Tanks for the memories.
A California dad became the envy of engineering buffs everywhere after constructing an over 100-year-old replica tank from scratch — a project that cost him a cool $50,000 and a year of his time.
Around the size of a sedan, this particular model artillery boasts functional tractor treads, an engine and 360-degree swivel turrets, which are only for show, per California state law.
“People have said it’s a cute little tank,” Kameron Swinney, 34, told Jam Press while describing the adorable armored vehicle, which sits on his front lawn.
The father-of-one frequently uploads videos of himself driving the 12,000-pound miniature Killdozer around his yard as it rattles and shakes like something out of the “Mad Max” films.
For as long as he can remember, Swinney has been fascinated by both history and welding, a passion he cultivated by working on classic cars since he was 15.
He never went to college, so the bathroom remodeler had to teach himself how to MacGyver his machine creations from scratch.
He managed to combine his two interests most recently by engineering an FT-17, a WW1-era combat vehicle that’s widely considered the world’s first modern tank.
The bruiser of a battlecruiser, which is still used today, is also America’s first production tank “licensed to be built” by the French firm Renault, according to Swinney.
To resurrect this blaster from the past, the amateur arms-maker purchased a few sheets of plywood, a half-inch steel plate, a CNC plasma table, bolts, steel plates and nails.
After constructing the frame, Swinney outfitted 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 has 16 gallons per minute of hydraulic oil at 3600psi,” he gushed.
The treads, meanwhile, were scavenged from two 1930s tractors.
Despite already taking a lengthy amount of time, the aspiring Tony Stark says he continues “to work on it and perfect it.”
Of course, he can’t go total balls to the wall. Under state law, the tank can only be driven on private property as its steel treads prevent it from being street-legal.
“It’s essentially a tractor,” admitted Swinney, whose unusual pet project has become beloved in the community.
“Everyone that has seen it loves it,” he said. “Neighbors have been nice and also like it, they also happen to love history and know it’s a replica of a tank that’s over 100 years old.”
Swinney even 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 on churning out more of these automated cavalry units.
“I may make another FT17 tank,” Swinney said. “If not I’ll move onto something perhaps bigger.”
