Vigilante: Reimagined Jeep for The Modern Driver

1980 Jeep Cherokee “Blacked Out Beauty” Chief Stage 2 Vigilante Build. $185,000.

For the past 20 years, Jeep Heritage in Columbus, TX has been bringing new life to worn-out Vintage Jeeps with ground-up frame-off restorations. With the Jeep industry skyrocketing and Jeep fans wanting a classic Jeep that can be reliable and comfortably driven daily, Jeep Heritage gave birth to their sister company Vigilante. 

Vigilante specializes in resto-modding 1974-1983 Jeep Cherokee, 1964-1991 Jeep Wagoneer, and 1964-1987 Jeep J-Truck. With a highly skilled crew of craftsmen, engineers, and designers Vigilante can convert a classic Jeep into a modern vehicle with all the engine and drivetrain bells and whistles while remaining true to the classic Jeep aesthetic. 

Jeep Vigilante Roller Frame before mating to Jeep body.

Before we get to the awesome bells and whistles. The Vigilante team 3D scans the entire body and frame and uploads it to computer-aided design software (CAD) to create new anchor points, brackets and stiffen the new frame with ¼ inch steel. Once assembled and powder coated, it is greeted by a Dana 44 Front Axle and Dana 60 Rear Axle with your choice of 3.71 or 4.11 gears. To keep your Vigilante Jeep in control and comfortable at all times the crew exchanged the old leaf springs for EIBACH Coils and Fox Racing 2.0 Adjustable Shock Absorbers. 

Vigilante Frame with Fox Racing 2.0 Adjustable Shock Absorbers and EIBACH Coils.

Because your Vigilante Jeep will be seeing massive power (we will get to that later), the engineers knew the old 2 piston caliper and drum brake system would be prone to brake fade from excessive heat. To combat this, the crew installed a 24 piston 4-wheel disc brake kit from BAER High-Performance Brake Systems. Each wheel is halted by a 6 Piston BAER Caliper loaded with High Temp Brake Pads, Steel Lines, and Slotted 14-inch HiPo Rotors. 

However, with the increased rotor and caliper dimensions, the original 15×7 Brook & Stevens wheels no longer clear the BAER 6 Piston caliper. But the designers at Vigilante found a way around this. With 3D scans and a flawless CAD program, your Jeep Vigilante rides on 17×8 Brook & Stevens “Reimagined” Wheels. An amazing touch that really brings the Jeep Vigilante up to modern designs. 

Brook & Stevens Reimagined 17×8 Wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich tires with BAER 6 Piston Caliper.

With the Vigilante Frame now considered a “Roller” your choice of powerplant is installed. With three engines available: 485 HP 392 Hemi SRT V8, 707 HP 376 Supercharged Hellcat V8, or 1000 HP 436 Supercharged Hellphant V8. And two Transmission options: Automatic 4 Speed Bowler 4L80E or Manual 6 speed Tremec TR-6060. The drivetrain power is propelled to the Dana Axles through an Advanced Adapter Atlas 2 Transfer Case with a Full-Time 4×4 Drive System evenly distributing power to all four wheels. The crew then mounts your freshly coated Jeep body, finally adding the small touches like matching OEM or fine-tuned Jeep interior, new wiring, new digital dash cluster, and any decals your Jeep initially had when it rolled off the factory floor. 

The Vigilante Jeep runs anywhere from $265,000 and up. Guaranteed that once you receive your Jeep Vigilante, you’ll realize the nostalgia, the comfort, the reliability, and the craftsmanship make this time machine well worth it Jeep Wagoneer Restoration.