Is there anything a vintage Jeep can’t do? Well, ok, they’re not a wonderful highway ride, but besides that! The ‘Civilian Jeep” crept onto the scene in 1942, when the US Department of Agriculture pitted a jeep against a muddy farmer’s field. The jeep turned out to be a competent tractor! Today, AgriJeeps have their own fan base, a species offshoot from Genus Jeep. But we digress. Working off that vector, Willys created a user-friendly design with a tailgate, canvas top, and seating accommodative to taller drivers, ushering the jeep along the evolutionary path … a little. Jeep fans were such diehards that Willys – once enfolded within Kaiser – kept selling the CJ 3 model while the 5 and then the 6 arrived – themselves nearly unchanged from prior models.
By 1973, Jeep belonged to AMC, GMC had yanked the rights to their 225 cu. in. “Dauntless” V6, and everything had changed. AMC knew Jeep buyers wanted power, but now it had to be home-grown power. The engine options in ’73 included AMC’s Torque-Command 232 cu. in. inline-six, its 258 six, and the cream of the crop, a 304 cu. in. V8. By now the Dana rear end was much lighter and allowed for a smaller turning radius, and Quadra-Trac automatic 4WD was available as an option. The frame and suspension were revised to accommodate the new engines, and the Jeep’s wheelbase grew. A three-speed manual was standard. This Jeep has the 232 inline-six and manual lock hubs. It runs and drives well.
The interior is spartan but everything you need is at hand, including the aftermarket gun rack. I miss my gun rack – installed on a long-ago-owned F250 and handy for carrying dressage whips and fishing poles… But the most interesting aspect of this particular Jeep is its Meyer cab top. Meyer made equipment meant to hang on a Jeep, such as snowplows, but soon began making rigid cab tops in several configurations as an alternative to the canvas top and plastic side curtains the factory supplied. The Meyer cab top incorporated large roll-down windows, storm-sealed seams, and a nice finish.
This Jeep is in good condition and ready for its next adventure. Find it here on craigslist with an asking price of $13,900. It’s located in Noblesville, Indiana, and if you want to add to its 75k miles, you can drive it home. The tip comes to us courtesy of the ever-vigilant T.J. = thanks! Scads of CJ5s are available at any moment in time, but this example, with the vintage Meyer top, is a cut above. Could this Jeep sneak into a corner of your garage?
:). If I can offer any advice, folks, don’t pay 5 figures for a CJ, I don’t care if it has the plastic on the seats. The author said it, there are a lot of Jeeps. Okay, maybe not in “Saltbath City”, but you don’t buy a snowblower in Florida, or a classic car at an auction, it’s all about location. For example, it’s not my mission to embarrass the seller here, but a quick check on FB Marketplace, 60 mile radius from me, no less than 50 came up, all under $5grand, many with that “price slash”, and some under a grand, and that’s just within 60 miles. Come on out to beautiful Colorado with a car hauler, and schlep one home. Colorado, specifically, Ouray ( pronounced OOOOray) has the distinction of being the Jeep capital of the world. Not sure that’s true, but Jeeps are plentiful here, and a nice CJ goes for $5grand, TOPS. I apologize to newer Jeep owners,( my SIL has one, loves it) Rubicons and such, while not my cup, still embodies the original concept, and it’s refreshing to know people that can’t use a CJ, still have good old American pride in their veins. They aren’t cheap,( $50gs) and get lousy mileage,( 15mpg) but by gum, it’s still a Jeep.
Visual stimulus is a powerful thing. Seeing this, or any Jeep post, makes me want to take a slow Jeep ride in the hills. The 14’ers have seen the 1st snow already, so it comes up fast. I’m ready,,,as long as that aux. shifter isn’t frozen from lack of use. :)
Howard, I did the same search (60 mile radius from Salida), and, yes, there are a lot of Jeeps, but a fair number of them I wouldn’t touch with the proverbial 10 foot pole – you know, the ones that have been through numerous owners and suffered various indignities in the process. The CJ5 posted here looks to be in tip top shape and has the desirable Meyer cab. And as Michelle mentioned, you could hop in this one and drive it back to Salida (if you weren’t in a big hurry.) And as a side note, Michelle, this is the first time I’ve ever seen “dressage whips” mentioned on Barn Finds!
Hi Todd, oh yeah, Jeeps are meant to be used and abused, it’s part of the fun. What I meant by the “snowblower in Florida” thing, if you want a snowblower, don’t go to Florida, up north there are piles of them. Same with Jeeps. Naturally, a Jeep of this caliber in what I consider the Salt Belt, is indeed unusual, and will command a higher price. But it’s nothing special, and I see a lot of CJs with minimal rust here, going for half this. For some reason, people think buying a vehicle in another part of the country is not doable. Clearly, anyone with any experience with these wouldn’t take it over 45, so driving it home is not an option. So a trailer or shipping is needed, but if I had the money, I’d buy all those ones you wouldn’t touch, that are way better than anything up north, and schlep them back for a tidy profit on my 3 car hauler being pulled by an old Peterbilt( dream cloud), yeah, maybe next time, if any.
I had a one owner “Tuxedo Park” CJ-6A with full Meyers metal top, Dauntless V-6, overdrive, all original except front seat upholstery, original lock on side-mounted spare tire, original “Jeep” keys, original paint, original dealer license plate frames and decals, etc.- essentially everything but a winch. It was a vehicle that , once I found it, I “had to have it”. The Tuxedo Park CJ-6 production numbers were really low (459 total), so it was a rare vehicle. After living with it for awhile, I felt unsafe driving it. Due to its original condition, I couldn’t bring myself to start drilling holes in it for a roll bar, so I sold it on Bring A Trailer about 10 years ago for around $6,000.00 (what I had in it). Like a lot of things in life, my two best days of Jeep ownership were the day the transporter delivered it and the day they picked it up and drove away with it. I believe that it was fully restored by the new owner.
Talking of rare Jeeps..I have an interesting one at my beach home in the Caribbean.I have a 2003 Wrangler Sport Japanese export model..right hand drive and a five speed. It has quite a few different touches..lights, license plate in a different place.It is pretty cool especially as we drive on the left on my island.I love the half cab on this beauty…
way. way, wayyyyyyyyyy over priced
’S what we use to plow a pretty big lot (75+ X 50+ bldg?, lot 6x that size? long drive, 1/4 mi+). It’s alot rougher than this one. Lill 6 ft plow (the i6 motor), frozen dirt, not paved.
We gota spare for parts. May need to do a chassy swap/combo of the 2 cabs soon. (“The cobbler’s shoes are never…”).
The Quadra-Trac automatic 4WD system was NOT available in 1973. It was not offered in the CJ series until 1976 with the advent of the CJ-7 which had a wheelbase 10 inches longer giving it room for an automatic transmission.
Bought a 1973 SUPER JEEP… only 500 produced.. wife did not like it, sold it in 1977… my oh my.
A slow JEEP ride is exactly right!! I grew up with a 2A in the early 60s. It very seldom got out of low range. Loved just idling around in 2 under! I have had some kind of Jeep ever since.