(via An Original Camel Trophy Land Rover Defender)

(via An Original Camel Trophy Land Rover Defender)

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/665194023325237248

This Might Be The Fastest Radial-Engined Motorcycle In The World

This is the first in a series of stories we’ll be publishing as we follow the progress of Sheppard Motorcycles, Kennedy Motorcycles, and Radial Motion as they build what they hope will become the fastest radial engined motorcycle in the world. This story was written by Noel Probert with the latter section by Matt Sheppard.

In March 2022, a small group of enthusiasts from Adelaide, Australia, will attempt to set a new land speed record on Lake Gairdner in South Australia, becoming the world’s fastest radial-engined motorcycle.

A collaboration between Sheppard Motorcycles, Kennedy Motorcycles, and Radial Motion, the project, codenamed LFO (Low Flying Object) utilizes the innovative compact radial engine from Radial Motion in a purpose-built motorcycle designed to exceed 200 mph (320 km/h) on the dry lake bed.

Sheppard Motorcycles and Kennedy Motorcycles combined in 2021 to set a record of 64.8 mph on a 1948 BSA 500cc machine as part of the Salt Monkeys race team.

Radial Motion has been developing their compact radial engine for aviation use over the past three years. The engine officially went into production in 2021 and has been tested and proven in the Adelaide Rally, powering a modified VW Beetle.

The Radial Motion Engine

Radial Motion is a South Australian company producing an innovative engine of its own design. The compact radial engine is inspired by aircraft engines of the 1930s, reimagined for the 21st century. Compact, lightweight and robust, the Radial Motion engine is intended for light aircraft as well as specialist automotive applications, and versions are also being developed for military use.

The bike is being designed with a trellis perimeter frame and the engine acts as a load bearing member to increase rigidity.

Its unique 120° three-cylinder layout makes the engine visually distinctive while offering several advantages, including ease of access for maintenance and tuning, light weight and improved weight distribution.

The engine used for this project will have a capacity of 2100cc, will be naturally aspirated and use individual throttle bodies. Radial Motion is also preparing a car to run on the salt during Speed Week.

“We’re excited about this new project with Sheppard Motorcycles and Kennedy Motorcycles and can’t wait to see what they achieve on the salt. The Radial Motion engine was designed for aircraft, but seeing it in a motorcycle chasing a land speed record is quite a thrill.” – Nick Mebberson, Director of Radial Motion

The Radial Land Speed Motorcycle

This will be a full custom build driven by the need to construct a custom frame and new gearbox assembly to mate to the monstrous engine. The bike will be constructed with a twin spar chromoly tube frame attaching to an aluminium single-sided swingarm.

All cycle parts used will be of the highest quality. The rear suspension will be fitted with an adjustable shock absorber by Sachs, with high performance Marzocchi upside down forks at the front. Braking will be done with race spec brakes from Brembo. The bike will have a close-ratio 6-speed transmission like that of a road race bike.

A unique body design will allow quick and easy access to all electrical and mechanical components as required and will create smooth flowing body lines. A partial streamlined fairing will cover the front and part of the side of the bike for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.

Careful attention has been paid to reduce the frontal area, by lengthening and lowering the motorcycle.

With an engine capacity of 2100cc, the machine will fit into the engine class 3000, which allows for engines up to 3000cc. The frame will be classified as “special construction partial streamlined”. The class designation will be 3000 APS G, G denotes that we are using “gasoline” or standard pump fuel as opposed to an alcohol-based fuel.

The current class record for Australia is 132.37 mph and the current world record is 208 mph. Both are within reach. A road-legal version of the motorcycle is also being planned.

The Builders

This section was written by Matt Sheppard of Sheppard Motorcycles.

As the director of Sheppard Motorcycles I have been modifying motorcycles for over six years and have a background in panel beating before doing my trade as a motorcycle technician.

After completing my trade I decided I wanted to do something more interesting than standard service and repair work that is the bread and butter of most bike shops. Being passionate about the aesthetics of vehicles I started creating custom bike projects and have modified all manner of bikes from Harley-Davidsons to the classic Honda CT110.

The air-cooled Radial Motion engine was originally developed for use in aircraft, however it’s also now being used to power race cars, road cars, motorcycles, and there are talks underway about military uses for it.

