Bigfoot Kastritsky
First, we will visit the workshop of Chita resident Alexey Kastritsky, who has been working lately on his new and literally grandiose project - bigfoot with Chevrolet body Suburban.
But first, about something else: those of his cars that were built earlier - the 2011 trophy prototype and the 2012 expeditionary “medic”. The first is an original symbiosis using Japanese components and assemblies, as well as the use of wheel gearboxes (more on them later). In the second case, the name is only based on the body, while the engine, axles and the transmission in general are also from the “Japanese”. Here they are, standing on the territory of the service “as if alive,” in full fighting health. But the cars did not stand idle at all, but covered the hardest kilometers of off-road competitions and independent trips. They have not just titles from exhibitions, but honorable places in cups and multi-day raids into impassable places, in summer and winter, thousands of kilometers from the “base”. That is, these are by no means one-time projects for the show, but actually operating in extreme conditions samples.
These are Alexey’s previous works: not just show cars for exhibitions, but real operating machines- winners of extreme competitions and participants in individual trophy raids.And now he has matured new project. It is completely different from the previous two works. Not for competitions, of course. The concept of this vehicle is formulated as follows: to transport a group of people into difficult terrain, including places where people only drive tracked transporters. You can add - for a comfortable drop-off, since the entire interior of the Suburban with its three rows of comfortable seats remains in original form. Moreover, even with the third row engaged, it remains quite large cargo compartment, which will still include enough luggage for such trips.
As Alexey says, all previous experience of long-distance extreme trips, including solo trips, naturally created the need for large SUV For harsh conditions. Actually, for this purpose, on occasion, a standard 1995 Suburban was purchased - large, roomy, comfortable in the cabin. But it was the body with its interior, the frame and some “little things” that went into “production”. So, the original frame of this American, actually a car cargo category, is quite impressive in terms of safety margin. And the rear leaf springs: they also inspire confidence on the Suburban, so they went to work.
Otherwise, to build an “expeditionary” Bigfoot, we had to look for products of a completely different origin. American Gas engine The 5.7-liter V8 may be good in itself, but Alexey is used to dealing with simple atmospheric diesel engines Japanese made. Moreover, paired with manual transmission as a more reliable and unpretentious option in the conditions in which you have to drive. One of the arguments in favor of MCP is this: water will get in, you can drive, but you won’t get far with an automatic transmission.
The search for a diesel engine was carried out among 4- and 6-cylinder trucks, and as a result, a certain compromise was found: the 5-cylinder Hino J07C with a volume of 6.6 liters - essentially, a version of the more common six J08C “cut off” by one cylinder. Atmospheric, with simple in-line equipment, without electronics - that's what you need. Paired with its own 6-speed manual transmission.
Regarding the axles, options were not considered - from the GAZ-66, but I did not immediately decide on the wheels, and especially the tires. The most different variants, from “shishiga” to “Kraza-laptezhnika”, and even pneumatics were studied, but for one reason or another they were not satisfactory.
As a result, wheels from agricultural machinery were chosen: with 10-ply Kama FD-14A 21.3 R24 tires on converted rims from a combine harvester. The tires themselves will also be modified: based on existing experience, grooves will be made in the solid cross members of the tread - this will reduce the rigidity of the tires and to some extent increase grip. The weight of one such wheel came out to be under 150 kg! To “fit” them, it was necessary to lift the body relative to the frame by 25 cm and also lift the suspension relative to the axles by 10 cm.
Additional “cutting” of the tread crossbars has already been successfully tested on Alexey’s previous trophy prototype, and the same will be done on the Bigfoot.However, when the solution for joining the body and the chassis as a whole was found, the “highlight of the program” remained in question - the transfer case. When they were thinking about this main transitional link, the original unit from Suburban “smoked silently on the sidelines” - it lay uninvolved in the corner of the workshop. Even from the GAZ-66 this unit looked incompetent - it would be rather weak. A suitable one had to be looked for at a completely different weight level.
According to measurements, the width of the bigfoot was 2.7 meters, the height was 2.75 meters, and the depth of the ford was 2 meters. By the way, due to the latter circumstance, it was decided to abandon the installation of a snorkel.
Body lift relative to the frame through supports 25 cm high, plus a suspension lift of 10 cm.
What is the limiting angle lateral roll, is unknown, but trial tests have shown that it is quite large.And the solutions led to a domestic product of a rare class - a transfer case from ZIL-157. It was suitable both in configuration and in characteristics: here both steps are lowering - one is 1.16:1, the other is 2.27:1. In addition, this transfer case, borrowed from the famous 6X6 all-terrain vehicle with a separate (parallel) drive circuit on rear axles, there is a third exit that can be usefully used. For example, to drive water propulsion, if the car is developed as an amphibian, this is being considered in the future.
