I remember having this on VHS as a kid. The tape developed a problem (maybe from watching it too much), so, thinking it needed to be cleaned, it washed it in our bathroom sink. Needless to say, the tape did not survive.
I remember reading about Rollin Thunder in Diesel Power Magazine. Jim Oldaker, the owner and driver of Rollin Thunder, ended up selling the diesel powered van to someone from Japan at an online auction and now works with his brother making prosthetic limbs for wounded children and veterans. How's that for cool?
they may be slow, but they have so much more style to them than the "roll cage with a cookie cutter glass body" of today. back then it was all about the cars getting crushed. now people just want to see the monster trucks roll over and crush themselves.
Superb stuff! 8) Thanks so much for sharing. You still can't beat proper monster trucks. I've always thought the same thing about the Lunchbox and the Pumpkin too by the way. :D
Love the insane stuff they do these days, but I really miss the slower pace, the tech info, the strategy of using different equipment, the custom work, the tractor pulling, mud bogs. Now it's all WWF story lines + driver grudges, screaming MCs, etc :( Used to be a great way to spend a Sunday morning! Just had the same feeling I used to get way back when- curiosity about the equipment, mourning the crushed cars- Thanks for posting! Now, where's my Sunday paper and a donut? =)
I saw Frankenstein in Washington State back in the 80's & I thought that was awesome to see.Then seen King Kong at the Anaheim Convention Center & I was in love with monster trucks.Back then,they were a bit slower than they are now in 2020,but watching King Kong destroy a car for the 1st time made me want more.I wish King Kong & Awesome Kong would come out of retirement.
Oh yeah...and I love my Lunch Box! I had a Midnight Pumpkin first cuz I love the body style and curves. Couldn't resist the LB and it's toughness. I'm sure you probably hate the Lunch Box? Or at least Tamiya for stealing your design. If I didn't have a LB I wouldn't know (or have found out) about Rollin Thunder. I like RT better than bigfoot for sure and has replaced the Gravedigger as my all time favorite now!! I bet you dad had a small beer fridge in there too to keep them Budweiser's cold!
Good stuff,brings back childhood memories! I don't even bother to watch monster trucks these days,its just not the same. Back then it was truck challenge,modifying real everyday vehicles... these days the vehicles are designed specifically for crushing etc etc... I dunno its like seeing a tractor for example doing what a tractor does best,being a tractor...vs watching a machine doing something totally unthinkable and being pushed beyond its overall intended design.
back in the early 80`s gary porter and his brother richard built the first carolina crusher at richards 4x4 shop across the street from my apartment in wadesboro nc. it was an old chevy stepside and was his daily driver until it got too big for the road. back then they were truck bodys on top of some kind of homemade frame and weighed as much as a bulldozer. boy have things changed.
look how many people are allowed on the floor lol, that would not fly today. and look at the people sitting on the top level edges lol, it really was the wild west back then for monster trucks.. good old days
true but todays ones look crap by comparison....they're bodies are literally just sheets bolted to a slim roll cage....where as, proportion wise, these things actually look like proper vans and trucks. As for speed, thats just how it goes....over time technology, manufacturing, materials etc just improve....but I will always have a soft spot for these original MTs
I can't believe it, but this was actually more exciting than a truck show I went to a week ago. Sure they couldn't do much at the arena because it's really small, be I think it's the look of the trucks that have spoiled it for me. They all looked the same. I loved how in the 80's there was a wide variety of truck styles and different events like mud-bogging. Now the trucks have lame looking plastic bodies and the only variety's on the front. BTW, Frankenstein is awesome, but painfully slow.
This was when monster trucks really were monstertrucks. these things were meant to crush. not too fly. why MT racing became more like motocross ill neve rknow.
lol gotta love how monster mash busted the front end right at the line!!! this is real monster truck racing, the stuff nowadays is brutal i cant stand to watch it either
It lacked both shocks and traction bars, not much to keep axles in place. Atleast leafs did not have shackles on both ends. So yeah, it was and still is very awkward machine
The driver of Monster Mash was 21?! Holy crap.. and here I am at age 22... btw I agree. Everytime I've seen Frankenstein, the truck is just crawling slowly.
No I don't. What is it now? I've always liked the Lunch Box R/C truck. Just found out this week where they got the idea...so I'm building a Rollin Thunder version out of a new Lunch Box kit as a tribute, and the way a LB should have looked. You're dad had a kick ass truck! And it wasn't stripped out, in fact it was loaded! Nooobody does that any more. I just discovered RT last week and I'm checking into it hard...I really dig the truck! Tell you're dad he's still getting NEW fans! THX -Tom.
I wonder where these relics or today. Need a show to find the Original Monster trucks of the day. Some of these where RC cars. And the old cars there crushing are classics today, now that's funny.
Barry WENTZ IS the driver in Frankenstien. He never got the notoriety he deserved and was not treated well by the Starbird family especially after his divorce. I am his Widow. R.I.P. Barry.
Am I the only one that remmbers trucks like these? pr a better quetion How mny people would agree that these trucks and tracks wer better than the ones now trucks maybe were slower but more interetig to me ad carsnot painted too some tracks now dont even have cars what fun is that
Check out those classics... getting crushed. Of course at the time they were just old junk cars. hahaha good times. Granted, most of those are normal 4doors, but there's a nice Cadillac a 500cid v8 could be pulled from, a really nice late 1960s Pontiac, etc. And remember, lots of the blah sedans had parts that were interchangeable with the fun stuff- GTOs, Camaros, Chevelles....
they had the guts, they just didn't have the technology, you have to remember these were actual trucks on heavy duty frames, not full out tube chassis/rollcages, and the suspension systems were archaic compared to now, where everything is designed on a computer. and every jump was a HARD landing.
back in the early-mid eighties the old school trucks on average i don't think had more than 500-650 horsepower,these trucks were built off of stock chassis which were heavily reinforced, used leaf spring suspension, a stock body, and heavy military axles to support the tires. they weighed somewhere between 16.000-20.000lbs. Today trucks featured a full tubular chassis and a long-travel suspension using nitrogen shock absorbers. Weigh no more than 10.000lbs and have on average 1400-1700hp.
I remember having this on VHS as a kid. The tape developed a problem
(maybe from watching it too much), so, thinking it needed to be cleaned,
it washed it in our bathroom sink. Needless to say, the tape did not
survive.
Frankenstein = Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin (only a different colour)
Cool, I had that as a kid :D
I think they did the van as well?
@@artoodiitoo yes, they called it the Lunchbox
I remember reading about Rollin Thunder in Diesel Power Magazine. Jim Oldaker, the owner and driver of Rollin Thunder, ended up selling the diesel powered van to someone from Japan at an online auction and now works with his brother making prosthetic limbs for wounded children and veterans. How's that for cool?
it is cool is the truck still around now I believe Matchbox made a model of that truck and several others including USA 1 which I happen to have
holy crap... it sucks to see all these great classic cars get crushed... i swear i saw a gto, impala, and charger, amongst those cars getting crushed
I always loved the monster vette, such a cool vehicle
Rest Well Vader...the spark plug wires were so cool in the monster Vette... everything Starbird did was cool
I still have rolling thunder in my garage.except now it's called a Tamiya lunchbox.
they may be slow, but they have so much more style to them than the "roll cage with a cookie cutter glass body" of today. back then it was all about the cars getting crushed. now people just want to see the monster trucks roll over and crush themselves.
Before I moved to SOUTH CAROLINA, I was already GOING TO MONSTER TRUCK RACES.
Cool Tamiya Lunchbox
and midnight pumpkin !
drongo jonkins LMAO nice
Superb stuff! 8) Thanks so much for sharing. You still can't beat proper monster trucks. I've always thought the same thing about the Lunchbox and the Pumpkin too by the way. :D
Showed this video to my little cousin who is 3 years old 😌
back then this was exicting i love watching old moster trucks
Love the insane stuff they do these days, but I really miss the slower pace, the tech info, the strategy of using different equipment, the custom work, the tractor pulling, mud bogs. Now it's all WWF story lines + driver grudges, screaming MCs, etc :( Used to be a great way to spend a Sunday morning! Just had the same feeling I used to get way back when- curiosity about the equipment, mourning the crushed cars- Thanks for posting! Now, where's my Sunday paper and a donut? =)
I used to have a rolling thunder poster as a kid
wow man this shits old im 15 but i like the old monster truck bodies
I saw Frankenstein in Washington State back in the 80's & I thought that was awesome to see.Then seen King Kong at the Anaheim Convention Center & I was in love with monster trucks.Back then,they were a bit slower than they are now in 2020,but watching King Kong destroy a car for the 1st time made me want more.I wish King Kong & Awesome Kong would come out of retirement.
Oh yeah...and I love my Lunch Box! I had a Midnight Pumpkin first cuz I love the body style and curves. Couldn't resist the LB and it's toughness. I'm sure you probably hate the Lunch Box? Or at least Tamiya for stealing your design. If I didn't have a LB I wouldn't know (or have found out) about Rollin Thunder. I like RT better than bigfoot for sure and has replaced the Gravedigger as my all time favorite now!! I bet you dad had a small beer fridge in there too to keep them Budweiser's cold!
LOVE IT
I had the Rolling Thunder matchbox car.... And I still have BATTLE OF THE MONSTER TRUCKS VHS tape
Good stuff,brings back childhood memories! I don't even bother to watch monster trucks these days,its just not the same. Back then it was truck challenge,modifying real everyday vehicles... these days the vehicles are designed specifically for crushing etc etc...
I dunno its like seeing a tractor for example doing what a tractor does best,being a tractor...vs watching a machine doing something totally unthinkable and being pushed beyond its overall intended design.
back in the early 80`s gary porter and his brother richard built the first carolina crusher at richards 4x4 shop across the street from my apartment in wadesboro nc. it was an old chevy stepside and was his daily driver until it got too big for the road. back then they were truck bodys on top of some kind of homemade frame and weighed as much as a bulldozer. boy have things changed.
look how many people are allowed on the floor lol, that would not fly today. and look at the people sitting on the top level edges lol, it really was the wild west back then for monster trucks.. good old days
wow it amazing how they changed in 20 years!!! no they big ass jumps with no problem and they sure can move fast now!!!
true but todays ones look crap by comparison....they're bodies are literally just sheets bolted to a slim roll cage....where as, proportion wise, these things actually look like proper vans and trucks. As for speed, thats just how it goes....over time technology, manufacturing, materials etc just improve....but I will always have a soft spot for these original MTs
awesomeness classic monster truck action
I can't believe it, but this was actually more exciting than a truck show I went to a week ago. Sure they couldn't do much at the arena because it's really small, be I think it's the look of the trucks that have spoiled it for me. They all looked the same. I loved how in the 80's there was a wide variety of truck styles and different events like mud-bogging. Now the trucks have lame looking plastic bodies and the only variety's on the front. BTW, Frankenstein is awesome, but painfully slow.
That first pair of trucks, the one on the left looked like his truck was walking over the cars, lolol.
Lmao,true.
This was when monster trucks really were monstertrucks. these things were meant to crush. not too fly. why MT racing became more like motocross ill neve rknow.
lol gotta love how monster mash busted the front end right at the line!!! this is real monster truck racing, the stuff nowadays is brutal i cant stand to watch it either
+1983tmb This is real monster truck racing I agree. The old school racing is way cooler.
At 0:43 Frankenstein looks like it’s tiptoeing ha ha ha
1:43?
@@looneycam2762 edited... lol 0:43
k
It lacked both shocks and traction bars, not much to keep axles in place. Atleast leafs did not have shackles on both ends. So yeah, it was and still is very awkward machine
Nice
Monster trucks rule!
Detriot Deisel vs a 454 I like it
The driver of Monster Mash was 21?! Holy crap.. and here I am at age 22...
btw I agree. Everytime I've seen Frankenstein, the truck is just crawling slowly.
Nice stash lol
No I don't. What is it now? I've always liked the Lunch Box R/C truck. Just found out this week where they got the idea...so I'm building a Rollin Thunder version out of a new Lunch Box kit as a tribute, and the way a LB should have looked. You're dad had a kick ass truck! And it wasn't stripped out, in fact it was loaded! Nooobody does that any more. I just discovered RT last week and I'm checking into it hard...I really dig the truck! Tell you're dad he's still getting NEW fans! THX -Tom.
