By Chris Tracy
Jeep has teased about bringing back the Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer for years. It’s becoming a bit of a white whale for some Jeep enthusiasts. There is nothing official from Jeep, but we should see something (a concept if not an actual production) by 2020. The FCA group does amazing vehicle concepts, just look at everything from the Easter Jeep Safari from the last ten years. My favorite is the Forward Control Concept.
I love to search the Internet for project vehicles. I rarely search for new or expensive vehicles, except for Unimogs. Mogs, Pinzgauers, Toyota Chinooks, and the GM Chalets are always out of my price range. Every now and then I stumble on something amazing.
This is the Woodland Kit. It attaches to a JKU Jeep Wrangler and gets us a little closer to the Grand Wagoneer. The kit is an attempt to create a one day, do-it-yourself restomod Grand Wagoneer. Pricing starts at $20,000 USD.
To begin your conversion, you will have to remove some of your stock pieces. The kit replaces the grille, headlamps, hood, both bumpers, both front and rear fenders, the roof, tailgate, and the rear lights. There is nothing that has to be done to the doors, except prepping them to attach the vinyl wood panels.
All of the kits include:
- Front Grille with LED headlights
- Front Bumper with LED lights
- Hood
- Front Fenders
- Extended Roof with Windows and Tailgate
- LED Taillights
- Rear Fenders
- Rear Bumper
- 9x Wood Panels (3M)
- Chrome Roof Rack
- Chrome Moldings
- Chrome Emblems.
The new panels are made from 2mm & 5mm Fiberglass reinforced polyester with a gel coat surface. Those looking to restore older Wagoneers will be looking for steel panels, but fiberglass has been used on so many different types of body kits over the years that it should hold up quite well. Half the body panels on the new C7 Corvettes are still fiberglass from the factory.
The new roof and rear section from the kit extend the back of the Wrangler by nine inches. You are losing the versatility of being able to take the hardtop on and off, but you will still be able to take the front two sections of the modular roof off; something no Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer could do. There is a hidden rubber strip that seals the kit to the original body in the cargo compartment. The kit comes with OEM carpet to help blend it all together. There is also an optional cargo mat.
Even if you don’t want the whole kit, there has to be a market for adding nine inches of length to the back of a JKU. Oh, the overland drawers systems we could create with nine extra inches to work with.
We did a little research on the JKU and the SJ (Wagoneer) dimensions. It surprised us how similar they are.
We reached out to Kristoffer (CEO/Creative Director) about the kit. The idea for the kit came in response to what they were seeing on the classic vehicle marketplace; modern performance with vintage looks. Instead of a six-digit restomod, you can purchase a new JKU and the kit and still be in the five digit range. The kit is currently being finalized in Sweden with the production of the first 50 kits to be ready in May of 2018. They are willing to take (non-binding) orders now. The Woodland Kit is making its debut at SEMA 2018 of a production model. We’ll keep an eye out for it.
We love to support small businesses at Overland Kitted. If you are interested in the Classic Factory Woodland Kit, send Kristoffer an email. Woodlandkit.com in no way funded this article. They did allow us to use their press images, which we appreciate.