Installed dieselHino J07 CIt’s easiest to see from the side in the wheel arch: this is where the most convenient access to the fuel injection pump is - it’s actually at chest level.
Front suspension springs - fromDodge Ram, for a test drive, the original and “no” GAZ-66 brakes were used, and immediately after that they began installing third-party disc brakes(in the front and in the back).
As longitudinal arms of the front suspension, those fromL.C.80, but taking into account the specifics of the chassis layout, they “lay down” on the axles upside down from above.
Like the body itself, the frame, the rear springs and the 170-liter fuel tank fromSuburbanalso “fit” into the concept of building Bigfoot.
The ZIL-157 transfer case is “sunk” between the body and the frame so that it does not need additional protection. Its second exit back, due to the lack of a third bridge, will spin idle for now, but in the future it is planned to use it to drive the water propulsion.The steering is combined, using a Suburban gearbox, the engine radiator from the same model is retained - its parameters are quite sufficient. The fuel tank was also used from the “American” - its capacity of 170 liters does not yet make one think about additional reserve. And here fuel filter, as reliable and very effective, the native “Khinovsky”, but an additional one will be installed.
The hydropneumatic clutch, of course, is also original to Hino, and its compressor will also be used for installation in the future remote system inflation of wheels from GAZ-66. As for the interior, except for the integration of new transmission controls into the space between the seats, everything will remain like a Suburban.
I had the opportunity to meet Bigfoot just on the day of his first test ride. Still with some imperfections, but important parameters We managed to install the machines. For example, it quickly became clear that the “standby” brakes of the GAZ-66 were not suitable - as planned, suitable disc brakes would be installed.
But the main thing that was immediately clear is that the power connection turned out to be more than suitable. The Hino diesel engine with 170 horsepower at 2900 rpm, with a maximum thrust of 450 Nm at 1600 rpm, and the ZIL-157 transfer case surprised us with its ability. Even on the “upper lowering” the wheels seemed small to Alexey: there was plenty of traction, but the speed was low - you couldn’t really accelerate on the “highway”. On the second lowering, the Bigfoot is completely similar to a tractor.
However, tests on real off-road conditions are still ahead, and after this will be the author’s final verdict on his big project. By the way, on the roads common use the car rolls elastically, but smoothly and not harshly - all the potholes “break” somewhere below, like waves on the hull of a tanker, without causing any disturbance to its “crew”.
That's right, the impressive cladding is missing something - yes, the car still awaits the installation of a suitable bumper and a 16,000-th winch.
Today I was able to watch how these very monsters assemble (we are, of course, talking about cars; I did not have the opportunity to watch Godzilla hatch). Several of them, before my eyes, turn from a pile of parts into pickup trucks, after which they are mounted on, ahem, wheels.
Of course, they do not do this themselves, like transformers, but a specially trained master and pilot assemble them. Preparations are in full swing for the big show DO DAMAGE (deal damage, destroy), which will take place in St. Petersburg tomorrow, March 21, and next Saturday, March 28, in Moscow.
On the site, I was able to chat with pilots tinkering with their “gimmicks.” Each car is a piece product. The giant pickup trucks that will destroy everything at Russian shows are based on bodies from the Ford F-250 and Chevrolet Silverado, but in fact they are completely custom, created by pilots and mechanics.
The monsters weigh approximately 5 tons, and are driven by 1,500 hp engines that consume methanol. During the show, these cars burn 80-100 liters of fuel, and since the tank is designed for 80 liters, they have to refuel right during the event.
The pilots themselves are responsible for assembling the monsters, and only 8 servicemen travel with the Monster Mania show. Assembly before the show takes a whole day, because, in addition to installing the wheels, it is necessary to check absolutely all systems so that no unexpected problems arise during the performance of any tricks.
Loads on cars and pilots
Breaking and destroying is not an easy job. The loads on the structure are simply enormous - 5-ton cars fly to a height of more than 10 meters and crash onto the concrete floors of the show grounds. As the British crew pilot Anthony said, maximum height the height at which his monster truck took off was 42 feet (about 13 meters). Upon landing, the suspension worked its entire travel and experienced an overload of 190G. For comparison: the maximum short-term overload of a car during which a person managed to survive was 214G.
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The rims are also very durable, because even 15 atmospheres in the tire does not keep the rim from touching the ground upon landing. By the way, the wheels are 1.6 meters in diameter and 1.1 meters in width.
