DeLorean Monster Truck - the D Rex

[Rich W]

Since this was my first Custom DeLorean Creation, it is fitting that I re-start
my DeLorean Projects section with a thread for this amazing vehicle.

A little intro on the DeLorean Monster Truck which is known as the D Rex.

Back in the 1990's, a wrecked DeLorean was installed on a Chevy 4x4 chassis
and the DeLorean 4x4 was born. It was not pretty, but it was interesting.

So interesting, it was a featured photo in the back of Car and Driver as it sat
on a used car lot in Texas. Attaching a photo of "Before" and "After".

More detailed posts will follow, including plenty of photos, as it transformed.

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The photo of the D Rex above, with dusty tire treads and "on the rocks" is
still one of my favorite photos. I wish this photo was used more often on the
numerous websites and blogs that continue to post a 3/4 rear view of the
vehicle parked in the Heartbreak Hotel parking lot at DCS 2002.

This "Bad Lands" photo is a much better photo, in my opinion.

Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

After the amazing transformation of the DeLorean 4x4 into the D Rex
in only 1 month (Yes ... from January 1, 2002 until January 31, 2002),
how do you top that? Well, you go even bigger, of course.

Since D Rex debut was at Chicago World of Wheels, February 1, 2002,
the D Rex had to be even bigger at Chicago World of Wheels in 2003,
so I had custom wheels fabricated to fit a set of 48" Goodyear Terras.

Ironically, that was the one and only show I displayed the D Rex with
the huge Terra Tires, since with these tires installed, D Rex was over
11ft wide and could not be transported without an oversize load permit.

Attaching a photo below, just after the last test fit was done with the
"new" fabricated wheels (from a used set), with the used tires installed.
With 1ft of snow outside, I dubbed this progress photo "Snow Patrol".

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Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

The D Rex was on continuous public display for a few years with my GT40 RC
at the Volo Auto Museum. This photo was taken back in 2006, just before the
DCS 2006 event at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL. This was also just
after Chris Nicholson did some repairs and refinishing on a few SS panels too.

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Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

D Rex taking it easy after a long day of filming at the Speedway near Hollywood, CA.

D Rex was placed in a high security parking area, for the weekend, to keep it safe
and sound, prior to its second day of filming on Monday, April 2, 2012 at the studio.

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Later,
Rich W.

[SIMid]

http://i50.tinypic.com/2iw1qbc.jpg
Mini D Rex

[ccurzio]

If this is going to be an extensive thread, can you avoid manually word-wrapping your posts? :)

[Chris Burns]

Cool thread Rich!:headbang:

If it hadn't been for you the D-REX would be in a field somewhere with weeds growing through it.

Can't wait to see it at DCS!

[Dangermouse]

If it hadn't been for you the D-REX would be in a field somewhere with weeds growing through it.

!

pretty damn tall weeds :)

[Rich W]

Not exactly tall weeds, but there were weeds in this auction lot in TX, back in the 90's.

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These photos above may be cross-posted in the pre-Historic (pre D Rex) section, when
the DeLorean 4x4 was still changing ownership, in the 1990's, before it was UP-Graded.

Later,
Rich W.


pretty damn tall weeds :)

[Rich W]

Planning to add a few more photos, but I thought I would start with the last photo taken of the D Rex at DCS 2012,
just prior to heading back home behind my Diesel RV. As you might expect, having the D Rex on an open flat bed
trailer draws a whole lot of attention, with countless gawkers with cell phone cameras sitting in my blind spot on
the interstates, causing traffic backups heading to and from FL. Yes, it was quite an adventure.

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Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

Another view of the D Rex, upon arrival at DCS 2012, at the Hilton in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

There were several areas in front of the Hilton that I was able to get Palm Trees in the background,
however, I did refrain from taking the D Rex "off-road" and onto the front lawn of the Hilton (LOL).

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Later,
Rich W.

[Dangermouse]

Makes it to Jalopnik, as Rich said on another thread, which I can't find now.

http://jalopnik.com/5926370/the-delorean-monster-truck-threatens-to-crush-a-ferrari

[Rich W]

Makes it to Jalopnik, as Rich said on another thread, which I can't find now.

http://jalopnik.com/5926370/the-delorean-monster-truck-threatens-to-crush-a-ferrari


Other Jalopnik thread was directed to the DeLorean Limo project, on the DeLorean Limo thread.

http://jalopnik.com/5921502/the-delorean-limo-is-for-the-time+travelling-partier

[SIMid]

Saw Chris Burns video on Jalopnik.

What a Beast Rich!! :) Anyone go for joy rides? :elmo1:

[Chris Burns]

My video has been getting over 40,000 views! I can't believe this. :ohcrap:

I was at the show early every morning until the last moment. Barely got any sleep the whole trip, but it was worth it!!:hihi:

One thing I have learned from doing car shows is that some of the best moments are when the cars are either coming in or going out (that way you can see them in action).

[SIMid]

My video has been getting over 40,000 views! I can't believe this. :ohcrap:


Youtube paying you yet Chris? They should! :) Here commences the Delorean fund!

I agree about turning up early and leaving late at car shows. Get to see and hear them in action.

But this D-Rex sounds awesome! Open pipes?

[Chris Burns]

Youtube paying you yet Chris? They should! :) Here commences the Delorean fund!

I agree about turning up early and leaving late at car shows. Get to see and hear them in action.

But this D-Rex sounds awesome! Open pipes?

I believe so. That 350 Chevy V8 sounded like it had been kicked up a bit. What was cool about the D-Rex is that the inside still looks like a stock Delorean. Even the stock automatic shifter was kept. But it uses a Chevy truck transmission.

[Dangermouse]

+1 on the Jammer Channel. If its good enough for Joey and that guy who is going to steal the car, the it is good enough for Chris.

Part of the cool noise is the fact that the engine is at head height ;)

[Rich W]

Saw Chris Burns video on Jalopnik.

What a Beast Rich!! :) Anyone go for joy rides? :elmo1:

Other than a few "joy rides" by Don Steger when D Rex was in CA
earlier this Spring (which I found out about after the fact), all other
rides have been kept at low speed, since I placed the two speed
transfer case in Low and disconnected that shifter back in 2002.

(Don may still have his photos and/or videos on FaceBook)

There were a few "ride arounds" to move the D Rex to the front
of the Hilton and back to the Convention Center and parking lots,
but that was about it. A few folks were able to get short rides in
these ride arounds, including Nick Sutton, who had a blast.

Later,
Rich W.

[Chris Burns]

I'm now getting requests from people if they can use my video!

One was a webpage, the other was a independent TV show called www.rightthisminute.com

[Chris Burns]

The D-Rex made it on MSN News!

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/back-to-the-workshop-the-delorean-monster-truck

[Rich W]

The D-Rex made it on MSN News!

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/back-to-the-workshop-the-delorean-monster-truck

I have been in contact with Ian Dickson (MSN Cars UK) since last week.
Looks like his "photo article" hit the MSN Cars UK website today.

One other email interview in progress - also with a reporter in England.

I guess they are tired of reporting all the pre-Olympics events (LOL).

Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

One other email interview in progress - also with a reporter in England.

Later,
Rich W.

Well, the latest "article" came out over the weekend, and given all the email exchanges, with excellent question and answer content,
I was a little disappointed with the final "article". I guess the authors and editors decide what they think people will want to read.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180564/Rich-Weissensel-Software-engineer-creates-monster-truck-using-Delorean-car-classic-1980s-films.html

Side Note: Why do most people automatically assume a BTTF connection with anything DeLorean related?

Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

The D Rex will be headed to the Motor City for Woodward Weekend this Friday,
and specifically for the Woodward Dream Cruise 2012 on Saturday, August 18.

See you in Motor City.

Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

Another variation of the same "motivational" poster that made the rounds
on the Internet, earlier last year:

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BTW: I prefer the version with this photo better.

[Chris Burns]

The D-Rex video has over 125k views right now and is being copied and reposted by people on You Tube. If I had known how much attention that video would of gotten I would of copyrighted it!:chairshot:

Oh well. I'm just glad everyone likes the video.:thumbup:

[ccurzio]

If I had known how much attention that video would of gotten I would of copyrighted it!:chairshot:

It is copyrighted. It was copyrighted the instant it was created.

[Rich W]

If I had known how much attention that video would of gotten I would of copyrighted it!:chairshot:

It probably would have gotten more attention if the "Kings of Van Nuys" TV Pilot would have been aired (and promoted).

