Southwest Daily News, Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Southern Sunshine Monster Truck (of Sulphur) participated in the Cars and Dice Car Show at the Isle of Capri on Saturday, August 28.  The truck was awarded the People's Choice Award.  Pictured with the trophy are Frank Williams and Glenn Williams.

By David Ryan Palmer, Southwest Daily News

The Williams Family

A vehicle with as long a legacy as any is being reborn in Sulphur: Southern Sunshine.  Two months worth of restoration has brought this mighty behemoth out of retirement, according to Glenn Williams.  Glenn's brother, the late Mart Williams, created Southern Sunshine (along with the Cadillac inspired Cajun King) almost 24 years ago.  "It is a prime example of an old school monster truck.  There was no design, it's all thoughts on the mind," Glenn said.  Built in 1982, Southern Sunshine toured the area, and even went around the country crushing cars and wowing audiences.  "It's mostly going to be in parades and car shows now," Glenn said.  "It's not made for big jumps or races like today's monster trucks."  Saturday was the first original startup since the truck was shuttered after Mart's death in 1986.  "There's a whole lot of history behind this truck," Glenn said.

By Heather Regan White, American Press

In its heyday during the 1980s, magazines named Southern Sunshine one of the top 10 monster trucks.  The truck was retired 24 years ago with the death of its creator, Mart Williams.  Mart's brother, Glenn, is reviving the truck for display duty.

An old-school favorite of the monster truck circuit has come out of the clouds and into the Southern sunshine, according to its keeper.  After 24 years in retirement, Southern Sunshine is being brought back to life by Glenn Williams of Sulphur.  Younger brother Mart, who drowned on June 5,1986, began construction of the truck in 1982.  “When my little brother saw Bigfoot on TV, one of the original and only monster trucks at the time, he had to do it, too,” Williams said.  “He was always racing threewheelers and four-wheelers and anything that would go fast.”  He said Mart’s mantra was “No guts, no glory.”

In the early 1980s, Southern Sunshine made the rounds of the national circuit, crushing cars and pulling tractors, and made top-10 lists in four-wheeler and monster truck magazines.  After Mart’s death, Sunshine was garaged for the next two decades.  The truck is a threequarter-ton, heavily modified 1981 Chevrolet Silverado with a 454 Chevy engine that creates 675 horsepower and maneuvers on 10-ton cherry-picker axles.  “With enough guts, I could climb over your house,” Williams said.  The 12-foot-6-inch truck rides on 66-inch tires.  “I’m 6-foot-1 and can barely reach the door handle without the tires on it,” Williams said.  “It’s a rolling behemoth.”  As was typical of trucks of that era, Williams said Southern Sunshine has front and rear steering and can “almost walk sideways.”

He said getting Southern Sunshine back up and running has taken about three months and has been a family affair.  “Mart is with us all the time,” he said.  “He’s been guiding us.  We’ve got it almost to perfection.  I want him to be proud of what his big brother has done.”  Williams said the truck will be used at local events and parades strictly for display.  “We don’t anticipate any exhibition work in car crushing,” he said.  “A rollover would completely destroy the integrity of the truck.  I want to leave it as my brother built it out of his dreams.”  After Southern Sunshine is completely road-worthy, Williams will turn his attention to another of his little brother’s projects — the Cajun King.  “It’s a 1975 Cadillac that’s bigger than Southern Sunshine,” Williams said.