoe Bodied Record Smasher
This is the story of the fastest car in the world in 1906. The first car to exceed 120mph and a machine that destroyed the most decorated field of automotive competition ever assembled to that point in history...and it ran on steam.
The accomplishments of this short lived racing marvel are huge in the history of the automobile. The speed record it set stood as the outright automotive land speed record for four years. I
t held the steam powered speed record for 103 years. Yes, 103 years.
This is a historical exploration of the history of the Stanley Brothers, their car company, their adventures with steam, and ultimately their conquering of the world's land speed record with a car that used a body and frame made by a canoe company.
A story of early automotive history, Yankee ingenuity, and plain guts, there are elements of tragedy and triumph you will never see coming.
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The Novi V8: A History of the Indy 500s Star-Crossed Horsepower Monster
The famed Novi V8 is one of the most storied engine in American motorsports history and also one of the most star-crossed.
Massively power, innovative in its design and capable of making noise like no other engine in the history of the Speedway, it never won a race.
But why? How does the most powerful engine for a two decade span not win...anything?
This is a complete history of the Novi both in its developent and in competition. The people that made it, the technology that advanced it, and the issues that sunk it.
If you have wondered where this engine came from, how much power it made and what its guts looked like, you'll know now. Built in incredibly limited number, they were gloriously and awesomely lauded by Indy 500 fans, no matter their record on the track.
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Party Crashers: How Five Stock Bodied Cars On Nitro Changed Drag Racing Forever
This is a story about how five cars with no proper competition class, all running on nitro, crashed the party at the 1965 NHRA US Nationals and changed drag racing forever.
This is the story of early funny cars, their search for acceptance, the resistance they had to battle, and how creative owners and builders got in making sure they got the attention and press they deserved. These cars were rebellious as much as they were unique.
This is their story.
The Dork-O-Motive Podcast hosted by Brian Lohnes is a research driven, story fueled, mechanically stoked look at the machines, people, and history that make up the modern mechanical world. Whether it's the stories of the men and women who have done amazing things in racing, the machines that roar around tracks and shape the Earth, or some bizarre mechanized history, Dork-O-Motive is here to bring you the story in a fun, well-researched, and informative way!
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