The D Rex actually did drive over a bunch of things (including backing into/onto a car) during the taping of the TV Pilot.

Coincidence?

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[Dangermouse]

Awesome Rich!

And you're only showing us now!!!!

Yeah, yeah, i know - contractual obligations etc, etc.

Appearing soon on a meme near you, I would imagine. :)

[dmc6960]

Unless YouTube has one of those Facebook-style give-us-ownership terms of service, you are the owner.

What you should have done is enabled Adsense on it.

Or perhaps you already did, can't tell on the iPhone app.

[Rich W]

Adding another slightly different front view of the D Rex parked on the Taurus,
including a few of the actors that were setting up before taping the scene.

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[Rich W]

Besides all the posts by the Kemp Auto Museum on FaceBook and Twitter the last month, there were a number of articles and local
TV spots regarding the D Rex as the "Main Attraction" at this year's Kemp Auto Museum, Big Truck Charity Event in Chesterfield, MO.

The D Rex was a Huge Hit and the event was attended by more than 3 times the amount of people that have attended in the past
and Kemp has estimated that they collected between 4 to 5 times the amount of food for charity than they had done in past years.

It always helps to have DeLorean fans as part of any planned event, and, Jada, Lisa and Mike from the Kemp Auto Museum made
things easy and very entertaining for all of us involved. I am sure we will be doing another DeLorean event with Kemp in the Future.

Here are a few links to the videos, articles, photos (and more) for the event this past Sunday. Be sure to check Kemp's FaceBook and
Twitter, as well as the Kemp Auto Museum website, for more details and photos from the event. (and a bonus photo at the end)

http://www.kempautomuseum.org/Museum/Press.php?id=136

http://www.kmov.com/great-day-st-louis/Weekend-Events-209531481.html

http://fox2now.com/2013/06/02/big-truck-day-at-kemp-auto-museum-2/

http://www.stltoday.com/classifieds/transportation/reviews/d-rex-delorean-is-one-historic-monster/article_2f4db2af-2bf4-5677-8cb8-6b4ea9fc523d.html

https://twitter.com/KempAutoMuseum/status/341903482959327232/photo/1

[Chris Burns]

Thanks for the links Rich!

I thought you had a set of smaller rims to transport the DRex on the trailer?

[Rich W]

Thanks for the links Rich!

I thought you had a set of smaller rims to transport the DRex on the trailer?

Hi Chris,

The smaller transport wheels are used for two types of transports
with the D Rex...transports through the mountains and transports
for some repairs (especially brake work) for easier tire removal.

As you may recall, no small transport wheels/tires were used during
the Florida trip last year, since I took the "long way" to Florida from
Chicago, to avoid transport vehicle "stress" through the mountains.

Later,
Rich W.

[Rich W]

The folks at Kemp Auto Museum just sent me another link, with plenty of photos, from the Big Truck Charity Event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78861281@N05/sets/72157633968358552

[Chris Burns]

Where is the fuel tank located on the D-Rex?

[Rich W]

Where is the fuel tank located on the D-Rex?

The engine and fuel tank "swapped locations" in the D Rex. Engine in the front, fuel tank in the back.

The D Rex fuel tank is actually a large racing style fuel cell.

[Rich W]

The folks at Kemp Auto Museum just sent me another link, with plenty of photos, from the Big Truck Charity Event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78861281@N05/sets/72157633968358552

After seeing the post about a DeLorean on Fox News today, I realized I had forgotten to post the video of the D Rex, shown on Fox 2 Now
(St. Louis) for the preview of the Big Truck Charity Event at the Kemp Auto Museum event from earlier this month. Video Link Below:

http://fox2now.com/2013/06/02/big-truck-day-at-kemp-auto-museum-2/

[Chris Burns]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psGMP48cxS4

[Rich W]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psGMP48cxS4

Certainly not enough "drama" to be a Chris Burns video (lol), but as usual, no one around at 7am when I was cruising Woodward with D Rex.

This video was shot by a few folks @ 8pm, from different views, so I would not be surprized to see a few more versions pop up in the future.

I was driving a bit more conservatively (boring?) since I had two young passengers riding along with me, and I did not want them falling out
either with too many bumps, too quick of turns and too fast (up-ramp) while loading the D Rex onto the transport trailer, on the side street.

