Flush with cash from its 1979 partnership with Renault, AMC (American Motors Corporation) scrambled to get into the popular Asian-dominated mini-truck market with a stretched Jeep, the CJ-8 Scrambler. This 1983 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler in Peyton, Colorado comes to market here on eBay, where at least six bidders have the market value on this never-restored four-wheeler above $9500. Highly stock except for an aftermarket carburetor, the claimed 123,000 mile unit features the venerable 258 cid (4.2L) straight six and manual transmission. Signs of bodywork and some carburetor tuning tick off minor demerits on what looks like a solid, well-kept off-roader.
You’ll not find a simpler dashboard this side of a refinery, with only the padded dash top showing design cues later than 1958. Keep the spray off the dashboard and you can hose-wash this rig inside and out. Many people leave older Jeeps outdoors year-round with no covering, and simply drive them when the weather permits, though I wouldn’t recommend such harsh treatment. Don’t worry about your Labrador or Golden’s nails; it would take Jack the Ripper a couple tries to puncture the industrial-grade vinyl seat covers. With manual steering, be sure to keep your fingers out of the spokes on rough terrain.
Not everyone knows that Colorado residents are required to own at least one Jeep. I imagine the relocation includes a government official stating “Welcome to the Centennial State; here’s your Jeep.” The sturdy 4x4s populate every road and parking lot. Despite the prevalence of snow, an otherwise dry climate helps these rigs last longer than you would expect, and this one seems to have come through its years of service in relatively good condition. As one of 5405 Scramblers built in 1983, according to OffroadingPro, this brown bomber may be ripe for the picking; Hagerty rated them the 10th hottest collector vehicle of 2019.
In the style of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, a Weber carburetor went from a box to the intake manifold, and still needs some tuning. The torquey inline six was once the winningest engine at Baja, dating back to its Rambler roots. These engines run forever with good torque and a glassy vibration-free idle. Decades ago we often swapped drivers, and one evening in my buddy’s 270,000 mile Hornet, another friend re-keyed the 258’s starter at a stop light thinking it had stalled!
As pickup trucks go, the Scrambler can transport hound dogs, a recliner, or the occasional engine block. Small truck owners with daily chores might have favored Chevy’s Isuzu-produced LUV (Light Utility Vehicle) and it’s 7.5 foot bed, but the Scrambler’s five-footer appealed to those looking for some rough-and-tumble cargo space behind their fun-loving CJ, and the longer wheelbase made for a more comfortable ride on-road and off. Is this collectible Scrambler on your Top Ten list?
Oh, it’s a sweetheart alright. Couple things, they say “female owned” like that’s a merit. Daisy Duke, clearly a female( and WHAT A FEMALE) showed us differently. I know several gals that can trash a 4 wheeler. Colorado and Jeep going hand in hand, not sure about that. There was a time when that was true, and while Jeeps like this have a following here, they do have their limitations, and most go the Subaru/4 lander[sic]/new Rubicon route. This was without a doubt, the most, um, advanced(?) CJ, if that means anything. Weber “not dialed in yet”,,,pardon me,,,good heavens, a Weber on a Gringo in line 6, is like an Italian super model in stretch pants, I mean, come on, there was nothing wrong with the old Carter, worked great UNMAINTAINED for years. Weber, just a gee-gaw here, folks, sorry. CJ minuses aside, this is a great find, and again, lose the Weber, and return the smooth idle/drivibility, just like our Packard did,,,with a 2 barrel Carter.
Got to say it,,,$10gs,,,I just don’t know anymore, ten grand buys a lot of cheese, meaning, there’s atvs that do a much better job for the same money, and access to some of the nicest spots, previously reserved for those that had these, are now so difficult to get to, ironically, the vehicles that do the most damage, but the only way, are the atvs.
Regardless, CJs have been off the “scene” for a long time, I only hope the buyer knows what they are getting. A new Rubicon it ain’t, heck, it’s not even a YJ, my favorite Jeep.
It’ll go well past $10k. And, why not, I suppose, considering the prices first gen Broncos are bringing?
Had a buddy that bought one of these, swapped in a Vortec 350, complete with fuel injection, painted it, etc. I think he bought it for around $3500 and then sold it for $12k. This was about 20 years ago.
