Monster Trucks in the 1980s Special Edition

[Hlindeen]

6:53? Truck Name?

[DiggerFanJSB]

@Hlindeen The truck at 6:53 is Everett Jasmer's "USA-1."

[Hlindeen]

I want to know what is the trucks name the White 72 chevy at 6.53? thanks

[charisfeauai]

If you smell what the rock is cooking

[hairytoothgaming]

So happy to be able to see back when it all began. Amazing how it has all developed!

[jbee69]

Omg..if you grew up in the 80's, how could you NOT like monster trucks!! Big tires, big engines, no cage or helmets, what could go wrong!

[shifty887]

good old richard leek and army armstrong



[steviep1871]

@shifty887 don't forget about Dave Grimm....Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!!!!

[TheCUELLADUETY]

i love monster jam

[seglermichael]

i miss the old trucks

[Wolta]

I love Grave Digger... how long has he been around for?

[ten8goa]

Although not as fast and the suspensions arent as advanced, i much prefer the looks of the older trucks- 80's technology. The original Bigfoot looked amazing. Looks like a real truck

[Craftsteen117]

that jeep was nice

[zatch113]

Best series on YouTube, imo....great stuff, DiggerFan

[DamnStraightM35A2]

Damn, they crushed a lot of nice cars back then. Of course back they they were just thought of as used cars.

[Sofakingwetadit]

wow, this takes me back. Thanks for posting this.

[bigfootiscool]

I think all your videos should be just the truck sounds, the video isnt as exciting with silent trucks and blaring rock music that not everyone will like.

[EskyHunter]

I like the video. It is a shame that the video quality is so very low. Maybe in 2007 when you put it online, YouTube was not able to offer a better quality. Maybe you would be able to make it new today?! :-)

[eehhkk12]

good times...

[pop87gtr]

Was that video from Hampton, VA in 1988 at Langley Speedway?

[DiggerFanJSB]

@pop87gtr Yes, the 1988 TNT Motorsports event in Hampton, VA was held at the Langley Speedway.

[001GenLee]

Yeah, the Monster Trucks back then were kick butt, now days they just suck. LOL If Grave Digger has survived all of these years, then where the heck is my favorite Monster Truck of all time, BigFoot at now days?!?!? BigFoot is totally better than those made-up trucks now days. That's back when they made the battery operated BigFoot truck, i had one. I didn't have the sled for it to pull though, that they sold seperately back then. I had a BigFoot Matchbox-made Truck back then as well.

[fasttruck93l]

Those are the trucks that beat the crap out of the drivers. Old school rules.

[duallyking101]

i LOVE this video... thats when monster trucks were cool

[MyCav1]

The trucks of this era 1980's was without a doubt the best...this modern affair is just boring now with not as many trucks there used to be...What happened to Goliath? twin engined truck.any footage of that?

[Jogame47]

hell yes. HELL FUCKIN YEAH MAN. AWESOME. THIS IS HOW I NEEDS TO BE STILL. FUN FUN DAYS BACK AT THE STATE FAIR JAMBOREES AND STUFF. IT ALL SUCKS NOW

[yosharian]

'Excaliber'... lol

[bigfootiscool]

You should keep all the vids as the original sound, that music crap ruins every monster truck video.

[dragonbomb69]

great video, these are the trucks that got me interested in monster trucks :)

[crosman500]

this y i love old monster truck they use real truck bodies not fiberglass that i y love old monster truck

[steelberty]

this is when it was all about the trucks,proper built trucks not the fiberglass shelled cages they have now,back when it was about pride and showmanship not lets smash our trucks to shit like monster jam crap of today

[Leprechaun8420]

they shave the tires to take off some weight and i think they get more grip that way 2

[kiriakoskakos]

old monster trucks are a lot cooler than the new ones

[solitaryman0560]

what a great compilation, brings back great memories...

lots of killer footage

[PhatsMahoney]

The evolution of Monster Trucking is a truly fascinating thing. You watch the 1st ever side by side match and you see videos like this and all through the 90's and see how they progressively pushed the envelope and started becoming more aggressive and adventurous.

[EJRocky]

@PhatsMahoney

Great comment... I hate all the elitism these die-hard 80's fans have, calling the modern trucks shit and whatnot. Monsters are monsters, and both kinds of trucks are absolute marvels of engineering.

[CHUUMPASS]

oh yeah brings back a lot of memories , how excited i was when we first got monster trucks on german sports television in the late 80's to early 90's.

[Wyattriot77]

at 2:19 Excaliber bowed out to let fast loser Duraliner Giant race Foot for the win. Excaliber blew the at the time, new MSD distributor which wasn't up to Excaliber standards. From what I have heard from Mike Nickell, Jim Kramer made the trip to Buffalo just to race Dave in Excaliber. This would have been one awesome race, unfortunatly its a race that never happened....