I wonder where these relics or today. Need a show to find the Original Monster trucks of the day. Some of these where RC cars. And the old cars there crushing are classics today, now that's funny.
holy crap!... i saw a 68 camaro amongst those crushed cars! @ 0:43
I saw a dodge charger it was heartbreaking
Barry WENTZ IS the driver in Frankenstien. He never got the notoriety he deserved and was not treated well by the Starbird family especially after his divorce. I am his Widow. R.I.P. Barry.
Those were the days.. notice all the safety gear everyone was wearing and the fact that Mike Welch is carrying a passenger in the final round!
2021👇
I'm gonna make a rolling thunder replica lunch box
Am I the only one that remmbers trucks like these? pr a better quetion How mny people would agree that these trucks and tracks wer better than the ones now trucks maybe were slower but more interetig to me ad carsnot painted too some tracks now dont even have cars what fun is that
god, how was this entertaining back in the day.
It still is
AWESOME!!!!
Asplenia.
Check out those classics... getting crushed. Of course at the time they were just old junk cars. hahaha good times.
Granted, most of those are normal 4doors, but there's a nice Cadillac a 500cid v8 could be pulled from, a really nice late 1960s Pontiac, etc. And remember, lots of the blah sedans had parts that were interchangeable with the fun stuff- GTOs, Camaros, Chevelles....
Is that scott Douglas speaking even thou I’m a youth I still like to watch the old monster jam once in a while
@@orangecrate5895 oh ok
wow talk about advancement in technology today's trucks would clear those cars in 5 seconds if not faster.
look at him mash those cars as he boogies down the lane!!
they had the guts, they just didn't have the technology, you have to remember these were actual trucks on heavy duty frames, not full out tube chassis/rollcages, and the suspension systems were archaic compared to now, where everything is designed on a computer. and every jump was a HARD landing.
Yup solid metal
back in the early-mid eighties the old school trucks on average i don't think had more than 500-650 horsepower,these trucks were built off of stock chassis which were heavily reinforced, used leaf spring suspension, a stock body, and heavy military axles to support the tires. they weighed somewhere between 16.000-20.000lbs.
Today trucks featured a full tubular chassis and a long-travel suspension using nitrogen shock absorbers.
Weigh no more than 10.000lbs and have on average 1400-1700hp.
This is Oklahoma City. 1987.
3:54 almost positive that was when Welch pinned the gas
holly sh*t that van is fast
Is this when monster trucks were getting started?
I wonder how many of these old Monster Trucks still exist?
@oldaker2 He mashed those cars as he boogied down the lane!!
think then, it would be like stones to space ships, 20years from now...
Bruce Flanders!
now these are monster trucks!!! i respect the new ones but there is nothing about them that is truck! fully custom built for racing.
BLACKLACDTS basically Nascar on bigger tires
Monster jam trucks are closer to buggies
Sorry, man- got carried away =O
I get a little crazy when they remove the gearhead element from motorsports. Doesn't sit well.
i remember this
@xismxist - at 2:25 look at him mash those cars as he boogeys down the lane LOL
Where do you get all of these clips that you use in your videos?
rollin thunder = tamiya lunchbox
@alli333o You just spoke out what I thought...
Where can I get these movies?Many years ago my brother hade it on VHS.
funny 2 wach
This was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Compare this to monster trucks now
diesel baby
wonder if these monsters are still around today in 2019????
They probably are, just in museums
@slayer2008 yeah i know :(((
my friends dad is jim oldaker
Why a yellow monster truck?
back then they were realy were trucks now there just fake
How things change
no helmets lol
oh god theyre destroying cars i would pay 10.000$ for....
Whatever. Today's monster jam is awesome. Freestyle rules, except when dudes are too afraid to fucking drive.
Are the cars they destroy already wrecked? Seems a waste
WWF story lines?!
4:00 fail
4:00
I'm so glad monster trucks have progressed from these slow pieces of crap. Chnage is good folks. Quit living in the past.
The only good from back then is The diffrent looks with vans, corvettes etc. How badass would a corvette be now