Yes it’s rough & tumble simple & zero creature comforts but if you live north of the Mason Dixie line do you really need anything like A/C & other boozwa life style niceties? This Jeep is the AK-47 on wheels suck it up butter cup lol!
110 with the heat index today in NJ so yes we need AC stop ASSuming it chilly
One thing for sure, that roll bar was not for looks, it was a necessity. These were easy to roll because they had a higher gravity point. So the other thing was “be sure to buckle up”…
I remember riding in one like this at Ft Lewis during an “open house” and the soldier driving it asked me what type of ride I wanted, and I told him ” surprise me”… and he did. We rolled several times over the course… and we often had to unbuckle to get out of the jeep and get it back on its tires (often used the com-a-long). On future rides on other vehicles, I had them spell out the various “ride styles”.
The CJ/Scrambler roll bar was definitely for style only.
One of the haunting legal issues following the CJs of the AMC era, was the appearance in 1976 of the “sport bar” that appeared to be a substantial rollbar.
It was not – it was fastened to the body tub sheetmetal, and as one wealthy young man (high school) proved, a few months after the CJ7 introduction…a roll would punch the base of the bar right through, letting the body collapse on passengers. It killed this boy, rolling his new Jeep.
That was finally corrected with the YJ; but it took many years, some number of lawsuits, changes in ownership (by the time the YJ was on the drawing board, Renault owned AMC).
Even though these CJ8 Scramblers are clunky looking, I’m partial to them. AMC axed the C-101/C-103 Jeepster/Commando too soon, and rather than pull the dies back out (maybe they’d scrapped them) this was to plug the gap in the lineup. Same wheelbase – the CJ-6 frame and wheelbase, used both by the Jeepster, later Commando, and then the CJ-8. Also, later, the Wrangler Unlimited.
An interesting historical novelty; and really, all it needs to make it liveable on the pavement, is YJ Panhard rods on front and rear axles to help keep lateral movement in check.
Hi JPT, we go through this everytime one of these comes up, it’s more than just panhard rods, also called track bars, that make a YJ( and beyond) better. When I bought my ’91 YJ, the front track bar was missing. With my experience with tandem axle trucks, I know how important they are. It immediately made the Jeep more stable. I see lifted Jeeps without track bars, and they must be a handful.
In case some missed it on previous CJ posts, YJ improvements over CJ include, but not limited to, wider, lower stance, longer springs, better heat/a/c, improved dash, “on the fly” 4×4 with no pesky lockouts, and just a more civilized vehicle. My YJ drives like a car. The CJ, not so much.
My crusty take on the roll bar. Mine is fixed to the windshield frame, and while the windshield still has a hinge to lower it, it’s not recommended. This whole CJ rollover baloney is the epitome of an inexperienced person, that would have no doubt hurt themselves in other areas eventually. Think 3 wheeler Honda. I mean, it’s a Jeep for heavens sake, designed to bounce and slog through the mud trenches of France( or so it was told), it was never meant to take junior to soccer practice. And I realize this sounds a lot like my old man if you knew him,,, but if you roll a Jeep, you had it coming.
I never owned a CJ but, Howard, your comments of CJ to YJ are almost exactly how I describe going from my ’94 leaf spring YJ to the ’97 coil spring TJ. Off road in the YJ, I’d have to slow down once in a while because of this sympathetic bouncing rhythm. The TJ really is like driving a more capable car off road without the jouncing. I see people spending crazy money on their Jeeps, but I have never *not* gone where I wanted to go in the woods. Right now I have 30s and I swapped in a Ford Explorer 8.8 out back when my Dana 35 exploded. I might go to 33s and lockers like the original Rubicon, but if you’re not trying to be extreme and see what breaks first, you can get about anywhere in these simple vehicles. I love my TJ and plan to keep it forever.
A lot to work through, there, Howard – and you’re not wrong, but there’s more to the story. CJ versus YJ: The YJ springs were longer and softer, true enough. The frame was lowered, vis-a-vis the axles, also true (the home kit-basher will learn that when trying to put a CJ front clip on his YJ – it can be done, and it’s not hard, but there’s extensive trimming to the fenders and grille).
