The Dork-O-Motive Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Blown Into Obscurity: The False Start of Centrifugal Superchargers in Drag Racing Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

Today, centrifugal superchargers play a huge roll in the sport of drag racing. They are capable of making huge power efficiently and the technology built into them is of the highest orders of strength and precision. This is a far cry from the early 1960s when four guys, thousands of miles apart thought that drag racing needed a new boost option for the masses. The Dahms brothers in Connecticut came out with their Eliminator centrifugal supercharger and in California Ran Stuber and Bob Chernow created the Stubercharger. Beautifully constructed and seemingly functional they both failed to capture any sales or a market who wanted them. Perhaps a total of two were ever built. And then they disappeared. Why? How? What happened? In this first of several installments on the history of centrifugal superchargers, we look into the curious case of two designs just a couple of decades ahead of their own time.

The 313mph Backyard Hot Rod: The Story of Art Arfons' 2,500hp Anteater Jul 12, 2025

Show notes

The history of land speed racing is marked by some of the most innovative, interesting, and oddball vehicles ever made. One of them belonged to Art Arfons and was known as The Anteater. Using a turbocharged and supercharged 1,710ci Allison aircraft engine, it was Arfons' first dedicated Bonneville car. It ran more than 300mph and was actually used to try and set a speed record at Daytona International Speedway as well. This is the story of a unique car that was full of cool ideas, went more than 300mph and mixed it up with the most advanced and high budget efforts of the day for a fraction of the cost. A true 313mph backyard hot rod.

Masters of Disaster: The Men Who Invented and Perfected Oil Well Firefighting Jul 12, 2025

Show notes

This is the story of three men. Three men who through their own bravery, creative approach, and lifelong obsessions, created the industry of oil well fire fighting. Tex Thornton, Myron Kinley, and Red Adair all built up each other's knowledge and success to make scads of money while risking their lives on a daily basis to put out burning oil and gas wells, cap blown out wells, and otherwise battle the most intense and wild forces Mother Nature has to offer. You'll learn about the major triumphs in their careers, how they came to find themselves in this wild line of work, and why they all fell so deeply in love with it. These guys traveled the globe to places that are remote in 2025 but were beyond exotic more than 75 years ago. It's all true but it's still unbelievable.

The Man Who Made Garlits: Setto Postoian and Drag Racing's First Top Fuel Rivalry Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

He's a man who have likely never heard of, Serop "Setto" Postoian, an early top fuel master who helped to make Don Garlits. Postoian was among the earliest stars in a young sport.

Motivated, fearless, and every bit the match for the man who would eventually become known as the greatest drag racer of all time. The rivalry between Garlits and Postoian in the early days of top fuel drag racing was contested across the nation.

They were among the earliest match racing stars and battled from California to Maine, from Tacoma to Tampa, Florida. It was a relentless fight waged between 1957 and 1960. This is the story of the man who made Don Garlits.

The man who pushed Garlits to be better, to be faster, to be more relentless than he ever knew he could be and who forced him to a lay a foundation that would build into drag racing immortality.

You've likely never heard his name...until now.

Ludicrous Speed: The Racing and Land Speed Record Tractors of the 1930s Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

This is a look back, 90+ years back into the history of speed to check out the exploits and impact of the amazing racing tractors created by the Allis-Chalmers company in the 1930s that literally changed the world by racing and chasing land speed records.

These were the first tractors with rubber inflatable tires and that changed the farming game as well as entertained millions of fans over the course of five years in the 1930s. They raced, they crashed, and they performed as well as many available cars at the time.

From the road trips they took to the records they set at Bonnville, these Allis-Chalmers Model U tractors were amazing. Here's their story.

Harnessing Hell: A History Of Top Fuel Clutch Technology 1950-1970 Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

This is the story of how early drag racers developed the clutch technology that has ultimately lead to the engineering wonders in today's 11,000hp top fuel dragsters and nitro funny cars. It is the story of experimentation, of failure, of accidents, and of success.

The development of the multi-disc, centrifugally controlled clutch was incremental in all areas. From the materials, the design, and finally the manufacture of these pieces, everyone had their own ideas on how to approach the issue.

It was one major revelation by racers. The idea that a slipping clutch as far more efficient than slipping tires that allowed performances to sky rocket while the danger level of the sport did the exact same thing.

If you love the history of early drag racing, especially the mechanical side of it, you'll enjoy this deep dive into the clutches that almost stopped the sport and then those that saved it.

War For The Woods: The Incredible Effort To Save New England's Forests After The Hurricane of 1938 May 12, 2025

Show notes

When the Hurricane of 1938 struck New England, it was a disaster of proportions unknown to the region at that point. No storm in modern history had wrought more destruction or devastation than that one.

Beyond the cities and towns, past the population centers, there was another looming nightmare...the forests. Nearly 1,000 square miles of New England Pine Forest were blown down, placing nearly 2 billion board feet in logs and lumber in jeopardy of not only waste but of becoming a massive fire hazard.

No salvage logging operation on the planet before or since has been as large or as robust as that of the New England Timber Salvage Administration of 1938.

In this video we tell the story of the hurricane, the aftermath, the plan, and the execution of this most audaciously bold plan. Somehow a Hurricane helped restore the forests, prepare the country for WWII, and in a plot twist has had a very pleasant after-effect on modern life in New England.

The story of this amazing and massive collaborative effort has been largely forgotten until now. If you love American history, you'll love this tale of grit, gumption, and communities rising up to take on a problem the likes of which the world had never tried to tackle before.

The Malcontent: Scotty Fenn's Self-Destruction In Drag Racing May 12, 2025

Show notes

There are few stories in the history of drag racing that can compare to that of Alfred Gordon Fenn, known as Scotty.

He was a visionary and created the first commercial dragster chassis business in the world circa 1958, but his life story goes far, far beyond that. For the first time ever, learn the back story, learn the success story, his precipitous fall in the sport, and how he managed to continue his career for years after people thought that he had disappeared.

One of the sports most off the wall, acerbic, and out-spoken characters, it was Scotty's mouth that no only sunk his business, but dead stopped a career that was on track to be one of the most influential in drag racing history.

The Buffum V8: America's Long Ago Forgotten First V8 Powered Production Car May 12, 2025

Show notes

He was a man with dozens of patents to his name, the designer of the first four cylinder car in America, the first eight cylinder car, and the first V-8 production car, but have you ever heard of him?

The answer is no.

H.H. Buffum was a genius engineer of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He made a fortune making equipment for the shoe manufacturing industry and then turned his attention to cars. Take this fascinating ride back into the history of American cars, to the earliest days of the industry when anyone with some money, a machine shop, and a dream could be a car manufacturer.

This fast moving history talks patents, inventions, breakthroughs, theft, horsepower, and more. Where did the first V8 come from? How about a small town in Massachusetts.

No kidding.

Battling Beast of Burden: The Story Of The Massive M26 Dragon Wagon Truck of WWII Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

This is the in-depth history of what I believe to be the greatest heavy duty truck of the second world war. The M26 tank retriever was a machine designed with armor, with an engine of 1,090ci, with brute strength, and above all, with loads of practical engineering built in.

The truck out-performed every other rig in this role worldwide and was just beyond cool. With nearly 1,400 produced between 1942 and 1945, many still exist today in the hands of collectors and more. Learn the fascinating story of the small forgotten company that designed it, the massive company that built it, and the fascinating engine company that powered it.

Mechanical history rules!

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