Project Wheelchair Crawler

 

This is a very special project that I am honored to be part of.

In April 2006 Marc was out in his truck wheeling, he was on a trail that was a little narrow for his truck. There was some snow on the ground and the sow had turned to ice under the trees, so as Marc was turning the truck around somehow things went from bad to worse and the next thing he remembers is waking up in ICU.

Apparently the ground gave out under the truck somehow and the truck rolled end over end down a 500' cliff.  Marc was ejected from the vehicle and ended up shattering his T12 and L1-3 vertebra.  Marc spent the next few months in rehab, and is now confined to a wheelchair as he is paralyzed from the waist down.

Needless to say this has changed his life forever.  I must say that Marc has the absolute BEST attitude of anyone I know, I have talked with him a number of times since the accident and every time I talk with him he is upbeat and positive, Marc is just going to make the best out of a bad situation. Hence the Wheelchair Crawler Project.

Marc is in the process of building a competition buggy to compete next year in the U.R.O.C. series (United Rockcrawling and Off-road Challenge).  Marc is not the first person in a wheelchair to compete in the U.R.O.C series, Clay Egan has been competing for a few years now.  So keep an eye out for Marc in the near future.

If you are a vendor and interested in helping to sponsor Marc's project, please shoot me an email and I will pass the info on to him.  I would like to thank Shaffer's Offroad for building the chassis and axles, and helping out as much as you have already.  I will be adding to the list of sponsors regularly so keep checking back.

Here are some pix, I will be continuing to add more as the project progresses.

 

Now for the beginning of the new build

   

Finally getting the chassis home

  

 

Some updated pix (2/9/07) almost ready to be picked up on 2/16/07 just in time for Henderson!!!

 

  

 

         

     

Starting to take shape now. Engine trans and TC are all in.

    

  

 

Well Marc heads up to pick up the buggy tomorrow (3/23/07) so I will have more pix up over the weekend, but here are a few teasers.

   

Goes to the muffler shop to build the custom headers on Sat. (the exhaust will exit out the front of the buggy like the Red Bull RockHer), and then in for paint on Sun.  Does not give him much if any time to drive it before loading up for the trip to Globe, Ar. for the W.E.ROCK Event over the next weekend, but best of luck Marc!!

More to follow.

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some shots of the buggy right before it gets loaded on the trailer for the comp this weekend.  Marc still has some stuff to finish up once he gets back home, but it is good enough to compete with this weekend!!!

 

 

(what a cool decal there on the door (LOL)!

 

Wheelchair Crawler Sponsors: