INSIDE LOOK at CODEX - The Dynatrac 2-Door Extra Cab Hellcat Gladiator Truck Build

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
There really is no question that the all new Jeep JT Gladiator is all the rage and anyone who's anyone in the industry is working hard to build one up. As luck would have it, Cindy and I were invited down to Dynatrac and to get a glimpse of what they're doing with theirs. Needless to say, the following photos will show you what they've done so far and we'd love to hear what you think of it. :yup:

Unfortunately, we weren't able to cover this build from the very beginning like we had originally planned to but we were able to catch up on things soon after it arrived at Dynatrac. Here's a shot of what it looked like within hours of getting here - essentially, all stripped down and ready to get worked on again.
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Of course, the single coolest mod on this this truck is the awesome Hellcat HEMI under the hood.
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For the most part, it went it without too much effort but new JL motor mounts had to be installed to make it work and fitment was a bit tight on the passenger side.
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From what I've been told, there was also an issue with the brake booster fitment and several different ones had be tested before one that worked was finally found.
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Not a 100% sure what the deal is with the coils but there seemed to be an excessive amount of bowing on the front ones. Fortunately, these will get replaced.
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Probably the single most unique feature about this Gladiator build is that nothing about it would make you think it once was a Gladiator. As you can see, the cab section has been chopped so that it could be made into a 2-door with an extra cab and the frame has been shorted as well to give it a shorter wheel base. Of course, a storage box made by Patriot Campers has been added as well.
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Initially, the plan was to run a 2-door gas tank with the shortened frame but things didn't work out the way they had planned so a 36 gallon GenRight tank was used in its place.
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It may be a little hard to see but if you look carefully, the frame rails had to be notched in order to make the tank fit.
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Here's a shot of Sticky Finger Design wrapping CODEX's hood.
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What it looks like now.
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Shot of the windshield done as well.
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Coming together. Here you can see the body with some color as well as the roof rack installed and a Rotopax mounted on the rear window location.
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Doing a bit more shaping to the hard top.
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Maybe not perfect but it does look a lot better now.
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Going with the black and tan look, the factory wheels were painted matte black.
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Getting a lot closer. Here's a shot from the rear with the roof top tent installed.
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A few shots of the drawers and cubbys on this thing.
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On the other side is a Dometic fridge :)
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Switches on the outside that control lights.
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Testing out the roof top tent.
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Modifying the rear cross member to help give a bit more ground clearance.
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Oh so close to being done.
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Well, the body part of it all anyway. Suspension is gonna need some help for sure especially in the rear.
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That's it for now. Hoping to post up more pics as soon as I can and with any luck, it'll look a lot more complete. Please let us know what you think of the build! :thumb:
 

jjlong

New member
I saw Patriot camper hinting about something like this. Looks like a lot of work. Too soon to say whether or not I'm a fan of it.
 

Coop

Caught the Bug
CODEX : INSIDE LOOK of the Dynatrac 2-Door Extra Cab Hellcat Gladiator Truck Build

Man, lots of work and equipment going into this! This will be a cool Jeep when done! I do like the basic design of the Gladiator, though. I can’t wait to see all the builds out on the trails!
Thanks for the photos!

Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
That thing had so much potential and completely fell flat. Not sure what the goal was, but that is pretty bad. At no point does that make me want to buy a gladiator or build anything close to it.




Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

Ddays

Hooked
A 700+ hp camper? :thinking: I'll reserve a final opinion until its done. I sure do appreciate the amount of work done though. That storage bed is really nice & looks well made. But I'm struggling with why cut a Gladiator up when they could have done the same thing with a 2 door JL and extended the rear frame to accommodate the storage bed?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Okay, just saw this awesome awning made by Rhino Rack in action and OMG - so much want!!!
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Compact when closed and super easy to open and setup. All kinds of other features that are sweet too.
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:thumb:
 

CrazyTrainJK

Caught the Bug
That is going to be one hell of an Overlander :thumb: Love it when all these offroad businesses take these new rigs and build them up before most have even had a chance to see one let alone buy one. :clap2:
 

JK.AF.Mil

New member
Great Photos, thanks!

Looks like an interesting build with a lot of attention to detail. Thanks for sharing the photos.
- CJ
 

Stuka

New member
The front springs most likely look like that because they swapped in an axle for a JK? I know the Gladiators have wider axles than regular JL's, and definitely wider than a JK.

EDIT: Ahh no, definitely a stock axle, but looks like the track bar is pulling it to the side. The bump stop is way over from the spring mount up top.

EDIT 2: Strike through isn't supported here?
 
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#1 Van

New member
CODEX : INSIDE LOOK of the Dynatrac 2-Door Extra Cab Hellcat Gladiator Truck Build

Wow - Hemi!
Thanks for putting the pictures up! My GF would love to have a Jeep: she loved my last JK and really loves my new JL. I'm trying to get her interested in a Gladiator but she has concerns with the 5' bed length. We have two large dogs and bought a Tacoma Access Cab (6' bed) last year to haul them around with us. - Looking at this build, I could easily see us loading the dogs in below an adding a roof tent above so the four of us could be together four camping weekends.
Can't wait to see the finished version.
 
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