The Bennett Clod Buster

[Saito2]

When I was a kid, I saw the Bennett Equipment Clod Buster as just about the ultimate truck. Today, few outside of monster truck aficionados and historians, probably remember it. The Bennett Clod was born in an era before the "mod Clod" was a "thing". Many early modified Clod Busters were built to be big aluminum and chrome encrusted show vehicles. Aluminum Sassy Chassis, CCP chrome parts, ESP quad shock mounts, endless dress-up goodies from companies like Smokin' Hobbies and APM and even dual wheel adapters were the order of the day. The Bennett wasn't about that. It was about performance and it dominated in competitions like those from NR/CTPA. With monster truck forums dying off, I felt a lot of good history was being lost, so I figured I'd add it here. Whether its of immediate interest or not, at least its recorded here for others to find in the future.

ESP was one of the early companies in the Clod Buster game, while I recall Larry Bennett's company to be more focused on pullers initially. The first "Clodzilla" form the ESP camp, with a performance slant, was a Sassy Chassis aluminum tub chassis drilled full of holes for lightening and then equipped with their "racing" progressive suspension kit. Most don't recall the original, but rather the more popular ladder-framed Clodzilla 2 that followed.

The Bennett Clod wasn't even from Bennett Equipment. It first created, by hand, by Joe Kirkwood. He built the first three trucks, which to the best of my research, brought about innovations like the 4-link suspension set-up and cantilever shocks. He worked out a deal with PDI/Zeta to produce the kits. I remember this company for speed controllers used by pullers and monster trucks mostly. A "bird brace" adapter allowed the cantilever system to be mounted on stock tub or aluminum Sassy Chassis style chassis. Altogether it was dubbed the Clod-a-leaver.

PDI/Zeta shared a booth together with Bennett Equipment at a hobby expo. At some point, PDI/Zeta decided to leave the hobby and Larry Bennett took over, hence the Bennett Clod-a-leaver. From what I've read, Larry Bennett worked with Joe Kirkwood to create a specific chassis for the Clod-a-lever setup, requiring only clod axles to be added for completion. The chassis was smallish and simple, but most importantly mounted the battery a low as possible giving the truck as very planted feel. Here are some ads I found:

a bit more to come.

[Saito2]

 

In the pre-internet days, information was a bit more scarce. Along with the ad pics, I had some grainy black and white photos in magazines covering NR/CTPA events to go off of when trying to build my 1st own rough version. Its hard to believe there was a time before Clods were 4-linked. ESP later introduced their cheaper Multilink Suspension Kit but it wasn't the same as having a whole Bennett rig. Cantilevers were very cool and seeing their use in full size monsters like Bigfoot 8 was inspiring as it was revolutionary. The Bennett Clod was a strong contender for a long time in racing. Other manufactures brought out direct competitors, most notably the ESP Clodzilla 4. While the 'Zilla 4 did see the winner's circle at times, for pure performance, the Bennett still reigned supreme. 

In hindsight, they weren't the prettiest machines but I find them better looking than today's competition Clod-based rig. Cantilevers fell out of fashion in both the 1:1 world and the RC one. Today's comp rigs have whittled the chassis down to little more than something to stick electronics in and hang links off of. Such is progress in pursuit of ultimate performance. 

My Bennett is a hodge-podge of parts. I never cared for the somewhat sloppy, bushing supported cantilevers. I adapted better supported TXT cantilevers and remounted the shocks to match their new geometry. Mine has a iconic huge front bash guard/servo mount but a smaller one was available for the racer. I added Thundertech/MIP axles up front for greater turning angle and locked out the rear. It drives nothing like a stock Clod. Besides being glued to the ground, thanks to the low COG, it recovers from jumps very quicky. I hope this info is helpful or interesting to some as I just wanted to get it out there before I forgot it or it got lost with the death of forums like RCMT. It was an old post from an RCMT member that got this ball rolling. I wish I could remember his name. If anything I've recorded here is incorrect or needs more clarification, please don't hesitate to correct me.

 

[smirk-racing]

This is awesome! So glad you are capturing this here. It is so cool to see those old clippings.

[Mouc-RC]

Very nice documents and story. Thanks for sharing! :)

[tamiya3speed]

Great information on these nearly forgotten chassis.  I had actually sent away for the Clod-A-Lever II info at one point.  What I got back was a color 4x6 of a complete truck, a short brochure, and a price list.  Wish I still had that info, I would gladly add it to this thread.  Never had enough to buy the Chassis though.  Wish I would have bought one of the reproductions that were on eBay a few years back.

[Mad Ax]

I love this thread!  I didn't know much about the early days of Clod racing, but this is fascinating.  Thanks for sharing!

I was never really a fan of cantilevers on monster trucks but they work pretty well, as my TXT can testify.  I'm considering cantilevers on my custom mod clod chassis as I just can't get the suspension I need from a conventional setup.

[87lc2]

I know next to nothing about the early days of Clods and love seeing this stuff, especially the old ads/clippings.  I don't think I've ever seen a Bennett in person.  Plenty of ESP stuff, but never a Bennett.  With that open space at the ends of the chassis, could you shorten the cantilever rod and lower the truck even more?  Or would the battery tray hit the motors?   I always like to have my lower 4-link bars parallel to the ground at the highest and notice the picture in the clipping stating "Clod-A-Leaver Wins 1995 Championship" that truck looks to be a lot lower with nearly parallel lower bars.  Just curious.

