This incredible piece of custom engineering is the pinnacle of classic Jeep customs.
Willys Jeeps are some of the most famous offroading and military-type vehicles to hit American soil for their incredibly unique style and fantastic utility. Almost 700,000 of these incredible vehicles were made in their day, which meant that a ton of supplies were needed to fill the massive demand that the war had created for them. This eventually led to a shortage of materials, so the company did what many other automotive brands have done in the past. They contracted Ford to build the Willys Jeeps, which allowed the vehicles to stay in production without a dramatic increase in price or varying production numbers. This leads us into today’s build, which initially began its life as one of these little-known pieces of American SUV history and is now one of the craziest looking hotrods on the roads of California.
Check out a Amish buggy turned into a hotrod here.
Powering the incredibly low Vintage Jeep is a massive V8 engine and transmission from Lincoln Mk 8. That fantastic powertrain combination pushes out about 300 horsepower to the rear wheels, which is more than enough power for this lightweight custom beach cruiser. The suspension is all custom work, as the air suspension was a tricky addition to this great car. This thing sits perfectly flat with the ground and creates a cool spider-like aesthetic upon airing out the suspension. Despite looking like the exhaust is straight-piped, the headers lead into a set of hidden inline-mufflers, which help keep the car’s hotrod look while also providing plenty of sound deadening.
The interior design has a heavy focus on showing off every piece of innovative work that has been done to this vehicle. Everything from bare weld spots to a distinct lack of carpets has made the inside of this hot rod into a tribute to its military past. While the idle sound may not seem too insane for what it is, a violent noise shriek from the long tube headers upon heavy acceleration with grace and brutality. This is an excellent transition from the original military vehicle we all know and love into an insane hot rod on a set of 33-inch tires, and it is perfect.
