The Jeep History Project

Aftermarket History

The founders, companies, products, acquisitions, and specialist brands behind Jeep modification.

Aftermarket History

Bestop and the Industrial History of the Jeep Soft Top

Bestop grew from replacement Jeep covers into a supplier that could design, tool, manufacture, and deliver complete folding-roof systems, while remaining visible to the same owners as an aftermarket brand.

Aftermarket History

WARN Industries and the Jeep Recovery Story

From locking hubs for surplus Jeeps to electric winches, Jeep-specific mounts, synthetic rope, and modern rigging hardware, WARN helped turn recovery into a normal part of recreational four-wheeling.

Aftermarket History

Dana, Spicer, and the Axles Under Generations of Jeeps

Dana model numbers became Jeep-owner vocabulary, but the same number can describe materially different assemblies across military, CJ, Wrangler, factory, and aftermarket eras.

Aftermarket History

AEV and the Jeeps That Arrived Early

American Expedition Vehicles repeatedly turned ideas missing from Jeep showrooms into engineered, saleable vehicles: stretched Wranglers, pickups, complete suspension systems, and dealer-offered HEMI JKs.

Aftermarket History

Nth Degree Mobility: The Jeep Suspension Company That Disappeared

Jim and Nicole Frens built a small Nevada company around unusually integrated Jeep suspension and underbody systems. It closed abruptly in 2007, but its engineering continued through AEV.