Project Leadfoot is Complete

[Eric] You're watching Powernation!

[Dan] What you building? [Eric] Big blue Ford. [Dan] What are you gonna call it? [Eric] Leadfoot. [ Music ]

[Dan] Where'd you get that from? [Eric] It just came to me. [Dan] What you putting in it? [Eric] 460. [Dan] I've got a 490. [Eric] That's pretty cool. [Dan] That's pretty cool too. [Eric] Thanks. [Dan] Alright then. [ engine revving ]

[ Music ]

[Eric] Today is finally the day that Leadfoot gets to leave this shop. It was inspired largely by the original monster truck Bigfoot. We're gonna get into that a little bit later but before we do let's take a look at where this thing started. Honestly this thing made it in here quite a bit easier than I thought it would. It just walked right up the entrance hill. It made it up to the staging area just fine. For what is essentially a bone stock truck I'm pretty impressed so far. [Chris] This is Wooly's Off Road Park. The facility has a huge variety of different kinds of obstacles. So it makes for a really great proving ground for not just stock trucks but our fully built ones too. What are your plans for this thing? [Eric] Just a good old school four by four. If it's gonna be off road based I think we need to have a baseline of just classic four by four, which I think is the perfect fit for this thing. Old school Fords you can't beat them. On top of adding this big block under the hood we mentioned wanting to make sure this was as old school as possible. Just kinda get back to the roots of American four by four. I think style wise we can't go wrong with throwing a big chrome triple-double roll bar in the bed. Go ahead and take this fuel tank out. Put a fuel cell in the bed for safety. [Chris] Then when it comes to the suspension department we are going to be running with a six inch lift, 35 inch tires, and they are going to be chunky. While we were out there we wanted to test three specific things. One, how'd it do on the trial? General climbing and all that good stuff. Two, how's we do in the mud? That didn't go as we planned. Three, just getting sideways and having some fun. [Eric] See if she'll cut through here. And bump. There it is! [Chris] Snap it around, snap it around! [Eric] Oh, oh, oh! [ Music ] [Chris] You can't drive through that. [Eric] No, let's not. Let's be smart about this. That was a good one. She does not like trying to do donuts. That's fine though. She'll get there. [Chris] We gotta drive this home, don't forget. [ Music ]

Snap it around, snap it around. We need more real estate. [Eric] We need more room and she needs better tires. [Chris] Or substantially more power. [ Music ]

[Eric] Nope! [ Music ]

[Chris] Oh no. That's it, that's it! [Eric] Bet or match?

Here comes the fun part.

Hello floor. Oh yeah! Yeah Chris, I'd say that's probably it. [Chris] You got her stuck. Go get the cable. Start walking. [ Music ]

Once we got this back into the shop we decided to start tearing into this and boy were we surprised at the amount of work that we had to do. [Eric] While Chris was getting everything on the truck side prepped I was over here getting our transmission ready to be installed to our engine. [Chris] I did have to make a custom exhaust for this project. [Eric] We've got quite a few adjustments we're gonna have to make here. With that Leadfoot is complete.

[Eric] When it comes to safety, style, and all the small parts we needed to put all these things together and turn this truck into what it is today we've got our friends over at Summit Racing to thank for that. Really the lift kit, the wheels, the core support, radiator. I could go on all day about all the parts we got from them but I'll just sum it up and say this truck wouldn't have been possible without their help. An extra special thanks to Knoxville Driveline for the set of custom driveshafts we got that's gonna push this thing down the trail. [Chris] Next up I'm gonna work in biggest patch to smallest. Now I'm gonna bend on this line here. We had to make fully custom engine mounts making sure that we had enough clearance for the oil filter and the headers. How far over do we have to go? [Eric] Where it's sitting now is where it needs to be. [Chris] I mean you scratched the paint off the bell housing. [Eric] Man we've got to start over. [Chris] Now that we have the front part of the motor mounts built, fabricated, welded in their forever home we're gonna move to the back. That motor is pushing out on 600 plus horsepower. The torque that's gonna create is gonna twist everything but what I think I'm really gonna do is go off the bottom of this K-member here. It's wide, super strong, and it's gonna be more than enough beef for what we need. Fortunately the design of the rear engine mount was pretty straightforward. So I just cut it out and installed it. I think what I'm gonna do is bend it slightly below the joint itself. Once the rear mounts were put in place I tacked all the pieces to ensure proper fitment. Then got ready to burn it all in. [Eric] While Chris was getting everything on the truck side prepped I was over here getting our transmission ready to be installed into our engine. Normally this is a straightforward process but as you can guess this isn't exactly a factory combination taking a 385 series big block and mating it to a Tremec TR-4050. Since the engine and transmission were already put together they went in at the same time. The way we had it set up ended up working perfectly. I'm gonna start dropping the tail end. The next major part of this truck I want to start on was the interior. In there we decided to get started with a custom dash. I'm trying to recreate something similar to a square body gauge cluster with some custom gauges from Summit Racing. [Chris] While Eric was sorting out the electrical and the interior I tackled the crossmember for the transfer case. Once we got all that sorted out we were able to marry the chassis to the cab on the truck. We also want to say thank you to Behemoth Drivetrain for sending us the shift linkage that's gonna help us put this 205 to work. Once the doghouse and trans tunnel were all sorted out I tackled the seats that Eric picked up from Simpson racing. We paired these with a set of five point harnesses. I went with the set of Hedman headers that we also got from Summit Racing, which ended up pointing us in the right direction right off the hop. These headers got us started off very well but I did have to make a custom exhaust for this project. [Eric] We've got quite a few adjustments we're gonna have to make here. We're gonna have to shim it. What'd you do with those shims? [Chris] I don't know! It has been so long! [Eric] This is why we can't have nice things Chris! One of the last things we're gonna do before we roll this thing out of here is go ahead and do an oil change because we want to make sure the oil that's in there is nice, fresh, and clean so we're not gonna have anything to worry about out on the trail. The oil we're using is gonna be this Schaeffer's 10W-30. What we're running here is Schaeffer's Supreme 7,000 Synthetic Plus Racing Oil. This stuff is made and formulated for high performance engines like our 460 in Leadfoot. This oil offers superior film strength, excellent resistance to thermal breakdown, and it's got friction modifiers to help protect all your internal components so you don't have to worry about any wear, scuffing, or abrasion. And with that Leadfoot is complete. [ Music ]

Before Leadfoot hits the trails we've got Bigfoot coming up next. The original monster truck is here and we're gonna talk to the legendary driver Dan Runte who used it to jump over a 727.

[ Bigfoot engine revving ] [ Music ]

[Narrator] Powernation under the hood is brought to you by Summit Racing Equipment. [Eric] It ain't too often a truck comes along and changes the game but it's even more rare that it comes along and creates its own. [ Music ]

That is a lot of truck. Dan how's it going? [Dan] Good Eric, how are you? [Eric] It is an honor and a privilege to have you both in here. I think this might count as more than one vehicle at this point. [Dan] It's a lot of memories. [Eric] I have no doubt about that. There wouldn't be a monster truck world without Bigfoot. [Dan] Bigfoot and Bob Chandler absolutely. [Eric] We're at the 50th anniversary this year. [Dan] Yes we are. We're gonna have a big year. Got a lot of new paint jobs out there. Running in different circuits. It's pretty exciting for us too. [Eric] A lot of different paint jobs but not this one. You keep this one original. [Dan] Yes we do, and there's argument about whether this one needs to be painted or not or if we should leave it the way it is. [Eric] The way it looks now is the way it should look. This is what everybody expects. You think of Bigfoot this is the truck. You can't change that. That's got to stay. [Dan] Definitely a neat piece. [Eric] I don't know where to start with talking about this thing. There is so much of everything to talk about. We'll start at the back and see how this thing is built and put together. [Dan] A lot of it is old five ton military stuff. The housings, transfer case. That's where they started back then. It was a truck for Bob to promote his business when he first built it. As he promoted it and it got bigger and his foot got heavier hence the name Bigfoot. They had to build bigger parts, put bigger parts on it, and they used what was available at the time. [Eric] So this truck was more of a snowball than anything. [Dan] It was. It was a shop truck. Bob had a four wheel drive shop and this was a promotion tool when he started. That's where it all came from. Bigger tires, bigger lift kits. [Eric] At five and a half feet tall that's a little bit bigger than stock. [Dan] The tires are actually fertilizer spreader tires. They use them on the sprayers in the field. A lot of people ask where those come from. It's an agricultural tire. [Eric] We've got the truck here and I've gotta ask. Can I get in it? [Dan] Absolutely, I think you should. [Eric] The question might be "can" looking at how tall it is. [Dan] That's kinda on you. [Eric] Let's see if I can figure this out. [Dan] Just kinda roll cage. See you're a pro already. You got this. [Eric] So next I get to drive it right? [Dan] I might have to make a phone call for that one. [Eric] This is quite the cockpit in here. [Dan] A C-6 transmission. Manual valve body. So it has a ratchet shifter in it so you don't skip one or don't shove it in neutral. We've had that happen before too and it wasn't good. I'm gonna close this door. [Eric] Oh wow. I could get at home in here. [Dan] Rush hour traffic! [Eric] It'd go by a lot faster in this thing. [Dan] Over in the center there's a yellow thing. If you just pull that out. [Eric] There it is. [Dan] Then you can work that rear steering if you want. [ mechanical whining noise ] [Eric] That's clever having it right up here. I would guess you guys always have the windows down if you're running this thing. [Dan] The guys that drove back then. Jim Kramer, drove for Bob forever, has got a bad elbow from beating it on the door cause he had his head hanging out the window. He was in a lap belt in there just hanging out to see what he could see. [Eric] This actually looks pretty convenient though. I would guess that front power steering is pretty solid, especially if it's only running the one axle. You've got full control right here. We know that this thing originally had that 640 in it but that's not what's under there anymore. I think it's time we see what's under the hood. [Dan] Actually if you want we can do that. Right there in front of your rear steering will be the switch that will flip the hood up for us. We can check that out. Don't worry, she's old. She makes a little noise but it's okay. [Eric] She still works. [Dan] Old workhorse. 50 years later! [Eric] Opening the hood on Bigfoot might be the coolest thing I've ever done. So what do we got cooking under here? [Dan] This is actually a big block 490, Ford of course. 871 blower, couple of Holley carburetors. It does pretty decent for this and a lot of it's in the gear ratio. [Eric] What kind of power is that thing putting out? [Dan] It does right at 650, somewhere in there. It's a fairly healthy motor. [Eric] That's a good power level for most things. I would imagine even that amount of power going to these tires you would have to have some crazy gearing in there. [Dan] There is. The gearing's knocked way back with the planetaries and what we run in the gear ratios in the rear end. You're looking at 5.73 to 6.10. [Eric] You're up there! [Dan] Well besides the tires. [Eric] That 490's moving just fine. [Dan] For what we're doing with it now days it does an outstanding job. It had the big 640 in there when we were actually competing it and doing stuff with it. Change with the times, we use it a lot for just showing it off because of what it is. [Eric] This truck has made a lot of things possible that most people would have thought there's no way. [Dan] Correct, and it has. It's instigated the whole industry because once more people got involved in it, it just made the whole industry roll faster and harder. 35 years ago when I started I'd get to meet the guy that was the Bigfoot guy. He knew all about Bigfoot. Well 35 years later and three generations now grandpa and his son and grandson are all coming. It's pretty heartfelt. Still makes us number one. [Eric] Coming up, we are back at Wooly's Offroad Park here in Lynnville, Tennessee, with believe it or not the same F-150 we had here the first time you saw us. [Chris] Come on!