I share a workshop with Kennedy Motorcycles, whose director Mat has his trade as a fitter machinist while serving in the Australian Defence Force before starting his business here.

We both build custom motorcycles, predominantly road-going specials. We have created machines based on American, European, and Japanese machinery.

We have teamed up for a number of local events including displays at the Adelaide Beer and Barbecue festival. It was here that we met Frank and Corinna of the boutique brewery The Prancing Pony. Frank and Corinna are long time land speed fans and competitors and they invited us to be a part of their Salt Monkeys race team, helping us to fulfil our dream of setting a land speed record. We now understand and share their obsession.

The team now holds five national speed records including ours. In 2021 we entered on a 1948 BSA 500cc that we built at short notice and walked away with a new record in our class.

Visit Radial Motion here

Follow on Facebook – Radial Motion – Sheppard Motorcycles – Kennedy Motorcycles – Dry Lake Racing

Addendum

We’ll be following this project closely, and we’ll be bringing you updates as the team progresses – right up to their appearance on the salt at Lake Gairdner, Australia’s answer to Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.

The post This Might Be The Fastest Radial-Engined Motorcycle In The World appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/radial-engined-motorcycle/
via gqrds

A Twin-Turbo Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 Road Legal Race Car

They say the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 is an acquired taste, it’s always been more affordable (and more practical) than many of its siblings from Maranello, but it also had the difficult job of replacing the Dino 246 GT – widely regarded as one of Ferrari’s masterpieces.

The 308 GT4 you see here has been significantly modified, it now has twin Garrett T25 turbochargers and charge cooling feeding into its 3.0 liter V8. To say the car is quick is an understatement, this car was the overall winner in the 1993 RAC MSA Hillclimb Leaders Championship and it set class records at many British hillclimbs over the years.

Fast Facts – A Twin-Turbo Hillclimb Legend

• With its 2+2 seating, room for cargo, a comfortable interior, modern styling, and a potent 255 hp 3.0 liter V8, the 308 GT4 is one of the most practical Ferraris of its generation.
• The 1970s-Gandini styling hasn’t always been popular when compared with its predecessor however its aging well and becoming more desirable with each passing year.
• This would be the first car from the Dino series to carry actual Ferrari badging, from 1975/1976 onwards, and it would be the first production Ferrari to feature a mid-engined V8 layout.
• This 308 GT4 has been significantly modified for racing, with twin turbochargers, charge cooling, lightweight bodywork, a full roll cage, racing starts and harnesses, and OMP fire extinguishers.

The Ferrari Dino 308 GT4

The 308 GT4 has perhaps the most confusing naming history of any production Ferrari model, it was released as the Dino 308 GT4 in 1973 however part way through 1975 Ferrari sent out a memo to dealers telling them to make some changes, one of which was to replace most of the Dino badging with Ferrari badging.

So depending on what year the car is, or even what month, it can be a Dino 308 GT4, a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4, or a Ferrari 308 GT4.

The 3.0 liter V8 is a later all-alloy unit with DOHC per bank and four-valves per cylinder, called the “Quattrovalvole.”

Regardless of what you might call it, the GT4 had its work cutout for it from the get go. It was to be the first production Ferrari to feature the mid-engined V8 layout and it had been tasked with replacing the 246 GT, one of the most beautiful Ferrari-built cars of all time.

The GT4 used a lengthened version of the tubular spaceframe chassis from the 246 GT and a transversely-mounted 3.0 liter V8 with double overhead cams per bank, two valves per cylinder, four Weber 40 DCNF carburetors, and 255 hp.

Public reception to the GT4 was somewhat mixed, it was the only car built by Ferrari being sold in the USA at the time due to emissions restrictions, but buyers were sometimes put off by the thought of paying so much for a Ferrari that didn’t actually carry Ferrari badging. Ferrari righted this in 1975, as mentioned above, and by the time the car left production they had sold 2,826 of them.

Ultimately the GT4 would be replaced by the Ferrari Mondial in 1980, a car that was clearly influenced by its predecessor but that has always struggled to find its place within the Ferrari community.

The interior of the car has all of the essentials, anything superfluous has been removed for weight savings and the car now has racing seats with harnesses, a fire suppression system, and a full roll cage.

