BIGFOOT 20 ELECTRIC MONSTER TRUCK

BIGFOOT 20 ELECTRIC MONSTER TRUCK

Bigfoot 20, the first electric monster truck, was on display at the 2019 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show.

Three banks of 10 ODYSSEY® batteries power the custom electric motor for a total of 360 Volts. There are six additional batteries that power the brakes and steering systems. The 36 batteries weigh over 1,300 pounds minuscule  compared to the vehicle's total weight of 13,000 pounds. 

The car-crushing Bigfoot 20 rides on four 1050/50R25 - 66-inch by 43-inch x 25-inch Firestone radial flotation tires. 

Each of the ODYSSEY® PC1200 batteries weighs 38 pounds and provide 1,200 five-second pulse hot cranking amps (PHCA), as well as 540 cold-cranking amps (CCA), 78 minutes of reserve capacity and 400 cycles of deep cycle capability at 80 percent depth of discharge (DOD).

Bigfoot 20, which uses Ford bodywork and weighs 11,000 pounds originally debuted at the 2012 SEMA show.

All photos by the author 

1926 Ford Model T Lakes Modified Roadster

At the West Capital Raceway Alumni Association car show at Carmichael Park on June 15 there was a beautiful lakes Model T roadster.  Ford produced the Model T from 1908 to 1927 with 1.5 million Model T’s built in 1926, 342,000 of which were roadsters, but Henry Ford could never have imagined Roy Zarick’s  jewel-like Lakes Modified Roadster.

The mint-green Ford Model T roadster body was narrowed 10 inches at the front cowl and 12 inches at the rear. The grille is from a 1933 Chevrolet which was narrowed and shortened with a hand-built stainless-steel grille insert crowned with a Moto-Meter.

The chromed dropped and drilled I-beam axle rides on quarter elliptical springs with 1940 Ford spindles with 12-inch 1940 drum brakes up front. The car rides on 19-inch Model A wire wheels painted body-color green wrapped in skinny 5.50-19 and 6.50-19 Firestone (Coker)  blackwall tires.

The custom built 2×3 steel rectangular tube frame curves upward in the back and the rear axle is suspended with a Model A buggy spring wrapped with leather, friction shock absorbers and 9-inch drum brakes.    

The three-piece hood is accented by a stainless center bar and is held in place by a leather strap, but it’s what is under the hood that really sets this car apart –  an Esslinger 4-cyclinder 161 cubic inch midget auto race engine fitted with four Mikuni side draft carburetors on a custom intake. This engine, which is based on the Ford Pinto design, sounds terrific through that long,chromed exhaust pipe.

All photos by the author.  

The original monster truck- Bigfoot 

at SEMA 2017

 

 

 

 

 

The Hedman Hedders booth at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas featured a blast from the past- the original “Bigfoot®” monster truck to celebrate the company’s nearly 40-year relationship with Bigfoot®.

 

 

 

Bob Chandler who ran a speed shop,  Midwest Four Wheel Drive in Hazelwood Missouri, was nicknamed “Bigfoot” by one of his shop employees due to his heavy-right-foot driving style, and as this 1974 Ford F-250 truck was being built as a showpiece for the shop, the truck itself was christened “Bigfoot®.”

 

 

 

The car-crushing truck which features military axles complete with four-wheel steering, 48-inch tall tires, and a supercharged 460 cubic inch Ford big block V8 engine made its first show appearance in 1979.

 

 

To date there have been a total of 22 Bigfoot® monster trucks built, including a battery-powered truck and a truck built with 10-foot tires. Bigfoot® has been named one of the “Top 5 Marketing Vehicles of All Time,” and its worldwide notoriety led to the creation of an entire “Monster Truck” industry.

Hedman Hedders began as a one-man shop in 1954 as Bob Hedman sold exhaust tubes to fellow racers for use on the dry lakes of the Mojave Desert. In the years since, the Hedman Performance Group has incorporated computer technology to ensure that its products offer the best performance improvement possible for street, race and off-road vehicles. Hedman Hedders has been part of the monster truck phenomenon since its start back in the mid-70’s, and every Bigfoot® truck has been Hedman equipped.

https://www.hedman.com/

Photos by the author