I was going to update this thread earlier but chose to hold off until today. There is a reason for this. Today marks the 30th anniversary of my buying my '77 K-10, er , um, my 1991 V3500, er, um, monster truck.
Yup, the truck that started this thread, and this sickness, was bought by me 30 years ago this very day. January 16, 1988. So you can see the significance, and why I decided to wait out for this day for the latest update. Originally I intended on holding off for this day for the monster truck reveal but I was too anxious to share the build.
One thing I might add before continuing is to ask if everyone is aware of the Maiden America Monster Truck facebook page? There will be some content on the facebook page that doesn't make into this forum, and there will be the usual content in this thread that may not make it to the facebook page so continue to follow both for the full story.
So here is the latest on the build.
Here are a few more pictures from the tires day:
Using parts of the old wheels I built some ramp stands that I can use with my trailer ramps to drive the truck up on. At this point I can then just use a bottle jack to lift the truck to change the tires.
The next pictures I have to beg that you not judge my work. I only installed a
temporary interior with a rudimentary dash and no trim. The reason I am sharing this part is because I wanted you guys to see how the seats turned out. These are from an S-10 Blazer. I think they are awesome. They fit me well, and the cool thing is they set on the fuel tank hump perfectly for height placement without any lift modifications. One other awesome result is that their seat backs aren't as thick as the typical square body bench seat. Even with the high back you can still recline the seat to be comfortable, AND you end up with as much, if not more leg room than my GMT-400 trucks or my GMT-800 trucks.
As I stated a couple of posts back I wanted to make my own custom idler bracket for the blower belt. I think the snout swing arm, and the blower mount bracket look hokey. The only one I really like are the water pump mount type. Ironically these don't allow you to use them with a water pump. So, using plans I drew up I had a local company laser out these brackets:
I still have some finish work to do but this should give a good indication of what we will have. As always I'll mock everything up as I am preparing it for the final install and I will share the process.
So why the name Maiden America?
I came up with the name as a tribute, and it has multiple meanings.
First of all I love the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. There is no angle that you can photograph a B-17 that it doesn't look like an angel in flight. Graceful, beautiful, angelic. It would be hard to disagree.
So I chose the name "Maiden America" because it is a play on the words "Made in America". I am proud to report, and can verify that my truck only has a handful of parts not made in the U.S. of A.
The nose art portrayed on the Maiden America B-17 was also chosen because it represents the most common type of WWII aircraft nose art, the female form. It was also chosen as such because the female form was in good taste and "family friendly". Otherwise there is no particular connection between the Maiden America B-17 and the Maiden America monster truck. However in spite of the fact that there is no particular connection, the Maiden America B-17 is a respect worthy example. But don't be confused, this is not to state that there were any B-17s not deserving the respect of an adoring nation and her people.
A little more info on the Maiden America B-17:
Model 299-O, B-17G-95-BO. Army Air Force s/n: 43-38736
Built by Boeing Aircraft Company, Seattle Washington, USA.
Assigned to 548th Bomb Squadron, 385th Bombardment Group (square G), 934th Combat Bomb Wing, 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force. Aircraft letter GX-P
History:
Delivered: 12th Heavy Bombardment Processing Headquarters. Lincoln AAF Lincoln, Neb. 14-9-1944.
Transferred: North Atlantic Division, Air Transport Command (ATC) Grenier AAF Manchester, NH 27-9-1944.
Assigned: 385BG Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England. 1-10-1945.
Returned Zone of the Interior: Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, Conn 24-6-1945.
Transferred: Base Unit, South Plains Tex. 26-6-1945.
Sold for Disposal: RFC, Kingman, Ariz. 28-11-1945.
The Maiden America monster truck isn't so much a tribute to any one particular B-17 but a tribute to all 12,731 of the B-17s that were built by Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed/Vega to safeguard a nation and its people. It is also a tribute to all of the people and airmen who designed, built, flew, maintained, and filled support roles relating to the strategic bombing campaign.
Thousands of B-17s were lost in the campaign, and tens of thousands of aircrew were lost.