[wolfdogstinkus]

Can't believe I missed this!.

Some say, the Cleaver was the only modification that the Clodbuster needed, as well as better steering, suspension and gearing, all we know is, it still won't steer but it will drive over it and it's called the Clodbuster.

 

Sorry.

[Carmine A]

I competed in CTPA events... around 1991-1995. Your post brought back a lot of memories. Thanks!! I remember Bennett kits, and cantilever shock setups. It was like rocket science back then. 

Looking back, I chuckle at how we were forced to do things. Of course we were in the NiCd Era still. "8S" back in the day was 5 or 6 stick packs wired together! 😮😕

[Frog Jumper]

Great now I want to build a super mod clod…

[ad456]

Great info @Saito2!
 

There’s some other older stuff to be found with the Wayback Machine via the old ClodParts.com site that shut down some years ago. 

[Saito2]

11 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

With that open space at the ends of the chassis, could you shorten the cantilever rod and lower the truck even more?  Or would the battery tray hit the motors? 

Yes, that was how you could adjust the ride height.

 

11 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

  I always like to have my lower 4-link bars parallel to the ground at the highest and notice the picture in the clipping stating "Clod-A-Leaver Wins 1995 Championship" that truck looks to be a lot lower with nearly parallel lower bars.  Just curious.

In addition to shortening the cantilever rods, many Bennetts had standoffs on the bottom of the chassis at the lower link mounts which helped keep those bars parallel with the ground. My Bennett is not a truly restored, period piece. Along with the Tamiya ball bearing supported cantilevers, I made my own lower links out of aluminum. The original links were heavier stainless steel (the truck is quite heavy to begin with) and had been reported to snap on occasion when bashing. My links are also a good deal shorter, both for maneuverability and looks. We didn't have many wheelbase options for bodies back then, as evidenced by the photo below, so wheel wells didn't exactly line up.

Since mine probably wouldn't see competition (I imagine the Sport Mod class it would be dumped in is quite competitive), I raised the height for bashing and shortened the wheelbase a bit.

 

11 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

I don't think I've ever seen a Bennett in person.  Plenty of ESP stuff, but never a Bennett. 

 

9 hours ago, Carmine A said:

I remember Bennett kits, and cantilever shock setups. It was like rocket science back then. 

Bennetts (both their pullers and Clod-a-leavers) were big-boy toys from I recall, reserved for serious competitors. ESP stuff you could find in hobby shops and there was a lot more of them around. I guess they played both sides of the fence, but even their top Clodzilla 4 was usually outmatched by the Bennett (it sticks in my mind the 'Zilla 4 won at least one championship though). There was a prototype Clodzilla 5 circulating that looked promising (wish I could find the photo) but I think ESP kinda folded their tent before it was produced.

Incidentally, here's a shot of what is likely, an earlier PDI Clod-a-leaver (pre full-Bennett chassis) with its bird brace adapter attached to a Sassy Chassis. It had big nylon blocks to hold the sway bars.

 

 

[87lc2]

That black truck in the action shot looks awesome!  Definitely a race setup on that guy.  I think a Bennett could compete in modern Sport with the right gearing.  Since we run adjustable timing motors and open gearing you can overcome weight in the Sport class these days.  My current top truck is a heavy Warpath 4 chassis with LMT axles running dual motors.  Truck is heavy but since races are short I have it way over-geared and run a lot of timing on the motors.  Holds up fine for 2-3 minutes at a time   If I ever tried to run an entire pack through it I'm sure it would melt down in short order.  I can barely touch the motors after a run.

[bRIBEGuy]

Great thread.  Love the info on the old days...

[TheMidnight Pumpkin]

It’s funny the timing of this topic as I’m restoring 2 Clod-A-Leaver trucks right now. 

[RC4x4]

I never saw a Bennet chassis in person either. I had the ESP first chassis and then added the long wheelbase kit. The old school chassis were cool for their time. Tamiya should have made a race version of the Clod and they probably would have sold. The Clod is a awesome truck though.

 

Cory

[Saito2]

8 hours ago, RC4x4 said:

Tamiya should have made a race version of the Clod and they probably would have sold

I recall people thinking that when the Juggernaut 1 came out. There was an expectation of some kind of Tamiya-made mod-Clod and some were puzzled by this big, shaft driven leaf sprung truck emulating monsters from the 80's that didn't really outperform the original Clod. The Jugg is still awesome (with the corrected drivetrain) but the TXT-1 was more in line with what was expected I'd guess.

[TheMidnight Pumpkin]

Another vintage ready to run.

[Dakratfink]

1 hour ago, TheMidnight Pumpkin said:

Another vintage ready to run.

I know this thread is “about” the Bennett chassis. But, I have to express appreciation for the vintage Parma Grave Digger body.

[RC4x4]

On 2/7/2024 at 3:58 AM, Saito2 said:

I recall people thinking that when the Juggernaut 1 came out. There was an expectation of some kind of Tamiya-made mod-Clod and some were puzzled by this big, shaft driven leaf sprung truck emulating monsters from the 80's that didn't really outperform the original Clod. The Jugg is still awesome (with the corrected drivetrain) but the TXT-1 was more in line with what was expected I'd guess.

I had the Jugg 1 then converted to a Jugg 2. Also had the TXT-1 and had a ton of fun. I sold both. Wish I would had kept them now but I have my Clod's.

 

Cory