Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Russians make good brute force things. I'd take an AK-47 over an M-16 if I to pick anyday. The T-34 was the best tank of WWII (The Great Patriotic War from their perspective). Having played in the "toy yard" at the USAF weapons school I have to say there are a lot of good things about their armoured vehicles. However they don't tend to do well when it comes to precision things and other tight tolerance requiring items.

I think it never took off because the applications for it would be relatively limited since if you were on hard ground it'd chew the screws up and if it got too heavy it wouldn't float anymore. Polar exploration, swamps, mud, and other mixed condition or low ground pressure environments would be great, otherwise it'd not be any better or even as good as most alternatives.

[tiresmoke!]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Yeah..quality control never seemed to be the former USSR's strong suit.

Soviet mechanized products always had a weird vibe about them.......they might be able to go through anything, but the outward appearance was just...."off".

Hard to quantify, but there are those who likely now what I mean.....don't suppose Virgil Exener moonlighted for the "Reds" doing design work do ya?

;D

[oldsman496]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

wellllll - that thing was a product of the 'soviet union'... I'm sure it broke down - allot.

[Gary 351C]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

That's actually brilliant, I wonder why that technology never took off.

[oldsman496]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Damn - Ya just gotta love military tech. those guys have THE coolest toys.

[dthemi]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

F it, I want one!!! The only way they could make that baby better would be to put a HEMI in it.

[jfuelracer]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

I think this thing is a great idea ( must have been stolen from the Germans). I had WAY to much experience with broken tracks on APC's and Sheridan tanks in 1970 and I can tell you they really suck in mud, anything that isn't flat and land mines.

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

There is part of the idea used in the Videogame Metal Gear Solid III, Snake Eater that uses this combined with Caterpillar treads in the back. I know that they used a lot of weird Soviet tech in that game like the Ekranoplan ground effect aircraft and other things. The idea is really cool and on one episode of Junkyard Wars they build one of these using paired automotive CV joints on the ends to drive the screw floats which were made out of 55gal oil drum welded end on end and had the screws made out of sheetmetal circles cut and welded together. Like SB said, the weakness was the drive mechanism of using the automotive CV joints at such extreme angles and any additional stress like pulling a load or fouling the screws would snap them. That ZiL looks to use either end drive gears or chains on something like a tank differential steering setup so you could crab it sideways by putting full forward on one screw and full reverse on the other.

I must have a mental link to this site because today I was actually thinking about how to build one of these since ponds and such are freezing over with the extreme (for middle TN) cold and it would be a great time to play around with something who's only limitation on traction would be how high of an obstacle it could get over. It isn't the first time I've thought of something then ya'll have put it up on here, I was thinking about that Hungarian jet fire extinguisher the same day ya'll tossed that up there too.

[Fordplay0621]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

I'll bet you could "F" a Cow up enough to make Hamburger out of it.
You need a Hockey mask to drive it, and go right over a Car in Traffic. Yuck!

[antmnte]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Looks like its from that movie Damnation alley

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Saw it on tv once.....crazy thing.....give a whole new meaning to the term "screw it"

[fahrenschnell]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

That thing is just plain evil.....I want one....

So Cool.

Seth

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Nothing like a tank that will plow your fields as they use your land to fight a battle. I don't think I'd want to see the results of men getting in front of this thing in battle. Quisenart comes to mind. Yuck.

[Matt Cramer]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

Cool video. I once saw a photo of that on EnglishRussia, and wondered how (or if) that thing worked. I had been wondering if there were any videos out there of one in action.

[mustang13]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: Russian ZiL Screw-Propelled Truck Thing

My son has a Tyco RC toy that is just like this, It will go anywhere, aspecially over bare feet-OUCH!!! >