Tank for memories.
A California father has become the envy of engineering buffs everywhere by building a replica tank that is more than 100 years old – a project that cost him $50,000 and a year of his time.
Around the size of a sedan, this particular model artillery piece has functional tractor treads, an engine, and a 360-degree rotating turret, which is for show only, according to California state law.
“People have said it’s a cute little tank,” Kameron Swinney, 34, told Jam Press, describing the adorable armored vehicle sitting on his front lawn.
The father of one often uploads videos of himself driving the 12,000-pound miniature Killdozer around his yard as it rattles and shakes like the “Mad Max” movies.
For as long as he can remember, Swinney has been fascinated by both history and welding, a passion he developed by working on classic cars since the age of 15.
He never went to college, so the bathroom remodeler had to teach MacGyver himself how to build his machine from scratch.
He recently managed to combine both of his interests by engineering the World War I-era fighting vehicle FT-17, widely considered to be the world’s first modern tank.
According to Swinney, the Battlecruiser’s Bruiser, still in use today, was America’s first production tank “licensed to build” by the French firm Renault.
To revive this blaster from the past, the amateur weapon maker purchased a few sheets of plywood, half-inch steel plate, a CNC plasma table, bolts, steel plate, and nails.
After building the frame, Swinney equipped the tank with a “Jeep F134 engine that turns a hydraulic pump with flow controlled by spool valves going to the hydraulic motors.”
“Each hydraulic motorcycle holds 16 gallons per minute of hydraulic oil at 3600psi,” he said.
Meanwhile, footprints were extracted from two tractors from the 1930s.
Despite it already taking a long time, the aspiring Tony Stark says he will “continue to work on it and make it better.”
Of course, he can’t be total balls to the wall. Under state law, the tank can only be driven on private property because its steel treads prevent it from being road legal.
“It’s basically a tractor,” admitted Swinney, whose unusual pet project has become a darling in the community.
“Everyone who has seen it has loved it,” he said. “The neighbors are nice and love it, they also love the history and they know it’s a replica of a tank that is over 100 years old.”
Swinney also took his creation to a car show, where it won Best in Show.
The freelance engineer also has a lot left in the tank as he plans to further develop these automated mounted units.
“I can build another FT17 tank,” Swinney said. “If not I’ll probably do something bigger.”
