Jim works at a car dealership. Jim has a collection of cars he is selling off before he retires. One of those is today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Jeep wagon. Let’s see if Jim’s Jeep is worth what Jim is asking for it.
When I think of Canada I envision Mounties on Mooses, the complex lives of Degrassi Street youth, and french fries draped in savory gravy and rich, luscious cheese curds, which sounds disgusting but that I still want. Another northern delight is the fact that Canadian money is both colorful and worth a little less than U.S. dollars so things there actually look cheaper (albeit less chipper) once you convert their cost.
That made yesterday’s Canadian 1973 Volvo 1800es seem like a bit of a steal. Its nearly fourteen grand Canadian price dropped to under eleven grand when converted to Yankee Bucks. That, and the car’s seemingly serviceable condition combined to engender a 53% Nice Price win for the elderly Swede.
Speaking of getting on in years, it seems that Jim, who has been an employee of Star City Auto Sales in Lincoln Nebraska for the past 25 years, is nearing retirement. And, what do you do when you’re getting ready to put your feet up and relax after toiling in the salt mines... er, used car lot? Well, yes, you join the AARP, but that’s not what I had in mind. Along with joining the oldster squad you often times sell off the assets you have amassed over the years to fund your now free as a breeze work-free lifestyle.
That is apparently just what Jim is doing. Good for him.
According to its ad, one of the assets on the block is this 1962 Jeep Station Wagon. Now the Jeep wagon has an interesting history. The Brooks Stevens-designed all-steel wagon was originally introduced in 1946 as competition to the traditional “Woody” wagons of the competition. One of the first successful “Sport Utilities” the wagon was offered in 4x2 and 4x4 form all the way until 1964 when it ended production only to be superseded the next year by the Jeep Wagoneer, another long runner.
This ’62 is a runner as the ad says that Jim just recently drove it 50 miles round-trip to Greenwood. Now, why anyone would want to go to Greenwood is beyond me, I mean what do they have that we don’t in good ol’ Lincoln?
The ad does note that Jim says the Chevy 327 under the Jeep’s roll-over bonnet could stand a new set of plugs. It does have a recently installed clutch however, so it’ll handle that extra zap when it’s done. Behind the small block and clutch lies a four-speed manual and part-time 4x4 system. That’s all supposed to be in working order.
The body is in serviceable shape too, with extra ventilation above the rear wheel arches, but nothing too bad for an old Jeep. There are head light eyebrows on either side of the cool old pointy-prow grille, and all the trim on the car seems to be intact. Paint is black with a white roof, and is either primer or just plain old. There’s also a block of wood under the curb-side fender which warrants further investigation.
The inside is rather sparsely furnished, with a pair of chairs out of an old Chrysler product and pretty much nothing else. Jim has made clever use of a kitchen rag rug as a tranny tunnel cover to, I guess, keep out exhaust gasses and vermin. It also really ties the cabin together.
The tires are relatively new according to the ad, and the Jeep comes with a clean title. As it’s being sold by a dealer, getting that title transferred probably means you don’t even have to set foot inside the DMV.
I’ve always wanted one of these ever since I watched Terry-Thomas drive one in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World when I was a kid. Now that I’m all grow’d up I recognize the true nature of these beasts: ear-grinding noise from a total lack of sound deadening; a ride so rough that Fred Flintstone might complain; and a total lack of creature comforts for whatever creature you might just be.
Yeah, I still want one. Maybe even this one.
That’s because Jim is asking $3,500 for it and that’s something I think I could swing. The question is, should I? What do you think, does this old Jeep wagon seem worth $3,500 to you? Or, does that price mean that Jim needs to keep on working?
You decide!
Lincoln NE Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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