Landmaster

The Landmaster is a unique 12-wheeled amphibious articulated vehicle constructed by Dean Jeffries at Jeffries Automotive in Universal City, California, for the 1977 science fiction film ''Damnation Alley''. Despite the appearance of two Landmasters in the film (achieved with process photography and models), only one was built, at a cost of $350,000 in 1976.

History

A staple of southern California car culture for many years, the Landmaster was parked in full view next to Dean Jeffries' automotive shop on Cahuenga Boulevard in North Hollywood, California from 1977 to 2005.

The Landmaster was sold to a private owner in 2005 and was restored to its original condition as featured in ''Damnation Alley''. The Landmaster was then on the show car circuit for several years. In 2007 it was featured at the ''San Francisco Rod & Custom Show'' at the Cow Palace in San Francisco as part of special exhibit with other notable movie and TV cars.

Sometime in the late 2000s, the Landmaster was vandalized while in storage. The damage was relatively minor, but repair and restoration were required again. In March 2014, Landmaster was moved from its storage location in Campbell, California to a new maintenance and storage facility in central California (see photos and gallery).

In 2016, the Landmaster was moved to Gene Winfield's Custom Shop on Sierra Highway between Rosamond, California and Mojave, California. A 2019 Google Maps image capture shows it can be seen from the road. Gene Winfield's website offers classes but makes no mention of visiting.

Construction

''Popular Science'' described the Landmaster:

While the film is fiction, the Landmaster vehicle is real. In the story, the Landmaster was designed to use as many standard truck parts as possible, so that any junkyard would have whatever was needed for repairs. The real Landmaster is powered by a Ford engine, and uses the rear-ends of two commercial trucks and an Allison automatic truck transmission. It features a fully functional, custom-built " tri-star" wheel arrangement, which could actually help it crawl over boulders. All 12 wheels are driven, but only eight are normally in contact with the road surface at any one time.

The vehicle was steered not by turning the front wheels, but by bending the middle section with hydraulic rams to effect a turn, similar to large construction equipment. The Landmaster's bodywork was made with -inch (1 cm) steel plate, which helped it tip the scales at over 10 tons. The design's strength allowed it to survive a jump during testing with no damage.

Gallery

File:2014-3-28-Landmaster-09.JPG, Front view, just prior to loading on trailer.
File:2014-3-28-Landmaster-02.JPG, Gantry/entry into cockpit. Raises/lowers via a motor driven cable system.
File:2014-3-28-Landmaster-04.JPG, Close-up of trinary wheel system.
File:2014-3-28-Landmaster-15.JPG, Closeup of section pivot and drive system

Campbell, California