“The only things that are left from its days as a personnel carrier are the tracks, the suspension, and the drive axle on the back,” he says. These days the M5’s setup is a far cry from where it was when it served in the military. That way I can go out there and just start rippin’ some wheelies, hit some jumps, and it’s still safe while doing lots of cool stuff.”Ī Powerglide transmission replaced the original Allison unit and connects to the custom reverser box. “My idea was that it had to be able to pivot on the back idler and wheelie on that back sprocket. “The tank is actually going backwards,” he says. He selected an M5 personnel carrier for the job. With that in mind, Bill set to work building a tank that could work for the show long-term. I didn’t want to hurt myself doing that – I want to be able to do this when I’m 80 years old.” “They were hurting a lot of people – those things were 18,000 pounds with no suspension, and they were jumping them like a monster truck. Later, a lighter, aluminum version was machined (right).īill says that tanks were popular back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but the technology to make them viable for use in stunt exhibitions wasn’t really there yet. Originally, a custom reverser box was designed from steel (left). In order to move the engine to the front, the rotation of the driveshaft needed to be reversed. You can always tell who’s in it for the money and who is in it because they love it. Our team grew so fast because people like what we’re doing and the work we put into the show. It went from being a two-truck team to four, to six, and just kept going. When I first started, I’d go from Washington to Texas, to New Jersey, to Alabama, etc., and any winnings I would make I’d invest straight back into the monster truck. “I begged and pleaded with promoters all over the country to get this thing out there. “I was always into the fab work and back in 2003 I was building a Jeep for a guy and he said, “Hey I’m thinking about getting a monster truck – would you take care of it and drive it when I don’t want to drive it?” I think I was 21 years old, and it didn’t take much convincing.”īill says that his client eventually lost interest in the truck, which provided a new opportunity for him. “It was just a right place at the right time kind of thing,” Bill says of Straight Up Racing’s origins. Based on an M5 Personnel Carrier, Major Payne was stripped down to the treads, dropping almost 12,000 pounds of steel in the process.
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