Truck Related The Ressurection of a LEGEND....The Virginia Beach Beast (56k BEWARE!!!)

well.....the rebuild starts here ladies and gentlemen. but first.....some before pics

 

Can you post some photo with the tailgate open showing the actual engine state??

Is the track are reusable or need to be change?

 

Go gettum bro!

 

Awesome ! Another monster being saved. I heard that it was still being used as of about 8 years ago. I went to Ricky Lewis's house and he told me about racing "Dessert Storm" against "Carolina Crusher" in sand drags at an event Willie Townes put on and he said the "beast" was still running then. Thanks for posting those pics and please keep the pics coming.

Rich

 

That is just too cool. It's outstanding that there are members finding and restoring pieces of history like this. Southern Storm, Cyclops, Virginia Beach Beast...just awesome. I look forward to what's to come.

And why are there christmas lights strung up around it lol

 

best of luck with it man.

 

Awesome

is that the original hauler behind it?

 

i am gonna be posting them in a short. the tracks are not reusable....from what i am told you have to just buy new tracks. the M1 abrams tank tracks you can just replace the pads...but not these. if anyone know where i can get tracks let me know........i will show how the engine goes info you also....but there is no engine in it.

 

Joey...same me some No Limit stickers that i can pick up from the race on Nov 7 so i can put on it........

 

don't know Richard....the last time i saw both of them run was in the late 90s........Willie had a Jamboree at his home......a lot of boggers were there.....Equailizer, and Grave Digger...my tank used to sit in the front yard with a sign on the top on top of two cars. i left and went in the military in 2000 and came home on leave and he moved and i think it has been like ten or so years if i am not mistaken. when i got home from the war i got up with him and just been friends ever since. i was actually joking with him about selling it to me and he said ok! i **** near fainted on the phone.......especially after he told me a price....

 

don know really and forgot to ask......but i will find out for ya

 

now to tell the low down. i am gonna be running a 1969 Chevy 366 out of a C60 wrecker. why run a 366??? why not a 454??? well....number one...everyone that has a 454 wants an arm, leg, and hip for them. but, but a lot of folks don't realize is this.....for all you country boys out there.......how many times have you seen a C50 thru a C80 carry a load of cars....pulling a 20k ibs farm trailer, or some ungodly amount of weight without straining? the 366 and 427 truck motors are as tough as they get. they do work like that all day long at 4500 rpm without a whimper or cough (unless you have a bad carb!). plus a lot of folk didn't know that the 366 and 427 was experimented in planes. the only reason why they didn't work was because they couldn't keep them cool. a plane engine has to hold 95% power ALL the time. the 366/427 truck blocks held in at 91%.....still good but not enough for planes. think about...they can do it in a truck because its stop a go (time to cool). plus...for all you performance heads out there ......a lot of people didn't know the crank and connecting rods were forged. so what does that mean?? CHEAP PERFORMANCE PARTS!!! plus, the crank and rods fit riright in 396,402, and 427 blocks with no modifications! so...if i do run across one of the above blocks...i have a complete forged rotating assembly! the only draveback with the 366 is the small bore. but...torque is what i need....not horsepower. Willie said that the more horsepower & torque you have....the more problem you will have also. these tanks are built SOLID...and more of the two creates more stress on driveline components. with all the above in mind.......

i went looking for a 366. the same day i looked....within an hour i found one on craigslist out of a wrecker that had 20K miles on it for $300 COMPLETE. it was a deal i couldn't refuse. so a call to Wayne and i was on my way to Williamsburg VA to get my motor! What am i going to do with it??? the only modes i have planned for it is a Competitam Cams Xtreme 4x4 259 Torque cam that puts the power from idle to 5200 rpm.....right where i need to be.




i have a Felpro full gasket set (might as well freshen it up) and a different set of heads. the heads on the 366 are small port and very restrictive....so a few calls to a few ofmy customers (i am an assistant manager of Napa in Ahoskie) and one of them had some heads he just had redone not too lond ago. the casting number of the heads are 3931063.....and my research show that cam off a 68-69 396 350HP engine!!!! man i got a steal and paided only $100 for both!!!








while i got the cam i got some Jegs chrome big block valve covers and the Moroso solid engine mounts. my customer also has a tall deck 4 barrel intake......i have to buy that also. chevy truck blocks have a taller deck on them....and regular intakes can't be ran unless you buy a set of $200 spacers. man....so far she's coming together pretty cheap! for a tranny.....Willie said he has the tank set up for a TH400 long tail tranny. a friend of mine gave me 2 short tail Th400s.....and a call to a friend of mine and he has 5 TH400s but for Olds motors. BUT.....that the GM gods that all the internalls are the same...so another customer of mine is goon thakt the internals out of the long tail and put in the Chevy case to make a long tail chevy.




OOOOOO special thanks to Rusty Ireland. he's gonna put the engine together for me. he owns R & T Motorsports.....so if you guys have anything you need worked on and you are close....holla at him!!! (that one was free Rusty!!!)


now for a history lesson......

a lot of people didn't know that the Beast actually had an unblown engine in it! one time after Willie messed up his blown engine...he ran a naturally aspirated big block in it because he had a magazine shoot and a race that weekend! the Oct 86 issue of Pulling Power magazine is the ONLY book that ever showed a picture of it! and the next weekend he had a race agaist BIGFOOT!!! and that naturally aspirated chevy STILL gave Bigfoot a run for the money!!! i think this is the race...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy80eIh2ahg"]YouTube - Bigfoot vs Virginia Beach Beast[/ame]

so...you never know what you are up against!!!!

until next posting.....

 

wow

 

for all that don't know me....here i am beside my toy

 

arent the 366 and the 427 more or less the same motor, with the 427 Bored out more?
I work at a feed store and we have an 89 C60 Spreader Truck that we just retired, the last motor in it was is a 366, it was put in 8 years ago, and that thing is bad awesome, except it had to be pull started, just sitting now, I may go fire it up next week just to keep it good.

 

Thank you so much bud for buying this piece of history it just put me in tears to see the truck like that. Now did you buy the semi too or just the tank?

 

Good to know you! Great to see the progress you're making and look forward to running with you in the future!

 

man...i was in almost in tears too in the reality set in that this is actually mine!!!!

 

good luck too on Cyclops......all jokes aside man its good to know the owner of your favorite 4 monsters trucks in person!!!!
i plan to take pics and document everything play by play....even when i go to bring it home.....to the first startup vid on youtube... to the first ressurection car crush!!

 

Man I wish I could give you guys a hand. But it looks like I'm a have to go after USA 1. How much he want for those?