An important piece of Canadian automotive history will be making its Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo debut at the show this year. And this one will be hard to miss.
Standing almost four metres tall and weighing in at an impressive 8,300 kilograms, Big, Bad and Bouncy is one of the very first Monster Trucks built entirely in Canada.
Constructed by Dave Hopkins in his Belleville, Ontario shop, what was originally a 1980 Chevrolet C10 Short Box appeared at many Southern Ontario community fairs and in numerous competitions south of the border before being retired and relegated to sitting under a tarp for almost 15 years.
Rescued in 2011 by Flesherton’s Mike Harrison, Big, Bad and Bouncy was trailered back to Harrison’s shop in the Dundalk Highlands where it underwent a complete, body-off restoration.
“It really wasn’t in terrible shape, considering how long it had sat on the trailer,” commented Harrison. “But the one thing we noticed was that this truck was built old-school. Lots of gaps and not the best of alignments; it was not built with the most careful of measurements.
“It meant a lot of extra work trying to get everything true and it took over a year to complete the restoration, but it all came together pretty well. Not perfectly, it still has some battle scars, but pretty well.”
Once the period correct restoration process was completed, Harrison took Big, Bad and Bouncy to the Monster Truck Hall of Fame in Auburn, Indiana for the Hall of Fame Induction Meeting. Recognizing its historical value, the Monster Truck Museum requested that the vehicle remain in Indiana for a further six months as a unique example highlighting the progression of the sport.
Now back on Canadian soil, the 750 horsepower, Big Block Chevy-powered behemoth will once again go on tour, visiting select cars shows and race tracks this year, all starting with Motorama.
“I’m sure a lot of people will recognize this truck, it’s had a solid following over the years,” concluded Harrison. “I’m glad I have the chance to show her off because it’s currently for sale. I want Big, Bad and Bouncy to go to someone, a collector, who will appreciate her history. “Personally, I’d like to step it up a bit. She’s is a little old and I’m looking for something a bit more technologically advanced to play with.”
Big, Bad & Bouncy will be located in Hall 2, near the Pinty’s Stage.