D Rex really does not pull out in front of traffic until about the 1:00 mark, then I make two passes to make sure I get centered on the trailer.

Again, sorry if you are looking for drama. Side note: there were at least three people shooting video last year when I was moving the D Rex
and loading it on the trailer at Woodward 2012...since it went like clock-work, on first pass, not even one copy got posted. Again, no drama.

There are a few more interviews that may pop up in the next week, including one with AutoWeek Magazine, but we will see if it makes the cut,
since the AutoWeek reporter has only been with the magazine (and website) for about three weeks.

[ALEXAKOS]

Did you drive over a car at 2:13????
The D-rex seems like fighting to get over it. Must have been big. A suburban maybe?:eek5:

[Rich W]

Did you drive over a car at 2:13????
The D-rex seems like fighting to get over it. Must have been big. A suburban maybe?:eek5:

No cars ... its just the drive-over fenders on the trailer, while the D Rex is already on an incline on the trailer ramps.

D Rex has not been "crawling" as well as it used to, since Don Steger took it for high speed "Big Foot Adventure Rides"
out in front of his shop last year, while I was out in Hollywood for the TV Pilot filming. My flight was delayed several times
and I finally got out there on a much later flight. I guess the guys at DMC CA were getting bored waiting for me, so they
did a few fast passes in front of the shop, not realizing that the 205 transfer case was mechanically set for Low Gear only.

I did not find out about any of the "Big Foot" joy-rides until after the filming was done and I saw the D Rex joy-ride videos.
(and I was wondering why a 4-link bracket weld broke on the first day of filming and the transmission seemed sluggish)

Live and Learn.

[ALEXAKOS]

Oh boy!!
Did you get any damages paid?

[Rich W]

Oh boy!!
Did you get any damages paid?

No ... not yet. Both the 205 transfer case and Turbo 350 transmission are leaking, when they did not before the trip out West.

Not sure if this is just blown seals or something else (rebuilds of both?). 4-link bracket is still held up with bailing wire, for now.

Not sure if Don still has the videos posted on his FaceBook page or not, but I do have digital copies burned to CD for reference.

[ALEXAKOS]

Oh boy! What the hell were they thinking?
Sounds like those two idiot Garage fellas from the "ferry Bueler's day off" movie that took the Ferrari out for a spin. (good timing to remember that now that it is on sale)

I hope you get some serious compensation and damage cash.

PS
Never got to meet all you interesting MW fellas when I used to live in Chicagoland (almost 10 years back now). Will be looking forward to do so in my next visit as I really miss it.

[Chris Burns]

This is a 78 Chevy K5 Blazer I found in Orlando Rich. Amazing how this project turned out!

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http://www.orlandoclassiccars.com/showroom/details.php?v_id=1418

[Rich W]

I had part of my collection displayed outside this weekend, for a few photo shoots during a few interviews,
so I thought it was a good time to take a few photos as well, to update a few of the threads on DMCTalk.

The D Rex and my DeLorean Time Machine Replica Prop Car were at the Southwest corner of the display.

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[NightFlyer]

Once again, the D-Rex is for sale in Ventura, CA. Ad was flagged for removal before I was able to capture it...

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26397&d=1397015388

[Rich W]

Once again, the D-Rex is for sale in Ventura, CA. Ad was flagged for removal before I was able to capture it...

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=26397&d=1397015388


Thanks Josh. I like to keep track of where and how (as well as the stories why) the D Rex is being sold.

Attaching the latest previous ad below of when D Rex was being sold in Dallas last Fall 2013, around Halloween.

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Almost all the details about the D Rex are available online, so you think they could at least copy/paste correctly.

[Rich W]

After the amazing transformation of the DeLorean 4x4 into the D Rex
in only 1 month (Yes ... from January 1, 2002 until January 31, 2002),
how do you top that? Well, you go even bigger, of course.

Since D Rex debut was at Chicago World of Wheels, February 1, 2002,
the D Rex had to be even bigger at Chicago World of Wheels in 2003,
so I had custom wheels fabricated to fit a set of 48" Goodyear Terras.

Ironically, that was the one and only show I displayed the D Rex with
the huge Terra Tires, since with these tires installed, D Rex was over
11ft wide and could not be transported without an oversize load permit.

Attaching a photo below, just after the last test fit was done with the
"new" fabricated wheels (from a used set), with the used tires installed.
With 1ft of snow outside, I dubbed this progress photo "Snow Patrol".

