When American soldiers returned from fighting in World War II, they came home with an affinity for the many amazing vehicles that supported the war effort. While the most famous of these was the rugged Jeep, the Dodge WC63 six-wheeled troop transport also left such an indelible mark that Chrysler began production of the massively-popular Dodge Power Wagon soon after the peace accord was signed.

While many Power Wagons were run into the ground by the men who loved them, Winslow Bent of Legacy Classic Trucks managed to snag a 1942 WC63 troop transport, which he then into a unique restomod 6×6 “Power Wagon” that’s the star of today’s episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.

That’s not to say the job was easy, as all Bent actually managed to turn up with was the WC63 chassis, as most of the rest of the 1942 war machine had rotted away. But Bent, being a truck expert, recognized the chassis and came up with a plan to change this former military truck in a civilian 6×6 Power Wagon. To power the 8,000 pound beast, Winslow installed a Cummins 4BT inline-six turbodiesel under the hood to produce gobs and gobs of torque. The hand-built bed sits above custom tandem axles, and the overbuilt Power Wagon (using many original components, like the transfer case) can handle just about anything Leno throws at it, as we see later on in the video.

There were no corners cut on this heavy piece of American military history, and once it goes up on the lift you can really appreciate just how heavy duty this restomod Power Wagon really is. But it isn’t until Jay takes it off-roading that Bent’s handiwork can be truly shown off.