Restomods are getting more popular and one team from Austin, Texas has created a classic Jeep Grand Wagoneer that’s all modern beneath its timeless good looks.
Lots of restomods focus on upgrading components of the original vehicle but Vigilante, the brand building these SUVs, started by scanning the body of the Grand Wagoneer so that they could use CAD software to create a new chassis. Why build a new chassis?
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Well, the benefits are significant and encompass every aspect of the build. First, a more rigid chassis allows for more modern driving dynamics since there’s less flex and no potential for weak spots that might have been damaged over the years. In addition, it allows the team at Vigilante to affix modern parts without any concern about how the chassis will handle the greater forces that such parts can exert.
To that end, this classic Grand Wagoneer uses Baer six-piston brake calipers tucked inside of 17-inch wheels. Those are huge improvements over the stock setup and they’re leveraged further with Eibach springs and Fox dampers.
This Grand Wagoneer starts from $295,000 and can be outfitted with the buyer’s choice of three HEMI engines. The base motor is the 485 hp (361 kw) unit used in many modern SRT and 392 trim applications. In the middle is the 707 hp (527 kw) Hellcat engine, which costs an extra $15,000, and if that’s not enough, for $25,000 more they’ll shove a 1,000 hp (745 kw) Hellephant motor under the hood.