The bumpers were designed and built by Bill.
The front bumper gives Frankie a lean, mean
appear ance. Housed inside this work of ar t is a
Warn Zeon winch; it is Bluetooth-controlled and
the power is wired into the sPOD. J.W. Speaker
8700 headlights lit the way after those early
morning Dirt ’N Drive drivers’ meetings.30 JpWe were ecstatic when we saw
Bill Cosby’s email application
for the 2019 Jp Dirt ’N Drive
Presented by Jeep event. We had caught
just a glimpse of his custom 1969 J2000
Gladiator truck at the 2018 SEMA Show,
and now we would have the chance to see
it i n ac t ion. T h is st u n n i ng Jeep t r uck d id
not disappoint on the trails, and Bill isn’t
afraid to wheel his amazing creation. The
truck is affectionately known as Frankie,
a nd Bi ll’s w i fe, M a r ia, refer s to it as “t he
other woman.”The Other Woman
Year of the Gladiator:
2019 Jp Dirt ’N Drive
By Traci Clark
[email protected]
Photography: Traci ClarkBill spent more than three years in his
garage building this one-of-a-kind J2000.
The project started with a pair of axles,
a frame, and the will to build something
different that would still work off-road.
The frame is from a 2012 Jeep Wrangler
JKU; it has been stretched 4 inches in the
rear, and the rear crossmember has been
pushed back 2 inches to accommodate the
new suspension components. Bill tells us
he expanded his fabrication skills on this
bu i ld, as t here were ver y few c ustom pa r ts
for J-trucks and he wanted no shortcuts
taken on this project. In his own words,
he knew that “patience was the main tool
needed for a successful end result.”Bill found a thrift-side J-truck bed and
shortened it 16 inches; the stock bed tins
were also shortened to fit the fender, and
there is plenty of clearance for the 40-inch
Toyo Open Country M/Ts. He also frenched
the taillights on the bedrail and installed
additional lighting in the rear bumper.Frankie sports a 2002 Chevrolet 5.3L LS V-8
engine backed by a 4L60 automatic transmis-
sion that has been beefed up with Cor vet te
internals. Bill chose to use a Jeep JK NP241
transfer case with a 2.72:1 low range. The
tr uck sounds as good as it looks with the
MagnaFlow headers and 2.5-inch exhaust.Axles from a 2004 F-350 were used—a Dana 60 front
and a 10.5-inch Sterling rear. Both house 5.13 Nitro
gears and ARB Lockers. The Ford disc brakes and
master cylinder and the F-350 high-steer knuckle
were retained; Bill added a Redneck Ram hydro-
assist. Rock Krawler X-Factor Stage 2 suspension
with coilovers in the front, Rock Krawler 3.5-inch
JKU springs in the rear, and skid protection and axle
trusses by Artec finish off the undercarriage.The interior has vintage styling blended
with some modern comforts. Bill used a
stock Jeep Wrangler console and seats
minus the headrests, which are covered
in Bartact skins with a black diamond
pattern, and he stitched the door panels to
match. The Auto Meter gauges in Old Tyme
White stand out well against the Empire
Blue Poly interior and exterior color.