1939 Benelli supercharged four

Benelli had a very successful DOHC single cylinder racer in 1938 and '39 but they knew they were going to need more. The result was this very advanced supercharged liquid-cooled four cylinder engine installed in the single cylinder frame. It was presented at the Milan Show in December of 1939, three months after the start of WW2, too late. When the war ended, new rules did not allow supercharging, and this machine was never raced. More here.

Below, Salvatore Baronciani in 1942.

Lightbulbs wanted, 1916

Dominion was founded by Isabelle Frampton, formerly a foreman (foreperson)- at 22 years of age!- of the lighting department of the Packard Electric. When Packard decided to get out of the lightbulb reconditioning business Isabelle founded Dominion to continue the service. I'd like to see the process!

Hughes H1 racer

Built in 1935, this was Howard Hughes' speed record plane. A beautiful thing. He immediately broke the world landplane speed record clocking 352.39 mph over a timed course before running out of fuel and crashing. The world seaplane speed record was set the previous year at 440.7 mph set by a Macchi M.C.72 , to my mind rather more impressive considering the floats with all their bracing generated considerably more drag. 

The H1 was repaired and modified with longer wings in order to attempt a transcontinental record. In 1937 he flew from Los Angeles to New York nonstop in 7 hrs, 28 minutes for an average speed of 327 mph. The plane is on display in the Air and Space museum in Washington.

In 2002 Jim Wright of Oregon built an exact replica. On his way home from its unveiling at Oshkosh, it crashed killing Wright. More here.

And more, Replica aircraft construction.

Wright's replica, there don't seem to be many flying pictures of Hughes' original.

Cross section car from Japan

Thanks, Rolf!

 A cross section model of a prewar car from Japan, not much info available, not sure if this is an actual car, or a simplified representation intended as a teaching aid.

ABG Vap

 Another of the postwar motors for the masses, a clip-on motor, why pedal? The company was a large manufacturer of mopeds and auxiliary engines. They closed in the late sixties, more here.

Achieving closure; Early Desmodromics

Classic MotorCycle July1991

 

Sidecar Sunday

After Swallow Sidecars introduced fibreglass as a material for molding sidecar bodies in the mid fifties, Watsonian wasn't far behind, in this 1960 picture, bodies get their final touches before moving to the upholstery shop.

 

Jaguar Brontosaurus

 

The Jaguar XKC 301 was an aerodynamic experimental prototype designed by Fred Gardner with William Lyons in 1953. It was built as a static model with aluminum body over a wood frame. Factoryworkers nicknamed it the Brontosaurus (or Bronco). It showed promise and Lyons wanted to see it in motion. It was assembled over a Jaguar C-type, painted British Racing Green and tested on a runway. It showed aerodynamic improvements of more than 15%  but the faired in wheels restricted it more or less a straight line. Plans were made to use it as a speed record car, but never carried through. After a few months the car was dismantled and destroyed.

We used to do inexplicable things in this country (apparently)

 

Thanks, Rolf- I think....

This article from Postwarclassic was sent to me, I really can't add anything... except to say maybe the world was a different place back then. 

Celfor drills in 1916

In 1904 Eugene B. Clark, an Illinois Steel employee at the time, determined that the metallurgy of Rich Manufacturing's principal product, a railroad rail drill named the Celfor Drill was faulty, and also found fault with both the management and basic operations, which he ultimately corrected after the two parties established him becoming an equal partner (Wikipedia). By the time this confident ad was being run, Rich Manufacturing had been folded into Celfor and the company became part of a new corporation, Clark Equipment-named after Eugene Clark- who went on to became a major builder of forklifts and other material handling equipment.