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Later,
Rich W.

While searching through my archives for some other photos, I came across
a few more photos of the D Rex wearing it's huge 48" Goodyear Terra tires.

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Photos were taken in the Spring of 2003 in front of Godmudders Truck shop.
Since I used them very little, I sold the custom wheels and tires back in 04.

Now that I have the storage space, I wish I had kept these wheels and tires.

[Chris Burns]

http://websta.me/p/858693306923428882_1565072890#GTXgejbGZ16dBL5e.01

[Rich W]

Thanks for posting that Chris. I had just found the DeLorean Limo photo at the same time. (posted in D Limo Events photos)

While I am here in this thread, I thought I would cross-post the D Rex "hop-jump" photo from the Barcroft Cars video shoot,
in case someone did not see this photo in the Barcroft video thread and they wanted to see a very cool D Rex action shot.

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[Chris Burns]

http://websta.me/p/858803222182408346_18757347

[Chris Burns]

http://www.maninstitute.com/delorean-monster-truck

[Rich W]

A couple more additions, taken at DCS 2014:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3910/14281074620_4aa776a7a2_m.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2902/14466529844_461b2fe4ff_m.jpg

[Rich W]

Photo below was taken by one of our local DMC club member's son, a recent grad from Columbia College.

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Check out his son's website and Facebook page, for more DeLorean photos, especially the Kemp Auto Museum event from 2013.

http://www.oldhouse-media.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oldhouse-Media/140765655993583?hc_location=timeline

[Rich W]

After reviewing some websites that have linked my Barcroft Cars video,
I have been finding a lot of more D Rex photos taken by the public.

Below are a couple photos that were posted to Car Throttle:

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[Rich W]

I got a text late last night, with a screen capture of a D Rex photo posted on Larry the Cable Guy's FaceBook page, with over 51,000 likes.

I do not "do" FaceBook, but when I got a chance to look at the Cable Guy's FB page today (over lunch), the likes were up over 59,000.

Sure, the photo has been around since July 2013 (from Alex Lloyd's Yahoo Autos interview), but it's cool that it is still getting attention.

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[davidc89]

My friend sent that to me on Facebook, he said I should do that to mine. I then explained to him that you made these vehicles from wrecked DeLoreans and that I wouldn't want to do that to my perfectly good DeLorean. Very cool cars!

[Rich W]

My friend sent that to me on Facebook, he said I should do that to mine. I then explained to him that you made these vehicles from wrecked DeLoreans and that I wouldn't want to do that to my perfectly good DeLorean. Very cool cars!

Hi David,

Thanks. Yeah, sometimes photos can say more than words, but often a single photo cannot relate an entire story.

Attaching a couple of reference photos of what the DeLorean 4x4 looked like prior to my repairs and my upgrades.

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Later,
Rich W.

[Andrew]

I remember when I first heard about D-Rex in 1999 or so. There was one picture floating around the internet, which many of us thought was just somebody having fun with Photoshop (or whatever software existed at that time). Kudos to Rich for all that he has done to D-Rex since he acquired it!

[Rich W]

I remember when I first heard about D-Rex in 1999 or so. There was one picture floating around the internet, which many of us thought was just somebody having fun with Photoshop (or whatever software existed at that time). Kudos to Rich for all that he has done to D-Rex since he acquired it!

I do recall seeing the "faxed" version of the DeLorean 4x4 photo floating around after the DOA Convention in 1997 (IIRC).

Not sure if it was a copy of the photo from the back pages of a car magazine or not, but it might be the same photo as below:

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[Rich W]

Not sure if many DeLoreans can hover or fly, but the D Rex can "get some air" under it's tires, if only for a moment in time.

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[Rich W]

So, I happened to come across an article on the RipSaw light-weight "tank" (actually a tracked-vehicle)
and the author referred to it as a Doomsday DeLorean. I felt the need to send him a photo of the D Rex.

http://taskandpurpose.com/super-tank-belongs-bond-villains-garage-now-can-buy-one/


After exchanging emails and sending a few more photos, James Clark put together the article below.

http://taskandpurpose.com/cant-stop-drooling-delorean-monster-truck/

[BladeBronson]

That's great. Good job!

[Mike Griese]

The convertible looks interesing.