Building the Humungus machine

[MadMatt]

Sounds like Alternater is done for sure. You can always rebuild the Alt/replace and install a new voltage regulater too for good measure.

[HUMVEE Driver]

I've been busy with The Machine.

A few weeks ago I took her out of the lot to get some work done. Some of the things on my list were:

-Get the battery non-charging situation figured out
-Get the shifter working better
-Have some of my welds reinforced
-Put on some working brake lights
-Put some stabilizing angle iron on the spoiler
-Widen the seat
-Put on the holders for Wez's flail and the trident weapons
-Put some mirrors on the exhaust stacks (didn't really need them; more of a safety thing so cops won't bother me)
-More painting

So I borrowed my friend's trailer and I brought The Machine to my cottage up north to work on it. I did get just about all of that done, except for the first two things. I'm just going to take it to a mechanic to get the charging situation unf*cked, and the shifter isn't that big of a deal. What is a big deal is not knowing how long the battery would last without anything recharging it. I felt safe with an hour or two, and that would have to be good enough.

I was getting The Machine ready for the 2009 Gratiot Cruise, which is a pretty big deal here in my area of the USA. Gratiot is a fairly busy road, three lanes wide each way. The cruise was today, and I was up at 7am. I grabbed my MFP jacket, biker cop helmet, and biker goggles and headed down to the fire station where I had parked The Machine the night before.


Ready to go.



My biggest worry (next to the battery giving out) was being stopped by a cop. No doubt, there were things about The Machine that could be seen as illegal. I think on a car cruise, with everyone bringing out their exotic rides, I would probably be ok. But, the fire station was five miles away from where the cruise was supposed to start. That was five miles of hoping not to see any cops, and hoping they would not see me. “Screw it,” I thought, “I built this thing to drive it whenever I could.” So I started her up and headed down Gratiot.

I lucked out, no cops to be seen all the way down there. But what quickly consumed my thoughts was the feeling of driving that thing down the road. Even at the slow speed I was driving (never more than 40mph) the wind was constantly in my face. The sweet smell of The Machine’s exhaust was there too; not overpowering, just enough to remind me of what I was doing. And the view… the view from the throne of The Lord Humungus. I had a panoramic view of the road and the vehicles all around me. It was just a small taste of what Kjell did out there in the desert, but damn if it wasn’t exhilarating. But what hit me most was the sound of my machine. That big V8 just pumping out that raw, throaty, no-nonsense growl. I was in love.

Soon traffic slowed me down, and truth be told I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more cars and sightseers out there. But I knew it was still early and it would soon get a lot more crowded. I smiled at every ‘What the hell is that?’ look that The Machine got, and believe me, there were a lot of those looks. I gave a big fist pump to every one who yelled out “Mad Max!” There were a surprising number of those, too.

Then there were the cops. Yes, they saw (or heard) me coming a mile away. Yes, I know I was asking for trouble. My first test came soon enough.

A cop pulled up next to me, eyeing The Machine without any expression. He glanced up and me, and my heart quickened, thinking that he would drop back and pull me over any second. I went through what I would say to him, about how I only drive it to cruises, how I made it as safe as possible, and how I would hope he was feeling generous and I could at least drive it straight home. He just gave me a half-smile and drove off. I whipped out my phone and took a picture of him once he was in front of me.




After that, every single cop I saw looked at The Machine in wonder. One even pulled up next to me, and (yelling over the exhaust) we had a talk about how I built it. All day, no cop gave me any trouble. I was worried over nothing (I think). Ya gotta love cops.

I took another pic, a view from the throne:



Gratiot is divided by an island in the middle where they let people put down seats for better viewing. Once you got to the south end of the cruise you just went through a middle U-turn lane and headed north again. I went up and down, up and down for about two hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I drove back to the fire station to join the guys for lunch, and I wanted to check and see how the battery was holding up. I turned her off, then tried starting her again a few moments later. The engine turned slow, and then caught. A sign the battery was dieing. So I shut her down and checked it with a voltmeter. 12.7 volts, still pretty freakin’ good. Still, I put her on a charger while I ate lunch.

Before I headed out again I took some more pictures:











When I got back to the cruise area it was PACKED. Just stop and go, all the way down and all the way back. I drove along there for three more hours. The Machine held up fine, and the mirrors were actually useful for changing lanes. But, I still had to use hand signals. I loved the cheers of “Mad Max!” I kept getting, and just the cheers in general for having a cool vehicle. I would rev up The Machine every time. Quite a few people asked me to slow down for a picture or two. I’m going to search the ‘net soon and see if I can find any. Also impressive were the cool nods I got from the hard-core motorheads out there. It’s a great feeling to be acknowleged for building something special.

I look back on all the work, hardship, disappointment, resources, time, and money that I put into this, then I compare all that to today and all the upcoming days I will have in the future. Let me say for now and forever that IT’S ALL WORTH IT.

The Humungus will not be defied!

Here’s to every replica builder out there! We rock!

HUMVEE Driver

[Gasoline]

Dave,
Thats a great account of your day on the road. You are so right about those little details that make the drive so much better eg, the smell of exhaust. It really is a cool feeling to hit the road in with your own "Mad Max" machine, whether its a coupe, sedan, motorbike or battle truck.
Thanks for sharing this with us.

[torinoscj]

"Gratiot is divided by an island in the middle where they let people put down seats for better viewing. Once you got to the south end of the cruise you just went through a middle U-turn lane and headed north again. I went up and down, up and down for about two hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it."

Round and round,like angry ants,mad for the smell of guzoline.LOL

Sounds like you had a Hell of a fun time.I wish I could be there cruising next to you.I can't wait until November,if it REALLY happens.Cheers,Bill

[mack tanker]

Thanks for the pic's Humvee!!

[HUMVEE Driver]

Round and round,like angry ants,mad for the smell of guzoline.

Sounds like you had a Hell of a fun time.I wish I could be there cruising next to you.I can't wait until November,if it REALLY happens.Cheers,Bill

LMAO
I never even thought of that! How appropriate!

And of course it's really going to happen in November! With Virginia and Vernon there, it's going to be huge! I hope to see you there!

HUMVEE Driver

[Justice]

What a great story!

[Big Bopper Bart]

Awesome Dave,just mind blowing! You ever gonna raise it up some to be level like the original? I'm not knocking it at all but look at the oiriginal and you'll notice it sits higher. I can't wait to see Vernon posing by it as well as Virgina too.

[HUMVEE Driver]

Bart, I know it should be a little higher, but I'd have to basically rebuild the whole thing. Maybe someday.

I found these:







HUMVEE Driver

[aussie muscle]

that's scary