The pilots themselves experience loads up to 5G (the “ceiling” for a person is 15G for 3-5 seconds). As Swedish pilot Peter told me, driving a monster is no more difficult than driving a regular car.
The main difficulty is to control it so that all movements look spectacular! Performing stunts in any car is quite difficult. Do not forget that the maximum speed is 160 km/h. From 0 to 100 the speedometer needle jumps in 5 seconds, but in reverse side She goes down reluctantly, because the car is very heavy, and the grip of the huge wheels on the smooth concrete floor is small.
Historical reference
How it all began
Contrary to popular belief, the first such unit was not assembled for military purposes and not for access to hard-to-reach corners of our planet. The first monster truck, called Bigfoot, was originally created for fun.
American builder Bob Chandler, in his free time from bricks and cement, liked to mix dirt on his Ford SUV F-250. And in order to do what he loved more and more fun every day, he tuned his car day and night. When he got tired of the trowel and saw, he decided to quit his job and help everyone create crazy SUVs.
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Bigfoot designs were far from perfect, wheels fell off, engines could hardly move 8-10-ton monster trucks, and transmissions were constantly shattered. But, nevertheless, the units fulfilled their role as a show car. In his Fords, Bob dragged trains, drove right through brick buildings, turning them into dust, and most importantly, crushed cars in whole trains. Soon Bigfoot acquired turning mechanisms on rear wheels, which allowed the monster to spin in place. But this was not enough; flying became an absolute dream for the entire “big-footed” team. Then it was decided to create another monster, calculating its entire structure from scratch.
The prototype of today's monsters
Sitting down at their computers, engineers created physical and mathematical models for the new pickup truck. The main goal is to reduce weight and increase power. First of all, the space frame was developed. It was decided to make it from chrome-molybdenum hollow pipes instead of steel rails. This added rigidity to the structure and significantly reduced weight.
The engine was taken from a stamping company power units for dragsters, a V-shaped eight-cylinder compressor with a volume of 10 liters, powered by alcohol. The power of such an engine was approximately 2,000 hp, but such an “engine” was aggregated with a reinforced “automatic”, also created for racing cars.
The main feature of such a box was small gear ratios, which allowed the transmission to keep huge loads, although it significantly reduced maximum speed. As a result, 5 tons of a car with 2,000 hp, acceleration to 100 km/h is 5 seconds, but even this speed monster trucks do not reach, since they perform in special arenas where there is simply not enough space for acceleration and braking . Fuel consumption, of course, is cosmic - approximately 20-30 liters of alcohol per kilometer.
The 70s of the last century became for automotive world, something like a starting point, the most productive time, when most of the various auto movements were started and many different directions appeared. Most of the racing took shape into what we see now, precisely during that period, shows, competitions, trends in tuning in the new and old world, as well as in Japan. In those early years, Bob Chandler, a construction worker from a small American town, decided that attaching tractor wheels to a pickup truck would be, at the very least, fun. Everything, as usual, the enthusiast became the founder of an entire automotive subculture, which became incredibly popular on the American continent.
At first, Chandler's hobby was at the level of racing an SUV through puddles and potholes, and he was not different from other participants in the discipline in anything remarkable. Everyone had the same problems - old cars required constant repairs, there were no spare parts, no tuned parts either.
He came up with the idea to equip the old Ford with wheels with a diagonal of 1.2 meters, but more wheels did not fit into standard SUV arches and the thought process began. The call is accepted, either he will install them and the car will drive, or he will completely break his old pickup. The process began, special spacers were installed for the frame (made by Bob himself), the suspension, chassis, transmission and engine were upgraded. From a distance the car began to resemble modern monster trucks. Chandler was pleased with his creation and hastened to demonstrate his creation to the world. He agreed with the organizer of the Nascar races that before the race he would stage a small performance in his modernized car, the idea was accepted with a bang. The spectators rejoiced. Bob began to modify his car in every possible way and perform at various shows and performances. One day, while talking to a car race organizer, he said that he was worried about the unreliability of similar cars. After each show they needed to be repaired, to which he was given the answer that this was due to his “big paws”. It was about huge wheels, which essentially tore the car components into pieces. On English language big paws sound like bigfoot, hence the name of the vehicle.
Modern bigfoots are not the same production cars that were placed on huge wheels - this is a specially prepared vehicle with a monster-shaped engine located in the middle, a 4X4X4 wheel arrangement and a plastic body shaped like an SUV. Cars with a power of more than 1500 hp, performing at colorful car shows, completely lost touch with the world real cars received the name Monster-Truck.
