Jeep Builder Reveals Awesome Hellcat JL Project During ‘Coffee Walk’
JL Wrangler receiving a Hellcat upgrade shows how to make a badass vehicle even better.
Do you know what the best way to start your day is? With a cup of coffee, of course. Whether you get it from a mermaid, a hipster with a perfect beard, a bikini barista, a convenience store, or from a canister full of flavor crystals, a cup of coffee will put a spring in your step while you get ready to put a spring on your Jeep’s suspension.
If you’ve got a shop to walk through with your coffee, that’s even better. Collins Bros Jeep president Dennis Collins does just that, showing off what his Wylie, Texas shop is up to regarding all things Jeep.
“So, this is our Hellcat JL,” says Collins. “As you can see, the body’s off.” The body removal process took a couple of hours, but not much else has been done, due to waiting for parts to arrive. The original motor is already out, though, while the Hellcat motor and supercharger are waiting to go in.
Collins then walks back over to the other side of the shop to check out a new rear bumper for his shop’s other brand, Black Mountain Jeep. After checking on a few customer builds and restorations, he heads over to another special Jeep undergoing restoration.
“This is the Jamboree that’s here for restoration,” Collins says. “The mechanical side’s already been done. This Jeep was in good enough shape that it didn’t require the body coming off, but we’re now stripping the body all the way down as far as paint goes.”
“This is a customer’s Laredo we’re finishing up and a little bit of body work. What we’re going to do is we’re going to remove the stripe kit, we’re gonna color-sand it, buff the original paint.” Collins adds there was some body damage on the right rear quarter panel after a tire blew out, so work will be done to ensure the new paint blends with the original to “look like it just left the factory.”
After checking on the new Black Mountain heavy-duty tire carrier for JL Wranglers, which can hold up to a 40-inch tire and can be had in steel or cast aluminum, Collins eventually walks to the front of his shop, where three Black Mountain JK Wranglers are waiting to head home to their owners.
“These are brand new 2018s,” Collins says. “What’s unusual about the 2018 model year on these is they made the JK and the JL. The JK’s been the most successful Jeep they’ve ever built. These are three 2018 JKs. Historically, the last year of the Jeep builds are gonna be worth the most money.”
Not a bad way to start a morning, indeed.
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