A Black Diamond car builder was recently featured as one of the SEMA 2023 top four of the year.

Jared Hancock is no stranger to the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association shows, as he’s been showcasing his builds every so often or while running J-Rod and Custom in Black Diamond for nearly 15 years.

“I grew up around cars with my dad,” he said in a recent interview. “I started doing body work, and that turned into fabrication, and now I’m doing full builds.”

This year’s build was a vintage ‘78 Cherokee Chief, “not necessarily something that we’ve done in the past or specialize in,” Hancock noted.

Intrigued by the challenge, Hancock and his team replaced the chassis, updated the drive train with a modern six-liter LS engine, and gave it “modern amenities throughout,” Hancock said, adding that the owner wanted it to still look like a ’70s-era vehicle. “The factory components that stayed was pretty much… the sheet metal. The fenders, parts of the doors… and parts of the roof.”

This wasn’t a summer project — it took four years to complete, though Hancock noted in another interview with SEMA that he put extra effort into it for the last year and a half. The biggest challenge, he added, was getting all of the custom panels to fit and getting the paint lines sharp.

“It needed love everywhere,” he said.

So, armed with the shiny new car, Hancock traveled to the Las Vegas Convention Center last October to show it off.

Competing against some of the biggest names in the car building works “is a big deal” for him and his customers, Hancock said, but the owner of this jeep wanted Hancock to do something a little different this year — compete in the Battle of the Builders, an event Hancock doesn’t normally participate in.

But being out of his element ended up paying big dividends, as the Cherokee Chief was named the top 4-wheel drive and off-road vehicle of the year (SEMA has four categories).

The car also won a Goodguys Gold award, which “represent the highest standard of hot rod and custom car building and are some of the top honors bestowed on fresh builds at the SEMA Show,” Goodguys’ Fuel Curve webpage reads about last year’s winners, and the SEMA Hot Rod Industry Alliance’s “Evolution of Hot Rodding Award”.

“That one really meant a lot, because it shows the industry is moving,” Hancock said. “… It’s not all about the muscle cars… it’s not these four wheel drive vehicles. There’s really a big market for them.”

Finally, Roadster Shop picked the jeep as one of the top three cars that did not use its chassis.

Hancock added that he thinks his team “did really well” on this car, but it was also the right vehicle at the right time.

“This jeep, I really do think, has the right look,” he said.

The SEMA Battle of the Builders event will be featured on A&E on Jan. 27, 9 a.m. eastern standard time.

For more information about J-Rod & Custom, head to j-rodandcustom.com.

Contributed photo Pictured is Jared Hancock and J-Rod & Custom’s rebuilt ‘78 Cherokee Chief.