[Eric] We are back at Wooly's Offroad Park here in Lynnville, Tennessee, with believe it or not the same F-150 that we had here the first time you saw us. [Chris] She's got everything we wanted to put in it. More horsepower, more height, more everything. I just want to get more trail time. So let's go! [ engine rumbling ] [Eric] To say it's a world of difference from what we started with to what we've got now. That really is a bit of an understatement. This thing is just ridiculous now. [Chris] In all the right ways. [Eric] The entire goal here was build a truck that's just an old school all American four wheel drive that has no purpose whatsoever except for being fun. The sound of this thing alone should be enough to tell you it's a great time. [Chris] It's not something that you'd want to drive every day but it's definitely something you want to drive every weekend. [ Music ] [Eric] We're just rolling on through here. [Chris] For a trail rig that's what you want. You don't want to have to always be in it or on the brakes. You want to be able to have it so it pulls itself at a certain point. [Eric] Being able to drop it in that first gear and just crawl down is super nice. First up, doing doughnuts. [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

[Eric] Woo hoo hoo! [Chris] You learned to do doughnuts. The key ingredient, 600 horsepower! [Eric] This thing finally has the ass to do it. Boy does she love it. Let's get rolling. [ Music ] [ engine rumbling ] [ Music ]

[Eric] Oh yeah! She is doing alright with the crawling and creeping along. [Chris] Huh? [Eric] She seems like she's doing pretty good with the crawling and the creeping, but she definitely likes it more when you give her some of the beans. [ engine rumbling ] [ Music ]

[Eric] This thing sounds amazing. That exhaust you did was just what it needed. [Chris] Thank you. I appreciate it. I was going for that Nascar slash World War Two fighter pilot sound. [Eric] Just sounds real nasty. You don't want to see this thing line up next to you. At least not some place out here. Let's see how this thing feels about us now. [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

[Chris] You can just go up here. [Eric] Are we gonna be able to cut that? [Chris] Do it. Cut it wide. [Eric] She is just loving it. She doesn't like going slow but give her a little. [ engine revving ] [Chris] Whoa! [ engine revving ]

[Eric] I went the wrong way. [ Music ] [Chris] That breeze is needed. [Eric] It's a little hot out and a lot drier than I was hoping. I was looking for a little more mud. [Chris] It's coming in. [Eric] The end of the day where we're at now I think this thing handled everything great. [Chris] We can't complain. It turned out. It worked right out of the box. We had a blast. [Eric] Really no issues at all today.

The best part is the fact that we really didn't do a lot of break-in and test drive before we got here. It was really just make it run, make it move, and then we decided trial by fire. [Chris] It could have bit us in the butt but it worked in spades. We get to enjoy this! [Eric] Really this is the whole point of it right? Once you get done you have your fun. You want the view. I think it's safe to say for a first project nailed it. [Chris] See you next time folks.