Here’s a cool look at the van and all of the “stuff” packed into it for the fuel cell. One of the problems is that the size of the system was cartoonish and there was barely enough room for two people to sit in the front seats. If the cell could barely fit in a van, there was zero shot of making it work in a passenger car. Additionally, there was enough platinum used inside the fuel cell itself to buy what Marks said amounted to a “fleet” of regular vans. If you can imagine the power that GM, Ford, and Chrysler had in those days to have HUNDREDS of employees and a leading engineer working full time on a project for two years that from the beginning never seemed destined for the road, it’ll blow you mind. Between the people and the equipment there were millions of 1960s dollars tied up in this thing and at the time, the company was hauling so much financial ass, it was no biggie.

With regard to the packaging of the van, here is what Bill Bowman wrote about the fuel cell (Bowman worked on the project) – Electrovan’s fuel cell powerplant supplied a continuous output of about 32 kilowatts and a peak output of 160 kilowatts. It consisted of 32 thin-electrode fuel cell modules connected in series. The motor and control system on the Electrovan were mounted between and under the two front seats. Located beneath the floor were the 32 fuel cell modules interconnected by some 550 feet of plastic piping. Also part of the installation were cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen tanks and an electrolyte reservoir mounted behind the middle bench seat. About 45 gallons of potassium hydroxide were required to fill the modules, the piping and the reservoir. This electrolyte alone weighed 550 pounds bringing the van’s total weight to 7,100 pounds.

Another problem was safety. Leaks occurred in the system with one report after an incident reporting that the van emitted “brilliant fireworks”. As pretty as that sounds, it was a scary proposition to be around this machine. The big incident on record was a hydrogen tank that exploded with such force that pieces reportedly landed up to a quarter mile away. This tank was obviously not in the van at the time and that was probably one reason that no one was killed or injured by it. When the van was about as proved out as it could be, GM invited journalists to come to Detroit and give it a spin…on company property. The project ended shortly after the media was able to see, drive, and marvel at the van and its (for the time) bizarre and space aged power plant. Shuffled between storage warehouses for years, nearly crushed flat a time or two, and refused entry by the Smithsonian (they had apparently not understood the significance of the van being the first fuel cell vehicle) it now lives where it should at the GM Heritage Collection in Michigan.

A short lived but cool chapter in GM history, the Electrovan proved that fuel cells could do the job and engineers continue to work today on fuel cell systems capable of delivering the kind of performance and longevity that nothing other than internal combustion has done so far.

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE GM ELECTROVAN IN ACTION!

The post GM Built The World’s First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Vehicle In 1966 And We Found Video Of It – Sweet Van! appeared first on BangShift.com.

We’re guessing that there is some sort of an FE gas engine under the hood of the truck unless it has been swapped for a Windsor small block or a 385-series big block or something. One thing we can say is that the dude pulling the handles can rip with the best of them. He’s got the sequence and pattern down in such a natural fashion he’s had to have been driving this truck for years.

One of the reasons we went hunting and found this video was because of the Dodge hauler that we showcased a couple of days ago that had an SM-465 and a Brownie overdrive. This one has the added splitter but much of what you see here would be similar to what driving that big block truck we showed you would be like.

Weird? Yes. Unnecessary? Yes. Kind of awesome? Hell yes. Watch below. This guy operates three shifters like a boss.

Press play below to see this guy rip through like half a million gears –

The post The American Powertrain Thursday Shift: Watch This Guy In A Classic Ford Rip Three Shifters Through Like 100 Gears appeared first on BangShift.com.

There’s a torch, solder, a hacksaw, a big cistern with water in it, some rubber hose, and lots of experience and skill here. The only thing they do not make in front of us are the tanks and we’re guessing even these guys have to source SOMETHING to complete the job. For all we know they are pressing them out in the back room, which also would not shock us.

We love the skill and old school work shown here. These guys have likely done hundreds, hell, thousands of radiators in their lives and they are by no means old men.

Another great reminder that if there is a will, some fire, some knowledge, and a few bucks to be made, there’s a way.

Press play below to watch these guys build a radiator out of a couple old ones –

The post Roadside Magic: Watch These Young Guys Craft A Fresh Radiator Out Of Pieces From An Old One appeared first on BangShift.com.

There’s loads of reasons to hate the internet, but to us, stuff like this is a saving grace. Why? This guy, who we think is in Southeast Asia somewhere is likely making a decent living off of YouTube showing off his skills. Skills that were likely developed from wrenching and working with his hands for a long time. Either that or the dude is a child genius but as you will see here, there is plenty of fabrication, engineering, and downright smart thinking employed in this thing.

Dude makes it look easy!

Press play below to see this dude turn a V-Twin air compressor into a V-Twin engine!

The post So Cool Video: Watch This Guy Take A V-Twin Compressor and Turn It Into A V-Twin Gas Engine appeared first on BangShift.com.

The most impressive piece in the whole video is the crane they seemingly rent to pluck the engine out and to drop it back in. Th fact they just kind of stand the block up on end and do the work that was is wild, the fact that they seemingly have no issue running the sucker back to redline the second it is in the chassis and fired made us wince, but otherwise, these guys are as hardcore as it comes and it’s just the way they pay their bills.

Credit where it’s due. These guys can wrench.

Press play below to see these guys rebuild a huge diesel V8 on the street –

The post Taking It To The Street: Watch These Pakistani Truck Mechanics Rebuild A Massive Diesel V8 On The Side Of The Street appeared first on BangShift.com.

In this video we see Gaines at the wheel making an exhibition pull in front of a crowd that is literally going nuts for him. I probably would have been shedding tears of joy if I were in the crowd last night. Sadly the closest I have ever gotten to seeing this beast in person is through a television screen or computer monitor. I have it on my “list of stuff to do” to get out there and actually get a first hand look at this roaring beast.

If you were a kid of the 1980s or just someone who like things that are great, press play below. Thanks to Doug for this living and breathing trip down memory lane. Man this thing is great!

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE THE ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL PUT ON A SHOW –

The post Watch The Legendary Orange Blossom Special Of Alan Gaines Pull The Sled Out The Back Door With The Wheels Up appeared first on BangShift.com.

To us, Tuff Truck competitions far outweigh demolition derbies for raw entertainment. While it is a spectacle to see cars running into each other, it is another level to see regular Joes risk life and limb for some glory in front of a hometown crowd at a fair, an off road park, or wherever else this stuff happens. The investment is minimal, the modifications typically consist of pulling some glass out, chopping off the exhaust, and basically gluing the throttle to the floorboard.

It may be a cheap sport to buy into but if you don’t have good medical insurance to deal with the jacked up back, bleeding kidneys, and chipped teeth it could add up fast. The title of the video is “Just Send It” and frankly there is no greater collection of Tuff Truck sends that has ever been compiled. Oh, and all of this came from just last year!

We tip our cap to the daredevils, the lunatics, the wheelmen, and the factory engineers who built junk that can stand up to this…and clearly lots of stuff that cannot.

Press play below to see one of the most fun an brutal Tuff Truck videos ever made –

The post Must Watch Video: This Could Be The Greatest Tuff Truck Video Ever Made – Wild Beyond All Imagination appeared first on BangShift.com.

Machining is one of the most important things that mankind has developed over the years. From the making of cannon to the creation of machines like piston engines, turbines, and basically all the other stuff that we look at, touch, and interact with each day, the idea of taking a large piece of metal and making it exactly the size and shape necessary to fit the application makes the modern world possible.

All you have to do is press play below and watch the chips fly. It is relaxing, cool, and impressive. It’s the gearhead’s Yule Log channel at Christmas time…in August!

Press play below to see this ultimately satisfying video showing large scale machining –

The post Mondo Machining: This Video Shows Milling and Turning Processes And We Could Watch It All Day appeared first on BangShift.com.

The most awesome parts of this video are the actual machining and construction of the prototype. We see guys making stuff on lathes, welding by the swimming pool, fitting beautiful gears and differentials together, and the list goes on. It appears that basically all of this aircraft was built in either a single small home shop and backyard or a few home shops and backyards. Either way, this is the stuff people used to do before the internet existed. Who knows, these guys probably read books as well. Gasp!

A little more digging on Dobson seems to have turned up some interesting facts, like the idea that he was the designer of the most widely used glider aircraft in WWII, he got the boot from Germany in the 1930s while studying aeronautics and apparently getting a little bit too far ahead of the class, and the list goes on.

This video is a visual link to a world that seems so, so different than that of 2020.

Press play below to see our man Franklin Dobson creating an airplane at home!

The post Homemade Heroics: Watch A Wild Vertical Take Off Airplane Get Built At A Guy’s House In 1950s America appeared first on BangShift.com.

This dyno video is not the most exciting thing you will ever see but it is pretty awesome to watch. Why? You’ll see the big engine crank out more than 650hp which is cool but the 2,500 lbs/ft of torque is really the number to watch. The E9-V8 was offered in horsepower ratings from about 400 up to 650 which would put this guy in the upper echelon. You have to be a gearhead to appreciate and engine that is making 2,000 lbs/ft and 600+ horsepower at 1,700 RPM but this thing does it and is rock steady. Some people wonder how big truck engines get all that weight moving. Taking this beastly thing and putting 10, 12, or 18 speeds behind it and you have enough power to drag a neighborhood down the road behind you.

Like we said, this is not a flame throwing crazy dyno video but rather a look into the real numbers that help get the freight down the road. Now, if you can imagine this as a pulling engine with five times the horsepower and how many times the torque? Those are some numbers, kids!

Press play to see this big Mack get a workout on the dyno and lay down some numbers

The post Grunt Force Trauma: Watch A Mack E9-V8 Churn Out Big Power And HUGE Torque On The Dyno appeared first on BangShift.com.