[motorcityhp350]

thanx bro i was watchin monster jam on speed wiht my son and i had 2 show him trucks frm when i was a kid

[TheBarrbby]

damn they should still run um in mud like that like mud drags

[recniabsal]

80's trucks look soooo good. And they're actually made of metal. I love my 83 GMC diesel. The whole boxy body style of these trucks were just the coolest thing ever.

[ZzDe0]

You'd think the new monster trucks would be more interesting to watch than the old ones but its the other way around.

[madcat303]

the old ones are they REAL monsters of trucks

[catalincroitoru1]

Very impressive performances. Great show! 5/5

[BLACKLACDTS]

The good ole days. This is when they were actually monster TRUCKS not purpose built tube buggies with a plastic body on them. But someting is better than no monster trucks i guess.

[intence1]

Classic trucks by far the best in the bizz!

Look at all fiberglass garbage we see in stadiums all over the world.

Back in the day we had real trucks, real bodies, real bad ass monsters!

If U look closely to this vid you notice how some trucks were sluggish & others were fast like a nascar.

That's because it took real engineering & planning to balance the weight all around each monster.

Now you get some tuper-wear, glue, scissors, paint and an occasional screwdriver and u good for the next show!

[Jayskiallthewayski]

@intence1 Yeah, you're right, I''m still in love with GD #2, but they didn't make 30 feet jumps back than, or run the 0/60 mph in a few seconds, it's evolution my man, and if you compare this vid with monsterjam of today, come on, which is more fun?

You think for instance Digger now is not real engineering & planning???

Never forget your roots, but what these trucks do nowadays is just amazing.

[intence1]

WoW!!!

Like I was watching it for the first time all over again.

O.G. Bigfoot it the best truck ever and will always be!

Monster Jam needs to have a Hall of Fame for these trucks as well as their drivers.

Since Bigfoot retired or is laying low......

Grave Digger is the next best!

Nothing like being there live and feeling the roar of those engines.

Thanks again for the memories....

Peace, Love, Music.....................RAce

[12valvepower1]

detroit diesel power

[HardcoreHugs]

bring it back to foxboro ! and did i hear dennis anderson ANNOUNCING ?

[volando1]

yeah right newer monstertrucks are better then theese

[WreckZ28]

Not sure why you guys are so against todays trucks vs these. I love them both, and the drives you see here are many of the same in the circuit today, and they in fact, built the new technology themselves. Digger Team was a huge part in the tube frame advancement. They've made the sport even great, higher, fast, more durable and more safe. Major congrats.

[ColtCobra2002]

no, Grave Digger team was not a huge part of tube frame OR suspension advancement, you can chalk those up to Jack Willman, and Bob Chandler and Co.

Only thing you can chalk up to the Digger team in regards to changing the sport is the air of Uber Destruction that permeates the Monster Jam series, and even Dennis Anderson didnt come up with that, Mike Welch did.

[nlafrancesca1980]

Back When They Were Actual Trucks....Not Tube Frames With Fiberglass Bodies. I Still Have Some Of These Videos In My Collection.

[cmechance]

these are real trucks today they are bullshit and even the shows are worthless

[cheese2507]

Stomper advances- Right into the wall!

[007rickhunter]

lol

[12valvepower1]

try my group: truck trials

[DETPower]

I miss these trucks...Monster trucks just don't seem to be the same theses days...

[ShyteKreek46]

0:10...Dennis Anderson!!!

[blueberrywine69]

This is before they "shaved" the tires down. Does anyone know why they "shave" the tires down? I just know that they do now.

[DiggerFanJSB]

I believe some drivers "shave" the tires, to provide a different grip in different dirt textures/compositions, to help with performance. Removing extra rubber from the tires also helps reduce unnecessary weight from the vehicle.

[plymothfury]

@blueberrywine69 They shave the tires because they can take off 200lbs. of rubber from each tire.

[go4broke92]

@blueberrywine69 it takes off a lot of weight so the tires can spin faster and put less strain on the axles

[canadiancatgreen]

@blueberrywine69 grip I believe is part of it but it isalso to reduce weight andmake them lighter

[fugubob]

@blueberrywine69 They shave them to lighten the weight of the tire. It also reduces how rigid the tires are, so the tire becomes part of the suspension because it flexes better.

[cumminsonthebigrocks]

wow! they had some balls to drive those old trucks! leaf springs that never gave an inch! just the tires for a lil spring! good stuff!

