Man and machine
Written by John MacphersonMy mate Tom takes grinders to vehicles.Whacking into them with overwhelming confidence and enthusiasm, and firing sparks everywhere.
One winter I helped him stuff a twin cam Fiat engine into a small red Morris van. It involved a lot of grinding. The van was ridiculously fast. Tom eventually sold it to a man who wanted to take the Fiat engine out and put a Morris engine back into it. Then Tom started Project X which involves a Rover V8 engine and a lump of some type of chassis he’d got hold of, but from which vehicle I’m uncertain, although I guessed I’d find out in due course, once the grinder had done its magic.
But Tom got sidetracked by a Honda CBR 600 which….well…..he took the grinder to. It went from sleek faired missile to something madmaxy, with lots of matte black paint, a chopped off tail, an ancient headlight from somewhere and a sprung leather saddle which may have come off a horse-drawn buggy. It had ‘other’ bits fastened on too. It’s still in the process of ‘evolution’ but last time he started it up my wee boy was terrified by the noise, so since then we’ve been rather more ‘cautious’.
If, like me, you like engines, bikes, tinkering with metal and making art out of something most folks generally overlook….this film is for you. It’s about obsession, individuality, the art of tinkering, and its lovely. It’s quite long, but its worth it.
“It’s unfortunate that kids think that if they spend $18,000 on a sport bike that they’re going to be admired…..where do their dreams go…..when they turn the key off at night……..”
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.