There are awesome message board threads and then there’s this, the story of Jeff Strand and the Thunder Beast monster truck, a machine that he bought as a young man, built, rebuilt, jumped, showed, and generally used the hell out of during the early and middle years of monster truck development. Long before it was the tube chassis demo derby of today, regular guys like Jeff Strand built trucks and wowed crowds both locally and nationally. 

We dig Jeff’s story so much because it is incredibly well documented. The amount of photos that Jeff took and saved for decades is pretty remarkable. They show the truck in its original form and then through the progression that Strand took it through to make it a “real” monster truck.

Amazingly, the machine was legal for use on the roads of Washington State. We’re guessing that this was the era before lift laws pervaded the land and all he needed was a plate. There are photos and video of the Thunder Beast cruising the streets on 66″ rubber! A feat that would land anyone in jail today, indeed!

Also of note is the power plant for the truck. The engine was a Ford 428, naturally aspirated. There was not gigantic blower, no nitrous, nothing splashy. All of that stuff was reserved for the high dollar trucks of the day and eventually, the blown big block Ford/Chevy/Hemi became the necessary combo to compete with.

Strand’s story is great. It is truly the tale of a gearhead living his dream. In typical fashion he spent every dollar and minute he could spare on the truck and was rewarded with an awesome rig. It is beyond cool that he held onto it and still uses it, albeit in a limited fashion today. Some guys keep their first car. This dude kept his first monster truck! BOSS!

Thanks to Charles Wickam for the tip!

BAD ASS THREAD: THE STORY OF JEFF STRAND AND THE THUNDER BEAST MONSTER TRUCK