The Twin-Turbo 308 GT4 Shown Here

The car you see here was modified for hillclimb racing by Tony Lambert in the 1990s. The car became a celebrity of sorts due to its prodigious capabilities, winning the 1993 RAC MSA Hillclimb Leaders Championship, taking a class win the following year, followed by a class win at the 1993 Pound Timber Midland Championship, and class records at Prescott (short and long courses), Loton Park, Wiscombe, Doune, and many others.

The car is fitted with lightweight bodywork, a full roll cage, racing starts and harnesses, OMP fire extinguishers, and a slew of other modifications, though despite all of this it remains road legal in the UK.

In February of this year the car was recommissioned at North Leach-based Ferrari specialist Bob Houghton, the final bill came to £12,000 and it included new seats, harnesses, and fire extinguishers. The engine was serviced, shock absorbers reconditioned, and new brake pads and tyres were fitted.

It’s now being auctioned live online by The Market by Bonhams, with a price guide of £35,000 – £55,000. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

The post A Twin-Turbo Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 Road Legal Race Car appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/a-twin-turbo-ferrari-dino-308-gt4-road-legal-race-car/
via gqrds

(via Lola T70 MkI Spyder – Owned by Carroll Shelby and Dan...

(via Lola T70 MkI Spyder – Owned by Carroll Shelby and Dan Gurney)

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/665148847976218624

(via The Unusual Nash-Healey Roadster – A British/American Joint...

(via The Unusual Nash-Healey Roadster – A British/American Joint Project)

from Tumblr https://somar78.tumblr.com/post/665126107035664384

The Nissan 240 RS – A Mighty Group B Rally Underdog

The Nissan 240 RS is one of the great unsung heroes of the certifiably insane Group B rally era, it’s a naturally aspirated vehicle that only made 270 bhp in race trim, yet it still managed a number of national level rally championship wins, World Rally Championship podium places, and a series of impressive results in African safari rallies.

The Nissan 240 RS was directly based on the earlier Datsun Violet GTS Group 4, power was provided by a naturally-aspirated Nissan FJ24 inline four-cylinder engine with double overhead cams and power was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed transmission.

Fast Facts – Nissan 240 RS Group B

• The Nissan 240 RS was the Japanese automaker’s top flight rally car between 1983 and 1985, they also built 200 road-going examples for homologation purposes.
• Despite the fact that the car was naturally aspirated with rear wheel drive, it still put on a strong showing, and became a popular Group B underdog.
• Perhaps the single most important attribute of the Nissan 240 RS was its toughness and reliability, many results came thanks to faster cars breaking down.
• Surviving examples of the Nissan 240 RS are now highly collectible, and typically far more affordable than their more famous Group B rivals.

The Arrival Of The Nissan 240 RS Group B

In 1979 four-wheel drive systems were legalized for racing by FISA, yet only German automaker Audi took advantage of it, with their first generation Audi Quattro. The car offered blisteringly quick stage times but was somewhat unreliable, other manufacturers felt that the added weight and complexity of an all-wheel drive system would cancel out any benefits.

Above Video: This is an original 1980s-era Nissan promotional film about the 240RS, understandably it focusses on the car’s reliability rather than its all-out speed.

Though no one knew it at the time, the Quattro heralded a new age in international rally, an age where forced induction and all-wheel drive were almost obligatory if you wanted any hope of winning.

If it wasn’t for the arrival of Group B in 1983, the story of the Nissan 240 RS may be quite different. By the standards of the late-1970s the car was exceedingly quick, possibly even capable of winning the World Rally Championship.

When the Nissan 240 RS arrived in 1982 it became quickly apparent that it wasn’t going to be regularly challenging for wins. The pace of its competitors was too strong, and the speed of their development was difficult to match.

Instead, Nissan focussed much of their attention on areas where they knew they had an advantage – endurance rallies and national-level rally championships. This became a winning strategy for them as the cars were strong, and they were far more affordable than the exotic offerings from the likes of Audi and Lancia.

The Nissan 240 RS In Competition

By the time the car left competition in the late-1980s it had racked up national championship wins in Kenya, Britain, Greece, and Cyprus. The best WRC result was a 2nd place finish in the 1983 New Zealand Rally, and the car would take podium places in the Rallye Côte-d’Ivoire and the Safari Rally.