Bob Chandler was the founder of not only the idea of a car on big wheels ah, but also the action that can be done with it. He thought it would be interesting to see how the huge wheels of his car could roll over several cars without leaving a wet spot behind them. None of the spectators expected such a performance and the movement quickly began to gain momentum, turning demonstration performances into an entire sports discipline with its own rules, regulations and records. In the USA, the shows became mega popular, cars were improved, modernized and became more powerful. High power What was needed was a good strong transmission, a reliable frame (reinforced with railway rails), suspension, etc., all this added weight to the already heavy structure, the weight of the vehicles reached 10 tons. Such a mass, even with a powerful engine, did not allow Bigfoot to perform mind-blowing tricks, and Bob Chandler began to think about a radical redesign of the car.
They decided to build the new truck on the principle of racing cars (minimum weight with maximum power). Instead of a standard pickup truck body, a lightweight tubular frame was built, the engine was moved to the middle of the structure, a spring suspension was installed, and appearance auto created plastic body, stylized as an SUV. The lightweight design helped the monster perform pirouettes on the track and even do somersaults.
How to build a monster truck and how much it costs
It all starts with space frame, made of chrome-molybdenum tubes with a diameter of 2-2.5 inches. The frame structure is designed on a computer with the calculation of the loads acting on each part. The dry weight of the frame is no more than 800 kg, which gives huge opportunities for a future car. Next, wheels with a diameter of 1.7 meters and weighing more than 500 kg are installed. This standard wheels from the tractor, which must be adapted for Bigfoot. This means that their weight must be reduced. This is achieved by replacing standard rims with lighter ones and trimming the tread. After all the manipulations, the wheels weigh about 350 kg. After creating the frame, they assemble the engine, which is based on the good old bigblock with a volume of 9-9.5 liters with mechanical superchargers from drag cars. Such internal combustion engines run on methanol producing 1500 hp or more. Bigfoot fuel consumption is measured in meters and amounts to 20 liters per 100 meters.
In monster trucks I use automatic three-speed transmissions with reinforced components and a large torque converter. In combination with a drag engine, they allow the machine to accelerate to 100 km/h in 4-5 seconds, jump over 60-meter obstacles, and also do somersaults. Jumping and stability are ensured by dual shock absorbers filled with nitrogen and having remote oil reservoirs. To ensure the strength of the suspension and transmission mechanisms, good old axles with planetary gearboxes are used, reducing the load on drive shafts and increasing ground clearance. Bigfoot has wheel formula 4X4X4, which means the driver has full control above the wheels and therefore unique steering. Standard SUV steering cannot cope with such loads, so hydraulics are used to turn the wheels, and pressure is simply applied to the steering ramp. A fiberglass dummy is used as a body, repeating the silhouette of a standard pickup truck or station wagon.
From the fuel consumption it is clear that participation in such a show expensive pleasure and building a car costs a pretty penny. To construct a Bigfoot, on average, you need from 150 to 200 thousand dollars. At least $500 thousand is spent on annual maintenance.
If you are planning to build a truck like Bigfoot, then know that you will need about $150,000 and a lot of time for development and construction, and you will not be able to drive it on public roads because the width of the average monster is 3.5-4 meters or more . It is worth noting that when transporting Bigfoots, huge wheels are replaced with ordinary truck wheels, which can significantly reduce the dimensions of the pickup truck.
Patrick Enterprises builds most of the Bigfoot monster truck battles and is one of the most respected companies in the industry. Let's take as an example of construction one of the company's trucks, built in 2010 and called Samson monster truck.
So: Here is the approximate sequence of building a truck.
Construction of a Monster Truck begins with the design and fabrication of a frame made of 2-2.5-inch diameter chromansil steel tubing by welding into a single piece.
After painting the frame, the front and rear axle. Axles are taken mainly from military trucks with planetary gearboxes with large gear ratio, which allows you to turn huge wheels 1.7 meters in diameter and 1.1 meters wide. Both axles are driven and have steering. That is, a 4x4x4 scheme is used (4 wheels, 4 driving wheels, 4 steerable wheels
) Rear steering can be connected optionally from the driver's cab.
The engine and transmission are installed in the middle of the structure, this is beneficial from the point of view of weight distribution and maintenance, as well as replacement of the power unit. The engine is fueled by methanol and has a displacement of 575 cubic inches or 9.42 liters. Paired with a supercharger, such an engine develops 1,500 hp or more, which allows a four-ton truck to accelerate to hundreds in 4 seconds. The suspension uses especially long-travel shock absorber struts , up to 4 pieces per wheel. Without the use of springs, only nitrogen pumped under high pressure works well under these operating conditions. average cost
such an engine costs $40,000 Every year teams have to fork out money for 5 engines to participate in the show!!! Body panels are made from composite materials
and are purely decorative. Some Big Foots have several sets of decorative panels at their disposal. Participating in different shows, they are always in a new guise. The average cost of making a frame shell from scratch is $50,000 
Although, you can order a remake of an existing body for about $3,000.
