Jeep just dropped a 1966 Jeep CJ body onto a second-gen Wrangler frame, bolted on some modern Wrangler bumpers and threw in some Dodge Viper seats. The result is a true masterpiece.
Right now in Sin City, automakers and aftermarket companies are showing off heavily-modified cars at the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s car show. And Jeep took the opportunity to drop this bombshell:
It’s a 1966 Jeep CJ Tuxedo Park on a Jeep TJ frame (that’s a 1997-2006 Wrangler) with a two-inch lift kit and big 35-inch BFG All-Terrain Tires wrapped around 17-inch beadlock wheels.
Under the hood sits a HEMI mated to a six-speed manual, routing power to a pair of Mopar Dana 44 crate axles (the same axles found in the 2003-2006 Wrangler Rubicon).
The inside is protected with a custom roll cage, and features two Viper seats, a modern JK Wrangler center console, and a custom steering wheel.
On the outside are Jeep JK 10th Anniversary front and rear bumpers, a concept hood with huge vents, Mopar aftermarket JK Wrangler LED headlights, a two-inch cropped windshield, and custom fender flares.
The body itself could either come from a CJ-5 or a CJ-6 (Jeep doesn’t specify), but the overall shape—with its long wheelbase—looks very CJ-6-ish. The rear part of the body does look custom, so who knows if it’s a stretched CJ-5 or a tweaked CJ-6.
The frame is similarly mysterious, as Jeep says it’s a second-gen Wrangler TJ frame, but it’s obviously too long to be standard, making me wonder if it’s actually a Jeep TJ Unlimited (the longer wheelbase model) ladder, or if Jeep actually took a TJ chassis and stretched it.
Either way, the CJ66 takes everything I love about CJs (the voluptuous curved fenders, the gorgeous headlights that intrude into the grille slots, the swooping door openings), mixes it with everything I love about the TJ (coil springs, disc brakes, Dana 44 axles) and adds in a modern powertrain.
I want nothing more in this world than to own this thing.