[yaiknowscrewme]

i heard teh Jeep monster truck flipped and killed teh driver along time ago

[DiggerFanJSB]

I think the accident you're referring to occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1991, with the "Hot Stuff" monster truck, driven by Todd Blaeser. If I remember correctly, the driver did not have a pulse when the track crews arrived at the vehicle, although they were able to "revive" him (I believe Todd is still alive today).

[KKKlement]

whoa i cant believe i used to watch this when i was a kid and its on youtube now lol

[mayra757]

i looooooovvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeee bigfoot and grave diger

[strth8n]

And you have tounderstand that when these were made they were for show, they crawled over 2 or 3 cars and would park on top of them. then someone said "lets race them". so at the time they would put on helmets and put on seatbelts and go. no rollcage inside just a rollbar. then when bigfoot went nose over jim kramer said we have to build these with more safety in them. then trucks like mad dog, awesome kong(skinny race body) and others followed suit. but i love this era fo monster trucks!

[Duckyistrippin]

yeah they werent so techie in the early days. just regular trucks on commcercial chassis with agricultural tires. they have come a long long way. bigfoot fastrax was teh coolest :)

[rcdriftdude9]

These are the days when real trucks were outfitted with giant tires and huge suspensions and huge dropped in engines in front. They were dangerous, heavy and barely controllable. Now they are all tubed framed with lexan bodies in place and rear engines. Much lighter and maneuverable. But i sure miss those days of trailer pulls and mud bogging and tug of war with between trucks. The older with always have soul, many these days dont.

[Duckyistrippin]

the bodies are glass not lexan... and by glass i mean fiberglass. :)

[phreak7521]

so many good memories

[zecahvideos]

irado

[12valvepower1]

that is soo dangerous. you cant control them at all

[ColtCobra2002]

Yeah, tell the guys who did it with Skill and grace week in and week out in those days that

[ztwntyn8]

at about 1:38 it looks like Bowling Green Ohio. If it was, I remember them getting high gear wound out and USA-1 driver commented that he was around 80mph. May be a different track though.

[shifty887]

this all brings back such good childhood memories... and army armstrong was one HELL of an announcer :)

[gearheadred]

I HAAAAAAAATED Bigfoot back in the day. I always had a smile on my face when they lost.

[andywellsey]

nice one

[crucialone2000]

Great vid!

[12valvepower]

mi llamo gringo!

[austinky619]

i was at freedom hall then

[12valvepower]

rollin thunder diesel mmmmmm

[pooponyou1212]

Very nice video.

[coady]

when usa 1 flips that is 1989 not 88

[CombatWrestling]

I love the old school commentary.

[cArmAkAze]

"There's no way a Ford's going to dominate tonight" - I love Dennis Anderson and Mike Wine.

This was awesome man, one of the best comps I've seen in a while.

[MidwestMonsters]

freakin' awesome, sir.

[chris42010101]

wow the sound brings back my childhood thanks keep up the good work

[icpfan19]

and buffalo,ny is the same race that usa-1 flip over against bigfoot

[KingCrusher13]

Interesting fact about those who have Bigfoot King of the Monster Trucks home video, they explain in roanke after he raced rambo on how he split that cable on the pass, well, watch the clip, and youll see as BF is leaving the arena, the rear driverside tire clips the wall. However, compliments on the video great job.

[sanddragracer]

greatest vid i have ever seen are you going to make a part 2 i would like to see any event from the astro dome turning courses for TNT

[DiggerFanJSB]

There's a clip in here from an Astrodome TNT Motorsports event... at around 3:52 there's a clip from the 1987 TNT event in the Astrodome.

[sanddragracer]

i know i meant the races wer they start hit a dirt hill jump some carsturn the do the same again

[sanddragracer]

from the clip at 8:55

[sanddragracer]

greatest video i have ever seen it is awesome are you gonna mak

e a part 2

[dirtnation]

So Stompers breaks fail or the kill switch didn't work?

[gmtgmt123]

more please more please i love you vid i watch them everyday please make a truibute vid for Samson 1

[Benedictus21]

This is the best of your video compilations!!!

[Benedictus21]

Thanks for posting this!

[icpfan19]

what happen to dennis anderson at the 19-20 mark

[DiggerFanJSB]

That was from Buffalo, NY 1989, when he launched the truck (Grave Digger #2) high into the air on the final jump & had a hard landing.

[coady]

you better make more like this im in love

[FuriousRodimus]

This is pretty awesome. I appreciated being able to hear the commentary ,etc.

[jimbo2317]

Awesome Awesome Awesome video diggerfan!! With out a doubt I feel this is your best video period! I really enjoyed it. Thanks.

[icpfan19]

this video is nice