Once the big wheels are installed, the Samson is ready to perform. In the USA, truck racing ranks first 
place among all possible auto shows Trimming tires is an important and integral process in building a Bigfoot. This procedure
necessary for
lightening the rubber and forming the required tread pattern. For cutting one tire
it takes about 50 man-hours of work and costs about $2,500. The tire loses weight by an average of 100
The total number of people crushed by such wheels Vehicle reaches 3000 per year!!! 
With raw Monster Truck tires, you can immediately see the difference in the tread. 
The spatial frame of the monster is calculated on the computer. It must withstand enormous loads while always protecting the rider. The frame is welded from two-inch thick-walled chrome-molybdenum pipes using helium arc welding.
The body is made of fiberglass, the “glass” is made of Lexan to protect the pilot from accidental fragments. Thanks to these and other tricks total weight the monster can be kept within 5-5.5 tons.
Engine
What the United States doesn't have a problem with is powerful engines. Let us remember that the 5.6-liter engine is called Small block, and this is not ironic. Under the hood of monster trucks there is a Big block, i.e. classic, like a Colt pistol, a 9.4 liter engine with a mechanical supercharger, powered by alcohol.
Such engines are simply purchased from manufacturing companies like Merlin - they are usually installed in dragsters. Typical power - 1500-2000 hp. However, there are more original examples - for example, with aircraft engines. And the first alcohol-electric hybrid monster is scheduled to appear in 2011! The Greens have arrived here too!
However, it's long overdue. The fuel consumption of monsters is around 15-20 liters per... one kilometer!
Transmission
A racing box with a gigantic safety margin is also easy to get in America. Companies like Powerglide, Allison or Lenco actually mass-produce transmissions for dragsters and other strange American cars. This is, as a rule, a regular three-speed automatic, only with a huge torque converter and other very strong components. There are, however, non-trivial solutions such as “robots” with centrifugal clutch and pneumatic gear shifting.
The drive, of course, is permanent all-wheel drive, without any civilian nonsense such as differentials. Bridges from school buses or other heavy equipment, but ordinary axles for mid-size pickups are more often used - their strength is enough for all acrobatics.
The load on the shafts is reduced thanks to the installation of planetary wheel gears. At the same time, this makes it possible to increase the ground clearance to 120 cm. In the case of Bigfoot, wheel reducers With gear ratio 6.3:1, and GP - with a ratio of 2.6:1. This adds up to a very “short” ratio of 16.5:1. The fact is that monsters don’t need to gain maximum speed, but powerful acceleration is what they need.
Suspension
The spring suspension of the first bigfoots could provide a travel of 10-15 cm. In modern monster trucks, the suspension travel reaches 70 cm! Schematic diagram simple: trailing arms, springs, shock absorbers. It's just the components themselves... Rancho or Bilstein don't produce such shock absorbers, so the teams make them themselves.
The body is made of steel or aluminum three-inch pipes. Steel ones are stronger, but aluminum ones are lighter - this is a matter of priority for the rider.
Nitrogen is pumped into shock absorbers under a pressure of 30 atm. On landing, with the suspension fully compressed, the pressure jumps to 150 atm!
The trailing arms, which attach to the axles and to the center of the frame, are made from chrome-molybdenum tubing that the team heats in a saline solution. After this, the pipes bend more, further cushioning the landing.
Wheels
For some shows, monsters on wheels up to 12 feet (3.5 m) were built, but the most common size now is 66 inches (170 cm). Rubber is taken from tractors or combines. But the wheels from agricultural machinery are not suitable for monster trucks - they are made of too thin iron that cannot withstand jumps.
So designers make their own wheels from 25-inch tubing, then spend several weeks lightening and balancing the resulting 400-pound pieces. As a result, the weight of the finished discs is no more than 200 kg.
Air is pumped into the wheels to a pressure of 12-14 atm. But still, when landing, the rubber is completely crushed - down to the disc. Therefore, the disks are made narrower than expected, because The rubber fits better on these and does not fly off when in contact with the ground.
The cost of one set of wheels is USD 12,500. Not so much when compared with chrome-plated 26-inch “rollers” for Cadillacs.
