Under its vintage, wood-paneled looks lies a hardcore off-roader.
The best restomods are the ones that don’t look like restomods. When done right, a restomod will look like a classic car but accelerate, stop, ride, and handle like a more modern car. This 1990 Jeep Wagoneer listed on Bring a Trailer is the perfect example, as it looks like a lifted classic Wagoneer but, under its wood-paneled skin, it’s so much more.
To call this a chassis-up restomod would be a disservice. It doesn’t even ride on the original Wagoneer chassis. Instead, the iconic Wagoneer body sits on a Roadster Shop RS4 chassis—a completely new ladder frame chassis with beefier frame rails, Fox 2.0 Factory Series coilovers with remote reservoir shocks, Dana 44 front axles, Dana 60 rear axles, and a new performance steering box. It’s a beefed-up, proper off-roading machine with a vintage body on top.
Mopar fans will be sad to find a General Motors engine under the hood, rather than a Hemi. The RS4 chassis is designed to use several different engine types, including GM’s LS and LT engines and the owner of this Wagoneer went with a 6.0-liter L96 Vortec V8. Instead of the woody wagon’s original three-speed auto, this now has a six-speed auto and gets a dual-range transfer case.
However, from the outside, it just looks like a mint-condition Wagoneer. Sure, the ride height and 17-inch Method Racing wheels, wrapped in BFGoodrich K02 tires, let you know it isn’t completely stock. But, for the most part, it’s a classy-looking build and its off-road prowess flies completely under the radar.
It won’t be cheap, however. At the time of writing this, there are three days left on the auction and the bid is at $80,000. According to the listing, the entire build and refurbishment cost over $200,000. But if you want to cruise in a vintage, classic American icon that covertly packs Moab-tackling off-road capability, this truck could be hard to resist.
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