Taming Alaska's Deadly Dalton in the 2014 Toyota 4Runner Limited!

It's known as one of the most dangerous roads in the world: the rough, desolate two-lane Dalton Highway that shadows the Alaska Pipeline from Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean. Host Arthur St. Antoine takes up the challenge of this infamous byway in a 2014 Toyota 4Runner SUV, driving from the Canadian border all the way past the Arctic Circle to the alien oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. Along the way, he encounters dog mushers, floatplanes, thundering big-rigs, bears, wrecked vehicles, and a landscape unrivaled for its challenges, remoteness ... and beauty.

WHAT’S COOL ABOUT THE RECORD THAT STAR WARS’ IDRIS ELBA BROKE IN A BENTLEY?

Yesterday British actor Idris Elba broke a ninety year old speed record on a British beach in a very modern Bentley GT3...and it got us thinking.

A 90 year old record that was beaten at just 180 mph? That’s awfully slow—until you realize that it was set on a stretch of cold, dark, beach sand in Wales.

The beach is Pendine Sands, a seven mile, ruler-straight beach now owned and operated by the Ministry of Defense* but beloved by speed demons for more than 100 years. This stretch of sand has seen many hot rod and speed attempts, but apparently the Ministry of Defense has also used it as a bombing range for decades. Signage warning of unexploded ordinance is still displayed to this day, which makes the size of Elba’s record a bit more substantial.

The last land-speed record set at Pendine in an automobile and the one Bentley and Elba were attempting to break was originally set by Malcolm Campbell in 1927. Campbell was a classic English gearhead of the 19th century, starting on motorbikes and later moving to cars. Campbell set quite a few land-speed records, most notably in the UK the very one that stood until yesterday at Pendine Sands.

In 1927, the vehicle at Campbell’s disposal was known innocuously as, ‘Blue Bird’, a 500 horsepower V12 beast of a car that topped out at over 200 mph well before modern safety technology existed. In fact, the Napier-Lion engine used in the car was from an aircraft, as car engines at the time didn’t have the requisite horsepower to push that much air around.

However, a small note about that record-breaking day in 1927 makes Elba’s record slightly less impressive (never mind the differences in the cars). According to the book The Land Speed Record, the Blue Bird actually hit 195 mph that day on a single run, but in order for the record to be verified, the speed was calculated on a two run average—something Campbell was unable to do.

In those years, the need for ever greater land speed records made both the Pendine Sands and the Blue Bird obsolete in less than a year. The pursuit led participants to Daytona Beach and finally to the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats, where extreme land speed records are still being attempted.

Today, both Bentley and Elba should be commended. A British driver in a British GT car tackling a 90 year old sand-based speed record…on an ammunition-littered beach in Wales? That’s pretty great—and one for the books.

*The Brits certainly do government titles better than us Yanks, don’t they? 

via http://www.petrolicious.com/

Snapshot, 1957: Caution, mermaids crossing Daytona Beach

While today’s bikini-bathers on Florida’s most popular stretch of beach fear the sun’s rays most, in the 1950s there was a more immediate risk – being run over by a burbling eight-cylinder…

A hot, early summer's day in 1957. What on earth is going on, on the sands of Daytona Beach? Children play in the surf and young women parade in the latest swimsuits of the season, while in between, men tear up and down with their cars and motorcycles. In a country that today covers its coffee mugs with warnings, it's almost unthinkable that the United States of the 1950s actually happened. The only car-free zone was the living room and at least one or two Daytona Beach mermaids per season were fatally injured – but little, if anything, was done about it. Especially cheeky or lazy bathers parked their car right up near the surf, to avoid getting sandy feet, or they used the vinyl seats of convertibles as beach chairs. Even while taking a short ‘nap’ with one’s latest beach date, the Chevy or Buick was always within reach. Who was it that said, all progress depends on the unreasonable man?

Photo: J. Baylor Roberts/National Geographic/Getty Images

JAMIE’S CB500/4 ROAD BURNER

Amateur – noun – [am-uh-choo r, -cher, -ter, am-uh-tur] – A person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit.

Today’s dose of shed built inspiration comes from Jamie Smith of Peterborough, a proud amateur. Nothing can compare to work that is simply the result of pleasure seeking. Of course many lucky professionals get paid for doing what they love, but they also pick up a pay check. The amateur is sated purely by the process and the product. We have said it before and we will say to again, Shed Builders we salute you.

To bring home his pay check Jamie works on huge machines, as a valve train engineer for Caterpillar. Working on a comparatively tiny motorcycle must be a splendid tonic to the day job.

“I’m a one man operation with mental help from my family, and a few select friends with skills (CAD & laser cutting).” Handy friends to have around…

Although Jamie has modified a lot of motorcycles in the past, he considers this machine as his first true, clean sheet build.

The bike in question is a 1974 Honda CB500/4 that Jamie procured through ebay.

“It was rusted through, noisy engine and in hindsight I should of started with something much better. I’d always wanted the cafe style of bike, but I didn’t want chrome and glitter paint. I wanted it dark, and I wanted people to see the engineering more than a glossy finish.”

“My inspiration comes from many things, my love for metal and petrol being the main one. I’m inspired by the recent resurrection of unloved, unfashionable cheap motorcycles and making them noticeable for less money than an Ohlins rear shock will cost you for a new sports bike.” We hear you Jamie.

Jamie set to work on the dilapidated Honda, the frame received the cursory de-tagging before a suitable loop was grafted on. The front end is a combination of Honda CBR600 yokes and shortened Honda Deauville forks. The front hub was modified to take a Fireblade disc, gripped by the 3 pot Deauville calliper. Jamie reports a vast improvement over the stock front end. Beautifully fashioned aluminium finned and tapered wheel spacers were machined for the front and a matching parallel one for the rear, a glorious detail.

“The engine noise turned out to be the clutch output bearing, requiring a full engine strip. All parts were blast cleaned and painted satin black. The engine covers replaced with finned items.” 

Allthough time consuming and initially unwanted, the bonus of Jamie’s extra engine work has given him complete confidence with the internals. A bike as clean on the inside as it is on the outside.

The tank was debadged and lowered to improve the stance of the bike.

“The ‘Patina’ black paint job is sign written with ’74 road burner’. This is a play on a kit Dunstall sold for the 500 in the 70’s.” 

The subtle colour scheme allows the raw colours of the materials to shine; greys, silver, black, brass and the odd splash of copper in a rivet or washer.

Jamie had a stock pile of jobs for his laser cutting mate including the rear set mounts and plates. Modified Bandit 600 foot controls were then sorted to fit. The pegs were turned, knurled and anodised before receiving the intriguing wooden inserts another friend had crafted. An Acewell speedo fitted to a machined housing welded to the yoke takes centre stage of the cockpit, flanked by the swan neck clip ons that were made using the original bars and Harris billet mounts.

The electrics are largely stock at the moment with most of the wires rerouted through the frame to the lithium battery under the seat, but Jamie reports he will soon upgrade to an electronic ignition. When the Road Burner does roar to life, the full stainless Yoshimura replica exhaust from Motowerx in the U.S. sounds just as lovely as it looks.

The tyres are classic Firestone deluxe, but you knew that already…

The amateur tag in this case is a badge of honour, not an excuse. The level of detailing and commitment displayed in this machine show what can be achieved without the pressure of a budget eating hourly rate, it is the result of a pursuit of pleasure. Our hats are well and truly off to you Jamie.

“I’m quite happy with the bike. It looks like it did in my head a year ago. I look forward to getting a few miles on it. My next project will be a Ducati, and I’m thinking endurace racer styling. we will see.”

via The Bike Shed