Jeep enthusiasts will still spend for speed

Beasts sometimes lurk at Jeep Only.

When people stop by the Las Vegas dealership dedicated to the free-spirited brand, they might catch a glimpse of beefed-up Gladiators and Wranglers loaded with Demon and Hellcat power waiting for someone to give them a home.

The monstrous contraptions bearing six-figure price tags are the handiwork of Dakota Customs, which specializes in tossing supercharged V-8 engines into Jeeps and Rams. The business also sells conversion kits for the do-it-yourself crowd, including off-road shops and Jeep dealerships.

It's a nice arrangement for Jeep Only. The store sends the Jeeps to Dakota, which does the conversions and ships back the vehicles. The dealership has sold a half dozen of the modified Jeeps in the past few months, co-owner John Grant said.

The store has a 2020 Gladiator Rubicon model with a Demon engine listed on its website for $250,000. There are a couple of Hellcat Wranglers going for as much as $169,950.

"If nothing else, people like coming in to see them," Grant said.

Jeep has been teasing the possibility of a V-8-powered Wrangler with its 392 concept, but the idea is nothing new for Dakota Customs founder Dan McKeag, who started the company in 1995 in Minnesota before moving to South Dakota in 2013 and changing its name.

His upgrades range from current Jeep models to Wrangler predecessors such as the CJ7. McKeag even has gone beyond eight cylinders, filling TJ Wranglers with V-10 engines used in the Dodge Viper. Dakota Customs also did V-8 Wranglers for Chrysler between 2008 and 2012, including for the Moab off-road event in Utah.

For one of his latest projects, McKeag is packing a 1,000-hp Hellephant engine in a 1947 Dodge Power Wagon pickup. The truck, he said, will retain a slightly dented exterior that belies its devastating capabilities.

Business has been booming during the pandemic. McKeag's affluent clientele still has money, and their thirst for muscle hasn't faltered. In late August, McKeag said he had done "four times the amount of business" this year than in the same period in 2019.

The jobs can take up to three weeks. Dakota installs hoods that help with engine cooling, along with shocks and different suspension setups, depending on the tire size the customer wants. "We definitely firm up the suspension; otherwise, you can have the front end lift too high because of the engine torque," McKeag said.

The shop also adds larger brakes. Every build, he said, is a bit different. Figuring out the engine programming for the Hellcat back in 2015 was a challenge when it debuted, McKeag said, but the shop managed to do it.

A Hellcat conversion for a Wrangler is $56,000. Turning a Gladiator into a Demon costs $68,000.

Dakota Customs has done about 80 Hellcat Wrangler conversions since 2015 while shipping out around the same number of install kits.

"They have the money to spend," McKeag told Automotive News. "A lot of guys are in a club, or they have a selection of friends that they always go off-roading or four-wheeling with. One builds it and then everybody builds it. It goes back to the fact that the [original] motor is a small V-6."

Jeeps always have been a part of McKeag's life. When he was a boy, his father bought a 1965 CJ5 and would take him and his brother out and let them drive. The idea of "being able to go just about anywhere" with four-wheel drive hooked McKeag.

He has since dedicated himself to working with fellow Jeep enthusiasts to take their vehicles to the next level. There "seems to be no end to the customers out there that want more power in the Jeep Wrangler," he said.

The newfound speed has to be wielded responsibly, and customers are instructed on how to handle their new monsters before leaving Dakota.

"Going from 285 [hp] to 700 or more, it definitely puts you back in your seat," McKeag said. "It shocks a lot of people."