If some of you gamers play any of the Halo video games, you’ll recognize this Chevy pickup truck. What? You don’t see it? It’s under the replica Warthog M12 recon truck, and it’s real. Under the skin, it might not be completely accurate. It does not have the hydrogen engine or fully independent suspension for off-road madness. That’s because it is built around a 1984 Chevy pickup. Sometimes cost, practicality, and what’s laying around beats accuracy.

Bryant Havercamp from Linwood, Michigan, works as a phone technician by day. But, at night he moonlighted as the engineer/builder of this real, actual Warthog. For over five years! That’s right, working by himself he slowly created the replica over a five-year period.

Havercamp says he’s almost killed himself in the process of building it. Yikes! He says he’s been a big Halo fan since 2003.

Owner Built Entire Warthog From Halo 5 

What’s also amazing is that Havercamp did it all, from the custom cage, interior, wiring, and powertrain; to the body and CAD necessary to make some of the components. Do telephone technicians use CAD in their jobs? He even engineered the hydraulic steering which was deemed necessary due to the weight and mass of this beast.

The Warthog featured in Halo 5: Guardians is the United Nations Space Command’s light ground transportation. It is featured prominently in the game. Sometimes it is affectionately called the “Hog.” They were first made in 2319, known as “Z-12.” It slowly became the main form of transportation from heavy promotion showcasing the hog in the outlands of Luna and Mars. But you knew that, right?

Warthogs were utilized by UNSC forces to free John-117 from Crow’s Nest. Then John-117 traveled the Tsavo Highway in the Hog to make his escape. It’s the UNSC’s main form of ground transportation utilized for scouting and reconnaissance. The Hog has been around in various forms for two centuries. We wish we could say the same for some of our favorite vehicles here on earth.

Real Warthog Has Lots Of Features  

Some of the real Halo Warthog features include the signature “tusks” upfront fabricated from sheet steel. Havercamp spent more than two weeks fabricating those. A rear-mounted camera, digital gauges, and readouts, and other assorted Easter eggs can be  found throughout the build.

The real Havercamp Warthog is powered by a 1984 350 ci Chevy V8, naturally aspirated. But no fuel injection or turbos can be found. But, all of the required items like windshield wipers, lights, turn signals, etc. are all accounted for. The dashboard is completely functional. It even has airbags. This Warthog is street legal. Why else would you build it?

He started with the stripped chassis, then he built the roll cage first. From there he fashioned angle iron for each of the main body sections and skinned those. He said the hardest part was the things he didn’t know would be a problem like an engine. He built it three different times for different reasons.

Many are in awe and some will be inspired to build a vehicle from scratch. How cool is it that some guy in the sticks of Michigan wanted a real Halo Warthog so bad he spent over five years to create it? And, he did it by himself to boot!