- Seller: Joseph G
- Location: Puslinch, Ontario, Canada
- Mileage: 53,721 Shown
- Chassis #: 1JCNJ15U2HT011904
- Title Status: Clean
The term “luxury SUV” is redundant now as most, if not all, SUVs are luxurious, at least compared to the rugged, often crude, no-frills 4×4 vehicles they were decades ago. The Jeep Wagoneer ended its run in 1991 as one of the fanciest SUVs made in America at the time, and they are resurging in interest and value today. This 1987 Jeep Wagoneer is listed here exclusively as a Barn Finds Exclusive!
Produced for almost three decades – from late-1962 for the 1963 model year until the middle of the 1991 model year – the Wagoneer was originally referred to as a “station wagon”, and I’m not going to say it was the first SUV as it rarely ends well to refer to something as the first, last, biggest, smallest, etc. Some folks take that as a personal challenge to search the depths of the internet for an older, bigger, smaller, etc., example. I will say that this ’87 Grand Wagoneer looks like one of the nicest we’ve seen here on Barn Finds.
Having the same basic body design over 29 years, Road & Track said the Jeep Wagoneer had the third-longest run of any single-generation vehicle in U.S. history. The SJ-body Wagoneer was much different from the smaller XJ-body Wagoneer, sold between 1983 and 1990. The SJ is a full-frame, full-sized, old-school SUV. With a mere 51,721 miles, this Grand Wagoneer shows well without any glaring exterior issues that I can see.
A red leather and cloth interior, nice! The new in-dash stereo with rearview camera monitor has to be handy since many of us have been spoiled by such features over the last decade or more. The interior photos almost look like photos of photos, so the quality isn’t the best, but this looks like a perfect interior from what is shown. The seller says this is a Colorado/Texas vehicle, and it’s now located about an hour east of Toronto, Canada.
The engine is a 360-cu.in. OHV V8 with 144 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque. It sends power through a column-shifted automatic and a Selec-Trac NP229 transfer case to the rear wheels or all four wheels, depending on the need. This Jeep has been treated to new spark plugs and wires, a carb rebuild, four new tires, new front brake calipers and pads, new rear shoes, four new front kingpins, and more. This has to be one of the nicest Grand Wagoneers left from the AMC/Chrysler switch-over year of 1987.
Beautiful Jeep for sure.
Fond memories of years in Wagoneer’s and Cherokee’s but peeling back the memories I also recall these were pretty ancient vehicles by the mid 70s and build quality was always suspect. In the 80s a buddy bought a new GW, burgundy over dark red. It was a beautiful truck but constantly broken. One day we were headed to play golf, my buddy put the key in the tailgate to retract the rear window when the window collapsed into the tailgate and shattered. A/C, power windows, poor drivability, fading paint. He dumped the Jeep after just 2 years and bought a Suburban. Great looking trucks but be careful with the rose-colored glasses.
Darn……
A good ‘survivor,’ but as often is said on ‘Pawn Stars,’ just because it’s rare doesn’t mean it’s valuable. I once longed for one and thinking I had found my dream vehicle on a used car lot I called the previous owner (found her name and work number on something in the glovebox). She turned and told her co-workers, “Hey, this guys calling asking about my Jeep.” The collective laughter told me all I needed to know.