Dodge Power Wagon Hides A 1,000 Horsepower Secret

Hailing from 1967, this Dodge Power Wagon packs a Hellephant swap that gives it nearly eight times its original horsepower.

In 1967, the thought of a factory V8 engine making 1,000 horsepower would be an unfathomable and laughable concept. Even the almighty 426 cubic-inch Hemi engine, which, in 1967, was one of the most powerful production engines in the world, made 425 horsepower. That engine never made it into the Dodge Power Wagon, either. Instead, the Power Wagon got a couple of V8 engine options as well as a slant-six offering that, at best, made just under 260 horsepower. This one in particular, being a “Type D” model carrying the classic 1940s military styling, came with a flathead six-cylinder that only made about 125 horsepower. Evidently, that wasn’t quite enough for this particular owner.

This 1967 Power Wagon featured on Engine Swap Depot is far more than just an engine swap. It’s a ferocious beast that, quite frankly, is barely a Power Wagon at all. It sits on a Jeep Gladiator Rubicon chassis and features the almighty Dodge Hellephant engine. Ultimately, this all adds up to one absolutely stunning off-roader that we can’t stop drooling over. One has to think, though, that having this kind of power inside the cab of this thing has to be terrifying, even though it’s on a modern chassis.

What is the Dodge Hellphant Engine?

For those unfamiliar, the Hellephant is a crate engine offered directly by Mopar. It’s a 1,000-horsepower variant of the supercharged Hemi V8 found in the Hellcat lineup. They sell it as a turnkey package with engine management, exhaust system, wiring harnesses, and transmissions.  The engine alone is $30,000. Paired with the Tremec magnum manual transmission, you’re looking at nearly $40,000 for the powerplant package alone.

To be fair, though, the Hellephant has some insane factory specs. Injector Dynamics 1,050CC injectors, forged aluminum pistons, H-beam rods, a massive 105mm throttle body, and, of course, a 3.0-liter supercharger all come stock. From the factory, it makes 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet of torque. It’s downright monstrous. The builder of this Power Wagon opted to go with a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, which we can’t fault them for. It’s a great, robust, and quick-shifting transmission.

Yep, It’s Still 4×4

Alongside that ZF eight-speed transmission comes a transfer case retaining the four-wheel-drive capability of the Gladiator chassis. It has Dana 60 axles, both front and rear, and has EVO Manufacturing suspension with King remote-reservoir coilovers. It’s hard to tell from the photos, but those wheels are 20 inches in diameter. As you might imagine, then, the tires are quite large! They’re Nitto Trail Grabber M/T 42 x 13.5 monsters. You’d be hard-pressed to find an off-road adventure this thing couldn’t conquer.

This truck went to auction at Mecum’s Indy 2026 event, but it appears that it did not reach its reserve. We can’t see what the bids reached. However, we imagine it would require a pretty hefty bid to take this beauty home!

Photos: Mecum Auctions

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Braden Carlson

Braden Carlson is an automotive enthusiast from Boise, Idaho. At 19 he quit his day job to pursue a career in automotive journalism, launching his Youtube channel in his own name. Today you can still find him producing DIY video content, reviews and writing for an amassment of automotive websites. His work is most frequently found on Rennlist, The Mustang Source and Corvette Forum. When not writing or driving, he's likely to be found covered in grease and oil undoubtedly from one of his gratuitous collection of questionable project cars.