It’s amazing how many times we hear the story of the owner who fell ill and never got to use their vehicle, which emerges as a barely-used barn find with incredibly low miles. This 1979 Jeep Cherokee two-door is the latest example of this phenomenon, owned by a farmer in Pennsylvania who fell ill before ever having a chance to truly use his beautiful four-wheel-drive. The Jeep was parked in a barn with 4,500 original miles on it and was stored for 20 years. Since being exhumed, it has benefited from the usual assortment of “wake up” maintenance and is said to now run and drive and be totally roadworthy. Find it here on craigslist in Baltimore for $35,000.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find. When you see seating surfaces like this, you know you’re looking at a timewarp specimen. The Jeep was a nicely appointed truck when the farmer purchased it, opting for a beautiful tan vinyl (leather?) interior with matching door panels and a rubber floor liner. The green paint is unusual for a Jeep of this vintage, as I feel most of the older Cherokee models we see are black, white, or dark blue. It’s a striking combo with the tan appointments inside, and despite its many years off the road, it would appear that rodents never had the chance to destroy the vintage seating surfaces.
Of course, it’s not surprising that the engine now runs sweetly once again, as the AMC inline-six is notorious for being impossible to kill. The seller has still gone down the checklist of the usual maintenance jobs required when waking up a slumbering vehicle, including a new fuel pump; gas tank; rebuilt carburetor; battery; muffler; and removal of the head to free up a stuck valve. The engine bay presents well today, with the original painted valve cover showing no indication of chipping or fading. Other work completed includes a new steering dampener and new tires, with the originals stored safely and slated to go with the truck to its new owner.
The chrome bumpers also look quite nice and show no signs of dents, dings, or faded surfaces. All glass and lenses seem completely sound, too. The Jeep potentially represents a great baseline for a project, as you don’t have to touch the cosmetics and the initial deferred maintenance work has already been done. Cherokees and Wagoneers of this vintage are not exactly cheap to restore, which is partially why truly rough examples can end up being scrapped even while a mint-condition model pulls north of $50K on eBay. This low-mileage Cherokee is smack in the middle of that spread and may represent an excellent opportunity to get into an unrestored vintage Jeep product without losing your shirt.
Wow, $35,000 without losing your shirt for a plain Jane 43 year old Jeep?
This really belongs on Bring a Trailer. I think it’s pretty neat but I would be tempted to use it as intended, meaning off road, snow, plywood and mulch in back, all kinds of other indignities which would be unspeakable and ghastly to the affluent next owner.
There sure are a lot of very low miles vehicles advertised lately! This Jeep Cherokee is in very nice condition. Actual miles? Who knows? I did notice there is a trailer controller under the dash but no trailer hitch.
Dealer on Craigslist in Altoona has 2 Wagoneers for sale. A ’65 for $80,000 and ’78 for $137,000, so @ $35,000 this one is a bargain. If I had the dough (like a lot) I’d be tempted. But then again I would probably use it, then ruin the value.
That interior is definitely vinyl, not leather. To get that you had to go up to a 4-door-only, woodgrain paneled Wagoneer Limited.
You couldn’t duplicate the low miles on this one, even for that price. Interesting that most of the super low mileage vehicles are bare bones examples. As this generation ages out, and their children don’t want them, we’re sure to see more come out in the next 5 to 10 years. Miles appear real on this one, no doubt, unless an inperson visual inspection shows some red flags.
As crazy as it might sound this is a bargain price. As basic a Cherk as you can find but these base models are extremely rare, especially with the low miles. I’m surprised it’s still available honestly
Valve cover has been repainted. It is wrong era AMC blue. This is metallic. SHOULD be non-metallic. 73-82.
The ad and the write-up states the head was pulled to repair a stuck valve , so they probably repainted the cover with engine paint available at the time. Nice Jeep and I’ll bet they would get their asking price if they listed it nationally.
In Baltimore but not riddled with bullet holes? I live here and would be willing to check this out for someone but I would need a flashlight, creeper and full S.W.A.T. gear.
Does the whisk broom come with it?
I agree with a previous comment that is a fair price. The Cherokees are following the path of the early Ford Broncos and those Broncos were very low option vehicles. People love them and love Jeep Cherokees. I have two XJ’s (I used to have three until recently). I will always own one. They are bulletproof vehicles.
These were very popular in their day, spinoffs of the original Brooks Stevens 1963 Wagoneer design that kind of got the whole SUV craze going, and they are bringing substantial money nowadays. The owner of an upholstery shop where I worked bought one new around ’77, also with the big six and three speed floor shift — but without power steering, which he quickly had installed!
I spent a lot of time driving that car on business errands, including pickups and deliveries of supplies and smaller furniture — trips long and short, city, country and highway. I have to say I don’t understand why so many were sold. I found my boss’ was truly one of the worst driving vehicles I’d ever experienced, with crude controls, difficult handling and steering, and a distinct rearward weight bias you could see from outside and feel at the wheel. That impression still holds with me today. These cars slammed down on their rear axles over bumps and you could see the front bobbing. It alway seemed that the front wheels might lose adequate traction for steering. I could feel it when driving my boss’ car and see it in others.
I guess these filled a practical and social need for a lot of people, including many who wanted to break out of the suburban sedan and wagon mode and own a car that was more a symbol of adventure than conformism. My experience was that they were not actually good cars. They also rusted quickly and badly. But they made a ton of money for AMC, which certainly needed all the help it could get!
This will no doubt bring a good price as an icon of its era, and someone will enjoy it. I hope they also treasure it, and keep it out of salt and snow.
Located in Baltimore, MD