Meet the Corvette-powered Monster Truck Wrangler

One of the wildest YJ Wranglers we’ve ever seen rolls on massive 46-inch tires.

Who among us hasn’t dreamed of owning a real life monster truck? We’re sure a lot of you grew up like us, watching monster trucks crush cars on TV and playing with our toy monster trucks in the dirt. For many of us, owning a lifted Jeep is the closest we’ll ever get to monster truck glory.

Someone out there made their childhood dream a reality, and now it’s someone else turn to fulfill the same wish. While browsing Racing Junk, we found this amazing Jeep YJ Wrangler that had been transformed into something truly incredible.

At first glance, this looks like some kind of toy, but we assure you that it’s the real deal. This incredible machine started life as a 1989 Jeep Wrangler before it was transformed into an unstoppable beast.

Giant-Size Tires and a Corvette V8

The ad doesn’t give many details on the suspension setup, but what we can tell you is that the stock axles were replaced with beefy military units. Those huge tires are Mickey Thompson Bear Claws, and they measure a jaw-dropping 46 inches in diameter.

Getting in and out of this thing is obviously no walk in the park. Thankfully, there are automatic fold down steps to make the task a little easier.

The stock inline six was ditched in favor of a Tuned Port Injection 350 cubic inch Chevy small block from a 1985-1991 Corvette. Those engines were notorious for lacking horsepower at the top end, with the trade-off being prodigious low-end torque. That means it’s just about perfect in this application.

According to the ad, custom plating was added to the body to increase stiffness. That plating is beginning to show its age, and this Jeep could benefit from a paint job.

If one feature of this truck left us scratching our heads, it’s the snorkel. If you manage to get this thing submerged in deep enough water to need it, you’ve got big problems that a safari snorkel won’t solve. Either way, it doesn’t appear to be functional, anyway.

Still, all of the work appears to be top notch, with high quality parts used throughout. For most folks, this is probably the closest thing to a real Monster truck they can buy. This monster Jeep probably wouldn’t be able to hang with Grave Digger, but there’s one benefit that this wild Wrangler has over the Monster Jam guys: it’s street legal.

Photos: Racing Junk

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.