zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Trucks
/
I Want To Love This Jeep Wrangler-Ram 2500 Hybrid But It's Just So Hideous
I Want To Love This Jeep Wrangler-Ram 2500 Hybrid But It's Just So Hideous-February 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:11

Combining the versatile body of a Jeep Wrangler with the beefy, Cummins-powered chassis of a Ram 2500 sounds like a brilliant idea. Maybe. But someone in New Jersey did just that, and the result is one of the strangest looking Jeeps I’ve ever seen.

A number of readers have sent me this and this , and I’ll admit, upon reading the title “1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ w CUMMINS 5.9L TURBO DIESEL 4x4,” I got excited. The coil-sprung, compact TJ platform is excellent for off-roading; combine that with a 5.9-liter Cummins engine—a e crafted by the truck gods themselves—and the result should be a true monster crawler.

And indeed, the result is a monster, but maybe not quite of the variety I was expecting, because this isn’t just a Cummins-powered Wrangler, it’s actually a Wrangler on a shortened Cummins Ram’s frame.

The Jeep body comes from a 1997 model, the first of the TJs. That beautiful little two-door tub sits on a 2001 Ram 2500 chassis, which gets its propulsion from a 113,000 mile 5.9-liter liter 24-valve Cummins turbodiesel mated to an automatic transmission.

A beefy Ram heavy-duty frame, a torquey diesel, and the compact size of a Wrangler sounds great on paper, but the resulting Wram looks a bit odd. The Jeep body sits way up high (likely to accommodate the motor), which seems to have necessitated a pair of gigantic front and rear bumpers, a huge side-exhaust and dual side-steps to hide that frame.

The front of this Ramgler juts out by what looks like an extra foot compared to the TJ. The hood looks like a standard TJ bonnet, but the cowl (and thus the hood’s hinge point) has been moved forward. The fenders, too, have been lengthened by about a foot.

Here’s the description from the builder:

Back in 2010 we took a Dodge 2500 pick up truck, removed the body, shortened the frame and installed the Jeep body on to the dodge chassis. frame was shortened and the hood was modified & extended. Truck runs & drives was a fun project at the time, i’m on to other hobbies now and have no use for this Jeep, i named it the JAM.

JAM (short for “Jeep Ram,” I assume) has a front bumper that must weigh as much as the entire frame upon which that TJ once sat. Just look at this behemoth:

And here’s another look at the rear bumper, which is similarly gargantuan:

Finally, here’s the pièce de résistance, the 5.9-liter Cummins:

Between the weird proportions and a not-quite-finished interior, this Jeep seems like a hard sell. Which is surprising, because “Wrangler body on Cummins Ram chassis” is a phrase that would make any sane truck enthusiast drool with lust.

Still, even if JAM doesn’t look great, I can’t help but to applaud the builder’s ambition. This guy had an idea, and clearly just “sent it.”

h/t: Adam, John

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Trucks
Look At All The Fun Faces You Can Put On The Suzuki Jimny!
Look At All The Fun Faces You Can Put On The Suzuki Jimny!
There’s not a lot to the ’s design. It’s just, kind of, a brick with two little eyes. That simplicity is what makes it so charming! It also means you can change the vehicle’s look pretty dramatically just by swapping the grille. Apparent Jimny fan and Twitter user Tokuda...
Feb 16, 2026
This Land Rover Defender In Africa Video Is Jaw-Droppingly Gorgeous
This Land Rover Defender In Africa Video Is Jaw-Droppingly Gorgeous
After , a , and I thought we were going to be done talking about the for a hot second. But then I caught Carfection’s 4K video from our Namibia trip, and it’s just too visually glorious. We need to talk about it. Hosted by Henry Catchpole and shot...
Feb 16, 2026
Suzuki New Zealand Converts Jimnys Into Tiny Flatbed Trucks
Suzuki New Zealand Converts Jimnys Into Tiny Flatbed Trucks
Last Sunday, we wrote about the fascinating which has been set up in Japan. It features a wide range of Jimny models within its walls, but here’s something it might not have quite yet. A new Jimny mini truck conversion! As reported by , Suzuki New Zealand is converting...
Feb 16, 2026
The 2021 Ford Bronco Has A Cool Roof Rack And More Details In Yet Another Leak
The 2021 Ford Bronco Has A Cool Roof Rack And More Details In Yet Another Leak
Part of me feels pretty silly doing yet another post. Like, we get it, it looks like this. But as a 4x4 enthusiast, F it, I can’t help but be stoked all over again even at just a picture of it at a slightly different angle. And I found...
Feb 16, 2026
Man Builds Incredible Custom 'Super Bronco' By Welding A Ford F-250 To A Ford Excursion
Man Builds Incredible Custom 'Super Bronco' By Welding A Ford F-250 To A Ford Excursion
If you look at these photos of the Ford “Super Bronco” built using the front half of a Super Duty and the back end of a , you’d think owner David Stockman’s job was coachbuilding. That’s because this custom beast, which he built almost entirely by himself in a...
Feb 16, 2026
The Toyota Land Cruiser 79-Series Has Thor's Hammer Of Cupholders
The Toyota Land Cruiser 79-Series Has Thor's Hammer Of Cupholders
I drove over 1,000 miles around South Africa in a turbodiesel Toyota Land Cruiser pickup truck. I’m looking forward to telling you all about it but because I’m a dork with a weird cupholder obsession, I can not contain my enthusiasm for the truck’s magnificent beverage holster any longer....
Feb 16, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved