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“Remember, they are only original once.” That’s how the seller of this impressive Jeep ends his sales pitch. Sure, it’s a cliche, but to car nerds like me who love original, unmolested survivors, it’s a comment that won’t make me roll my eyes. Especially when you’re referring to one of my favorites, the faux wood clad, gussied-up luxurious Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Here’s a super clean survivor that was owned by a North Carolina Jeep dealer’s wife its entire life. The seller says it was registered in Delaware and is now located across the border in Toronto, Canada. The seller, according to his words, says, “I have decided to trim back a substantial collection of original cars that has taken years to acquire.” If you’re into originality as well, this beige beauty is for sale here on eBay. As I’m sipping coffee and writing this, seven bids have been placed, but the current $7,600 is well below the seller’s reserve who has also posted a Buy It Now price of $55,000. Another thank you to our super spotter, T.J. for sending this grand-looking old Jeep our way.
The photos tell the story of how great of shape this luxury SUV is in. According to the seller, it’s 100% rust free thanks to Zeibart undercoating when new, has all original body panels, wears its original paint, and even its original woodgrain paneling trim (although there’s some slight bubbling on the driver’s door). 1986 models received a new four-part front grille as well as a standup Jeep hood ornament. They look great as does the rest of the Jeep’s exterior including the spotless aluminum and gold alloy wheels riding on 235/15/75 radial tires.
1986 also brought a revamped interior for the top-of-the-line Grand Wagoneer with new instrumentation, dash pad, steering wheel and column, door panel design, new leather and corduroy seat designs with adjustable headrests, and even fluffier looking carpet. This is one comfy looking honey-colored cabin.
The Jeep’s interior is in fantastic shape to be nearly pushing 40 as the photos show, and the original invoice lists a plethora of standard features including A/C, power steering, power brakes, power windows, power seats, cruise control, a tilt, leather-wrapped steering wheel, an AM/FM Radio with cassette player with “Accusound By Jensen” speakers, and more. The Jeep also has its original carpeted floor mats and the seller also states that “the headliner is perfect without staining or sagging, and the rear window works perfectly from the dash switch and rear tailgate key switch without hesitation.”
The clean engine bay houses the Grand Wagoneer’s original 5.9 liter, 360-cubic inch V8 engine (a $703 option that year) with 58,000 miles on the clock. It’s paired with a Model 727, 3-speed automatic column shift transmission and the Jeep also features a Selec-Trac 2WD/4WD system. The seller says the original carburetor has had a recent rebuild and that the engine starts on the first try, runs smooth and quiet, and there are no exhaust leaks. Like the majority of pricy luxury vehicles (this one’s sticker price was $22,905 in 1986, more than double the price of an average new car), those who could afford them took care of them and let them live pampered lives. This one of the 17,254 ’86 Grand Wagoneers to roll out of the Toledo, Ohio factory appears to have been pampered for 38 years and counting. Happy Bidding!
I don’t know why I am drawn to these like a moth to a flame? When these were common site on our roads they were the peoples choice for bad weather travel. They consumed fuel at an alarming rate, broke down frequently, and had somewhat shoddy construction. My boss has one exactly like this one. Driving home from work he stripped the timing gear and had it towed to his house. After he replaced the timing set he couldn’t get it to run again. When he gave up he called me to his house one evening. Firing order was brought into question BC the 360 apparently had 2 firing orders. When that was ruled out I turned to has SuperTrap mufflers he has installed on his truck. Remember the SuperTrap exhaust tips? I told him he had an exhaust restriction which he fought me up and down. I said easy enough get your Allen wrench and take the end plates off. After removing the old 360 coughed back to life.
In PA where we lived high humidity would cause carbon to break loose from combustion chambers and in this case the stacked plates in the SuperTrap creating a restriction.
I guess getting back to the article this looks really nice and as much as I didn’t care for them I would still happily drive one just like this. Just to relive the 80’s and 90’s all over again.
alphasud… YOU are BATMAN!! Cleverly looked at the clues and deduced the problem!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I would be lying if I told you it was no big deal. When your boss is the one who feeds you work and keeps you employed you don’t want to let him down and you certainly don’t want to misdiagnose the problem. To be honest I was very nervous and I had never stuck my head under the hood of one of these beasts. I started my career in VW, Audi, and Volvo cars then moved onto this dealership to work on Alfa my main passion and Saab which ultimately paid the bills. Domestic was foreign to me. It took me years to develop good diagnostic skills. Skills that I still have to relearn at times. I tell my friends even a blind squirrel can find a nut at times.
For the money he is expecting those “rust bubbles” would need to be properly taken care of first. If he were to do that it would no longer be “original only once”. Sounds to me this guy needs a dose of reality. You can’t have it both ways.
Look at 37 on eBay frame appears to be baby Swiss cheese with under coat,I’ve looked at and worked on many of these over the years, seen many nice on topside not bottom..
Something about this listing seems off to me. Listed in Canada but US vehicle. Good eyes RW on the frame. Definitely would require an inspection. Based on your experience, what would be the reason and subsequent solution?
Yeah, that Zeibart was applied recently, I’ll wager, and is covering what looks to be extensive rust.
Is that rust we are seeing, or water droplets, as the truck is wet. Either way an in person inspection would be recommended.
they are nice but 55000. I DONT SEE THE VALUE
$55k!? For that I can go get a brand new 4-door Bronco.
Not impressed enough to see it’s asking price of $55k. It’s certainly very nice condition, but there are some issues. For $55k it’s gotta be museum quality, and this one ain’t. $25-30… maybe 🤔.
It is interesting to me how Jeep was able to turn the basic Wagoneer into a luxury-themed model as evidenced here. And then, how they successfully continued to increase their presence in that growing market segment, in which they are flourishing today.
When my dad bought a very basic new CJ-5 in 1962, what would he have thought if someone at that time would have said that sixty years later Jeep would be selling six figure sport utility vehicles (of course, someone would have first had to explain what a SUV is).
Thanks Ron.
The $22,905 original MSRP noted in Ron’s write-up had me curious as to what that equates to today. The CPI inflation calculator says: $64,281.
I had an ’83 GW. It rode good, would go anywhere & had a great turning radius. But at 12 MPH of good high-test gas, I didn’t drive it much.
Had problems with the 4WD system, so I took it to a friend who was the head mechanic for a Jeep dealer. He said it would be expensive to repair, so down the road it went.