On purchasing a monster truck

[CarCrusher]

Hey guys! I’ve got a fun topic here.

Suppose you had the cash to purchase a turn-key monster truck from a renowned fabricator. Which chassis would you choose. The ones I know most about are probably the PEI, CRD, and Concussion, although I know there are many other fabricators out there as well as teams who build their own chassis (Hall bros for example). So if you had the wealth to buy one, what chassis would it be, what engine, and what body would you choose?

Me personally, I think I would have to go with either a CRD or PEI, 540 c.i. Chevy engine, and late model Silverado body. 

I’m also interested to know what other options are out there.

[Gronk88]

mine would be  PEI,540 Merlin,with a 77 ford body

[CarCrusher]

What price range would a brand new turn key truck from a leading professional fabrication shop (like PEI) run you?

[leggster]

I've actually been looking into stuff like this, I have yet to find out where to buy/prices on some CRD parts such as champagnes and some knuckles and planets etc.

[stimson122]

A turn key truck from Dan Patrick (PEI) will cost you around $200,000. That price is direct from Dan himself a few years back. 

[Jon Cannon]

Pretty sure Dan Patrick of PEI was offering trucks turn-key with no body in the $200-250k range a while back.

Edit: Stimson beat me to the punch.

[Nick Migues]

1 hour ago, leggster said:

I've actually been looking into stuff like this, I have yet to find out where to buy/prices on some CRD parts such as champagnes and some knuckles and planets etc.

CRD parts run about 1200 a piece for both knuckles and champagnes I think. Buying Clark planets is hard todo these days- the machines they came from are getting scarce so it’s like 2-3 grand for one Clark corner, of which most of the corner isn’t even used anymore because of all the upgraded Clark parts you can buy. 

[CarCrusher]

Is there a website other than racingjunk where you can find used trucks for sale? I will have the money to purchase a truck by the end of this year, but would rather not buy brand new. That’s pushing what I want to spend. I could do $85k- $125k maybe.

[CarCrusher]

19 minutes ago, Jon Cannon said:

Pretty sure Dan Patrick of PEI was offering trucks turn-key with no body in the $200-250k range a while back.

What do you mean a while back? Is he not building anymore?

[Nick Migues]

Facebook group Monster Truck Parts only might have a few and to know that some are for sale you just have to ask, not everyone has them listed just trying to sell them off. Also, you’d be better off building brand new (don’t buy a brand new turn key truck or else you won’t know how to work on it. Build it yourself) because buying a truck, especially in that low of a price range, can be sketchy and sometimes depending on the truck you can end up spending more than a brand new one would cost just to make the truck worthy of running 

[CarCrusher]

1 minute ago, NitroMenace said:

Facebook group Monster Truck Parts only might have a few and to know that some are for sale you just have to ask, not everyone has them listed just trying to sell them off. Also, you’d be better off building brand new (don’t buy a brand new turn key truck or else you won’t know how to work on it. Build it yourself) because buying a truck, especially in that low of a price range, can be sketchy and sometimes depending on the truck you can end up spending more than a brand new one would cost just to make the truck worthy of running 

I would likely not be doing the lion’s share of the mechanical work, at least not in the sense of diagnosing issues and knowing what to do on them. Turning wrenches, of course. But I would hire a good crew chief who knows what he’s doing to help direct the rest of us. 

I wonder if Dan Patrick builds his own engines? I also wonder how you go about placing an order for a truck. Does he have like an order form for how you want the truck built, what components and features you want?

[Nick Migues]

49 minutes ago, CarCrusher said:

I would likely not be doing the lion’s share of the mechanical work, at least not in the sense of diagnosing issues and knowing what to do on them. Turning wrenches, of course. But I would hire a good crew chief who knows what he’s doing to help direct the rest of us. 

I wonder if Dan Patrick builds his own engines? I also wonder how you go about placing an order for a truck. Does he have like an order form for how you want the truck built, what components and features you want?

He does not, he runs the same Hemi motor as the Hall brothers does. And basically just call him up and order a frame and he’ll probably ask what all you want done to it. And honestly you should learn to work on the truck, because to be the best driver you should know and understand how the truck works and what every part is and how everything works basically. A lot of the best drivers out there are former crew chiefs or independents who know the ins and outs of their trucks. 

[CarCrusher]

How much do you think just a chassis would cost by itself, and would a truck be more expensive if you built it piece by piece vs buying turn-key.

[rockgod88]

IIRC A Cohen chassis is around 12k, a CRD around 18-19K, PEI 15ish k, J&B 10k, but not certain on any of them, just for the chassis.

[CarCrusher]

1 hour ago, rockgod88 said:

IIRC A Cohen chassis is around 12k, a CRD around 18-19K, PEI 15ish k, J&B 10k, but not certain on any of them, just for the chassis.

I thought Cohen and CRD were the same thing, no? Can someone please share a pic of a Cohen chassis?

Also, if someone with a high degree of knowledge on trucks is willing to PM me and have a discussion, I would really love to get my questions answered. I’d like to break it down piece by piece (i.e. chassis, engine, driveline, tires/wheels, etc.) and see what the costs will be for me to purchase the chassis and build the rest of the truck myself.