The toughness of the 240 RS meant that it could be successful against more powerful competition, oftentimes just by outlasting them.

Today the surviving race cars are mostly tucked away in private collections or museums, and the road-legal homologation cars are a rare sight. Race cars with successful period competition history only seem to come up for sale rarely, but they’re always popular when they do.

The Nissan 240 RS Shown Here

The car you see here is the 1986 Nissan 240 RS that was driven by Alain Ambrosino and his co-driver Daniel Le Saux in the 1987 Zaire Safari Rally with an impressive 2nd place finish.

The car was road registered in the Ivory Coast then later imported into France where it was acquired by collectors and placed on exhibit. Thankfully the car was preserved exactly as it was when it finished the Zaire Safari Rally, making it an invaluable window into the golden age of rally.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Artcurial. It’s due to roll across the auction block on the 24th of October with a price guide of $151,000 to $221,000 USD.

This car has been well preserved since its last race outing in Africa, it now just needs a recommissioning before taking to the classic rally circuit.

Images courtesy of Artcurial

The post The Nissan 240 RS – A Mighty Group B Rally Underdog appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/nissan-240-rs/
via gqrds

100% Road Legal: A 4×4 Chevolet Corvair Zombie Hunter Van

This is the latest in our “Curious Contraptions” series, where we find unusual, offbeat, or downright insane vehicles online and bring them to you on the off chance you may want to sell your Kia, quit your job, and start a new life driving a curious contraption.

This highly-unusual 1964 Chevrolet Corvair van first popped up for sale a little earlier this year and caused quite a stir. The seller explains that it’s 100% street legal and that it was built for events like Burning Man and Wasteland Weekend.

Although it’s listed as a Corvair van it actually just uses a Corvair van body. From the sills down it’s actually a 1965 Ford F100 four-wheel drive chassis that’s been fitted with a 350 cubic inch small block Chevy V8 which is mated to a GM Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission.

Fast Facts – The Zombie Hunter

• Believe it or not, this unique Corvair is 100% road-legal in Nevada, despite the considerable amount of “reengineering” it’s had and the fact that there’s a machine gun mounted on the roof.
• The vehicle has a 1964 Corvair van body mounted to a four-wheel drive Ford F100 chassis, and it’s powered by a small block V8.
• The seller notes that the van/truck is capable of highway speeds and that it tracks straight, the front axle doesn’t have a driveshaft so for the time being it’s rear-wheel drive.
• There’s seating for four inside, though seatbelt availability is limited to the driver only. The seller does note that with the rear bench seat removed it could be used as a camper.

Zombie Hunter Or Vanlife Overlander?

Although it currently looks like it just rolled off the set of The Walking Dead this F100 based Corvair could make someone an interesting vanlife project vehicle. It obviously needs plenty of work but the task of getting the body onto the chassis is done, leaving the required mechanical and cosmetic body work.

The van looks like something from the movie “Zombieland,” though the seller assures potential buyers that it’s road-legal and highway capable.

Alternatively, if the whole vanlife concept isn’t your thing, this truck/van is already set up as a rat rod show car suitable for a slew of themed events. It would also make a very popular attraction at any cars and coffee event in the country.

It’s clear that some work is needed either way, there’s some concerning areas of the body, the front driveshaft needs to be fitted, proper front seats and a full assortment of seatbelts would be a great idea, and you may want to remove the (possibly?) deactivated machine gun from the roof turret – lest you attract the attention of Highway Patrol.

The fact that the vehicle uses an F100 platform combined with a small black Chevy V8 and a Turbo-Hydramatic automatic transmission is excellent news, as these three items are all easy to source parts for, and they’re each known for their toughness and longevity.

If you’d like to read more about this van or place a bid you can click here to visit the listing on eBay. At the time of writing there are 5 days left to bid, and the starting bid of $7,500 has not yet been made.

Images courtesy of eBay, header image background courtesy of “The Walking Dead” – AMC

 

The post 100% Road Legal: A 4×4 Chevolet Corvair Zombie Hunter Van appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/chevolet-corvair-zombie-hunter-van/
via gqrds