Wondering how to make your Jeep look a little more retro? Try these exterior styling upgrades.
Like fashion, décor, and many other style-driven sectors, what’s old becomes new—and cool—again. It’s no different in the automotive space. We’re living through a revival of retro styling, inside and outside, spearheaded by the reintroduction of past models that we haven’t seen in decades. (The Jeep Gladiator and Wagoneer are prime examples of this.) But it’s not just OEMs pushing the buttons here, it’s the aftermarket as well.
Retro-looking Jeeps are in. So, if you have a hankering to give your new Jeep a classic look, or have an older Jeep you’d like to dress in age-appropriate clothing, take a look at a few items we think are must-haves for a throwback build.
KC Daylighters
Light bars are cool, sleek, and powerful, and they’ve dominated the lighting space for the last 20 years. But for the last 5 or so years, we’ve seen a resurgence of the good ol’ 6" rounds—and we can’t help but smile.
A low-profile curved bar that matches your roofline is a good-looking and functional upgrade, but for a retro-inspired Jeep, ditch the lightbar and opt for four or five KC Daylighters instead.
Available in classic halogen or modern LED, Daylighters can also be outfitted with a chrome housing. Long-lasting, functional, and easy to install, no aftermarket Jeep lighting product has more of an iconic history than the KC Daylighters.
And it goes without saying, but if you’re gonna throw a few Daylighters on your vehicle, go the extra mile and pick up the yellow covers with either the “KC” logo or the Daylighters smiley face. Or if yellow isn’t your bag, the classic crosshatched stone guards look great too. Nothing says “vintage cool” like a few of these above your windshield or in front of your grille.
Decals
As far a vintage-aesthetic-per-dollar ratio, it’s hard to beat a few tasteful stickers. The lowly sticker mod has become a bit of a fan favorite in the tuner/import scene for the past decade, reaching a meme-worthy status. But for a retro Jeep build, it’s a bit more tasteful. We’re not talking local auto chain checkout line stickers that say “special edition”, “4x4”, or “if you can read this, flip me over”. No, we’re more sophisticated than that. We’re talking vinyl decals.
Inspiration is easy to come by, as you can just peruse Jeep’s decade-by-decade history page on their website to hone in on a certain time period you’d like your Jeep to revisit.
Got a dark green model? Check out the military Jeeps of the ‘40s and ‘50s. We’re partial to all the cool ideas the ‘70s Jeeps had to offer including the Honcho, Cherokee Chief, Renegade, and Golden Eagle, but don’t sleep on the ever-popular Scrambler of the 1980s as well. Hey, if you want to go with a wooden panel look à la the old Wagoneer or Cherokee, we support you.
Find a design you like and there’s guaranteed to be a period-correct vinyl kit to match. And if you want something more easily removeable—but that also provides a little exterior protection—check out MEK Magnet. The company’s removable trail armor is made of heavy-duty resin and can be tailored to any design, color, and style to match your desire.
Steelies (White)
There are a lot of external upgrades you can make to a Jeep to express your personality and taste. One such area that is perhaps the most customization-friendly is the wheels—and if you’re building a retro Jeep, there are a few solid options.
Ultimately though, we think the classic steelie look—whether they be actual steel or lighter-weight aluminum—should be at the top of your list.
Like a button-down gingham shirt, sizing and fit trends may differ era to era, but a set of classic, no-frills steel wheels transcend generations. They looked good 50 years ago, they look good now, and they’ll look good 50 years in the future. This is how you make a Jeep look retro and timeless.
While black, grey, and bronze wheels are currently in vogue, we recommend a classic chrome or even better—white. They’re relatively cheap, come in just about any size you fancy, and turn heads from any distance. Even better, they look great on just about any color and finish. And the look of a white steelie wrapped in rubber as a full-size spare in the rear? Chef’s kiss.
Classic WARN Winch
Some enthusiasts may decide that “looking the part” is the primary focus of building a retro style Jeep. To that we say: what’s a Jeep if not capable?
Decals, wheels, and lighting are great exterior upgrades, but they won’t do much for you if your vintage-inspired Jeep starts spinning its knobby whitewall tires. You need a functional winch that’ll match the aesthetic.
Not to exclude any of the fabulous winches from brands like Mile Marker, Superwinch, Rugged Ridge and others, but it’s hard to beat the big red “W” in this sector. And while winches have gotten sleeker and more modern in the last decade, one model still looks and performs the part—the WARN M8274.
Not just a pretty, timeless, Raquel Welch-like face, the M8274 is the fastest production WARN winch to date. The updated 6 HP motor and 10K capacity add modern underpinnings to a classic shape and design. And while a steel rope with roller fairlead is the obvious choice for styling, if you’re into synthetic, the M8274 is offered in a “-S” model with a Spydura cable and Hawse fairlead as well. Your grandaddy used this winch, and so should you.
Tubular Bumpers
Modern 4x4 bumpers have evolved by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years. What used to be a category of big, heavy, bulky slabs of steel that threw any semblance of smooth body panel and fender transitions to the wind have become slim, lightweight, and almost OEM in the way they blend into the front end. But for the classic Wrangler aesthetic, it’s hard to beat the looks and appeal of a 3" double tube with a hoop.
If you owned a YJ or TJ Wrangler back in the day and wanted an aftermarket bumper, this was the choice you went with—whether it be a wheel-to-wheel length or something more in a stubby dimension. And just like with the previously-mentioned steel wheels, if you’re going for a chromed-out Jeep, you can opt for that finish as well in this bumper. In modern times, the 3" double tube still looks fantastic and provides plenty of front-end protection.
And of course, something so ubiquitous does tend to breed many copycats and cheap facsimiles, but we recommend sticking with a brand that shares a long history with Jeep—something like a Rampage, Rugged Ridge, Paramount, and Smittybilt, who all build quality examples of this bumper.
Thankfully, even when buying from a stalwart brand like these, since the design is so simple, you won’t need to pay more than a few hundred dollars—a far cry from modern bumper prices that can easily surpass $1,000–$1,500. With all that cash you’ve saved, go ahead and treat yourself to the matching rear bumper as well.