The body is the same. The axles are a smidgeon wider – I want to say maybe an inch. Most surviving CJs make that up simply with wide tires.
The Panhard rod/track bar is CRITICAL with a leaf-spring setup. Anyone sizing up an old CJ (1 through 8) can see the front axle actually flop around, side-to-side, on the forward spring shackles. Willys experimented with U-shackles in place of two bolts and two bolsters, but that was discontinued by 1965 or so.
The track rod solves it all.
The roll bar: ABSOLUTELY the “quality” of user makes a difference. CJs (and surplus MBs and M38s) were sold to the public fronf 1949. Few were rolled over and no lawsuits ensued. Jeep passed to AMC, and with the Levis Renegade CJ and then the 7, Jeep marketing passed from gas-stations to young people. The AMC answer was, as I mentioned, the Sport Bar.
And kids started getting killed.
By the time the YJ came out it was a roll CAGE, incorporating the windshield frame, braced with side bolsters, as you note. I’ve known some off-roaders who’ve tumbled the stock roll setup. The YJ was trashed but the roll cage survived.
Nonetheless…with a CJ-era Jeep of this nature…the CJ8 isn’t really intended for serious off-roading, with its long rear overhang…installing track bars would change the whole nature of the thing. It would also make lifting it harder…but at this point, it’s not an off-road attack vehicle but an historical artifact. Keep it on easy trails.
I read the comment below, so I guess the Fort maintenance guy reinforced those roll bars, and I also feel very lucky I only got a few bruises and sore spots….
I had 2 of these and they were fantastic little trucks. On my 2nd one I got a full length fibreglass hardtop from a company in Pennsylvania for it
CJ’s were fun vehicles when I was 20 and didn’t mind a soft top in zero degree weather. Still remember getting off work at 7am one morning, 5 degrees and the 3 speed in my 79 cj7 felt like it wouldn’t move from gear to gear without effort. Might warm up above freezing after 1/2 hour. Metal dash, crap roll bar. Lucky to have survived. Spun it 360 once doing 45 on a dirt road. Should have rolled, driving drunk after a wedding, unbelievable how irresponsible we were in that time period. But went anywhere, and could carry 4 hunters and a dead buck down the logging trail.
Id buy another in a heartbeat, but they all are rusted out, covered in boilerplate around here.
Checkerplate, Old Grey?
I hope the new owner can somehow keep it close to stock. Most of these get roided out into some kind of $50k monstrosity
I came within a gnat’s hair of buying one several years ago. I had a CJ5 with the Buick 231 V6 in it, the GM 4 cylinder in the Scrambler felt weak in comparison. Probably would have bought it if it had of had the 258 I6. Haven’t seen many of them since, and none for sale.
My 1st car was a CJ-7 and at the time lived in NW Ohio and even with a fiberglass top you had to drink the beer before it froze!
Hahaha!
only 1 ta have in my mind (right engine too). Not really interested in others even if not CJ, wrangler based. Oem conversions (esp like ‘alsaka postal’) fit’n finish well. So darn many vendors aftr mrkt (even compared to my 1st gen bronk).
Agree w/JPT – ‘fake’ bars or cage is more dangerous. Folks (on loan, may B a few owners?) have deadly courage. Seen too many w/the ‘feet’ stickin up above floor boards (punched right thru) when down side up.
I love all the Jeeps. Have two ’83 CJ-7s I am restoring. Ended up with the first one after going to West Virginia years ago and the guys all had four wheelers. I was like got to get one of these. The side by sides were just coming in to the market. It was around $15K. (2004?) I was like man, I could get a Jeep for like $2K. This was twenty years ago. Now, good luck finding a deal like that. Know what you mean about the roll bars. A facade. Need something through the floor (tub) to the frame. Thank you. Now I am motivated to grab a beer and go to the garage and install the valve cover, p.s., and New grill!
These roll off road. So it’s only to seem like you’re a ‘sporty off road’ type. It’s actually not a very good vehicle for anything but driving around the beach ON THE ROAD looking at swimsuits. Best to let them expire.
I bought a new CJ 7 in 1979. Power train was an A+. body was a D- ! The rust started at year 2 ! It was as rough as heck even on good paved roads but a real hoot to drive in snow and mud!
Jim