The ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice CJ-5 says that its odometer is broken. It’s been restored and now sports a Vortec V6 under its hood, making any miles that came before somewhat immaterial. We’ll still have to see just how material its price might be.
One thing we discovered in the discussion of yesterday’s creampuff of a 1994 Chrysler Concorde was that, amazingly, none of you — I mean, nary a one — owns a Chrysler museum. That is pretty much the only place that 979-mile sedan could make its mark. And at $10,995, only a well-endowed museum would buy it without a second thought. Being museum-less ourselves, that price seemed too steep for the car, nice as it was, and it fell in a 75 percent No Dice loss.
Yesterday’s Concorde may have been one of its era’s fancier Chryslers, but it can’t hold a candle to how posh and feature-rich the company’s new Jeep Grand Wagoneer strives to be. Of course, that wasn’t always the case with Jeep. This originally was, after all, the “car that won the war.”
In the postwar peacetime, the Jeep was pitched to farmers and outdoorsy types as a go-anywhere, hose out when you get there do-it-all. That proved to be an unsustainably small market, so the carmaker expanded into more civil and eventually even luxurious fare. To be sure, Jeep has never stopped making hard-working trucks, but none today is quite as bare-bones and basic as was the old school CJ series.
This 1965 Jeep CJ-5 looks to epitomize that simple agrarian appeal. It also features a couple of updates — including an aftermarket heater — that should make it more enjoyable to use without adding unnecessary complexity.
The ad says the Jeep underwent a body-off restoration. As part of that, the original engine has been swapped for a 4.3-liter Vortec V6 from GM. This is an entirely appropriate replacement seeing as starting with the 1965 model year, the CJ-5 could have originally been optioned with a Dauntless V6 sourced from Buick. According to the ad, the install was handled by a shop called Wyoming Performance Motors.
Based on the underhood shot, the work looks to be reasonably well done. The unprotected cone air filter does mean you shouldn’t be fording any exceedingly deep streams in this Jeep. A three-speed manual and two-speed transfer case back up the Vortec and give you plenty of levers to play with while driving. Everybody will get to see you doing that, as there no doors on the Jeep and only a Bimini top over the seating area.
The Jeep’s restoration is topped with light teal paint, and that appears to be an original 1965 color. The cream on the trim and steel wheels makes for a nice accompaniment. New upholstery covers the seats, which also have been fitted with spool-back belts so you’re less likely to get bounced out. Despite all the work noted, and the seemingly complete appearance in the pics, the seller says this Jeep still needs some final tweaks to get it to 100 percent completion. That includes getting the turn signals working and some other work — maybe that odometer — covered by the ad’s catch-all notation that it “needs some TLC.”
That doesn’t sound too onerous. And, based on what we can see, all the heavy lifting on the Jeep’s restoration has already been done. It comes with a clear title and the seller’s assertion that it “Runs and Drives great.” What might this classic Jeep be worth pre-TLC? The seller asks $10,000 for it and says in the ad that cryptocurrency is a valid way to pay. That’s a little too fancy for us, so we’ll stick to cash. Or maybe a certified check.
With all that in mind, what do you say about this Jeep with its 95 percent complete restoration and $10,000 price? Does that seem like a fair deal? Or, are you wondering why the seller is unloading it before going all the way -- and what problems that could get you into?
You decide!
San Diego, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Donald R. for the hookup!
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