Most radical of the Easter Jeep Safari custom trucks headed to Moab packs more than 700 horsepower.
This weekend, the 53rd annual Easter Jeep Safarikicks off in Moab, Utah, and there will be six vehicles on display which have been modified by Mopar and the Jeep Performance Parts team. All six vehicles are pickups, five are based on the new Gladiator and one is based on a 1968 Kaiser Jeep M-715 military truck. The classic truck is powered by a Hellcat Hemi and at a recent media preview, attendees got a chance to hear the Hellcat-powered 1968 Jeep idle and a rev a few times.
This 1968 Kaiser Jeep M-715 is named Five-Quarter and while every aspect of the classic military machine has been modified, the most important upgrade is under the hood.
This antique truck is powered by a 6.2-liter Hellcat Hemi engine, sending 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels with help from a modified Chrysler 727 automatic transmission. It also has a Dynatrac Pro-rock 60 front axle and a Dynatrac Pro-rock 80 axle out back, with 20-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in 40-inch Maxxis off-road tires.
As you can see in the pictures here, the Five-Quarter also has a heavily-modified body and interior, but the big story for this video is the supercharged Hemi. After giving us a thorough walk-around, Head of Jeep Design, Mark Allen, fired up the monstrous military Jeep. This event was held in an enclosed room, so they couldn’t let the engine run for very long, but we still got a great chance to hear the blown custom truck rumble at idle and roar with a touch of throttle.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
