Is there a way a Jeep is supposed to “look?” Whatever vibe a vintage CJ is supposed to strike, this 1986 Renegade appears to have it in spades. The Wrangler was never meant to be a “pretty” vehicle but that’s certainly how many people appear to be using the iconic model now. This rough-and-ready CJ7 Renegade wears original paint and appears to be as authentic as the day is long, helped by battle scars like the one on the front passenger fender. Find it here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $16,900 and the option to submit a best offer.
The seller has the recipe down pat, getting a truck with good bones, original paint and decals, and fresh rubber. It’s amazing how in the world of vintage trucks, new off-road tires can transform a vehicle into looking suitably updated without really doing anything at all. If you throw a new set of ordinary street tires on a standard vehicle, you don’t really notice them; bigger, knobbier rubber on a truck like this that sit outside the wheel wells are a game-changer.
The roughshod paint is a definite selling point here, both showing you that the Jeep has some scars in its finish but also showing you it’s not been living somewhere that lots of road salt was used in the winter months. The Jeep is not immune from rusting, and plenty of examples like this in the rust and snow belts were put to use as plow trucks and thoroughly thrashed. The seller notes his Jeep was registered new in California but has been in Arkansas most of its life.
The 258 I6 and 5-speed manual combination is as good as it gets in a Jeep and should provide years of reliable service. This example is made even more appealing with an original and functional Warn 8724 winch, power steering, front disc brakes, and a variety of new parts, including a fresh steering joint and 2.5-inch lift kit. This is a CJ you can simply get in and drive, all the while knowing it presents exactly the way a vintage Jeep should.
Renegade! ( oops),,Last of the Mohicans,, oops again, I apologize to our Native Americans, who are taking offense lately to certain venues being named after them. It was always meant as an honor. The “younguns” don’t see it that way.
This is a nice one, me being EXTREMELY partial, it’s “MY” brand, and will promote it as Americas most famous vehicle until the bitter end. Not mentioned, this was the last CJ, as the YJ came out in ’87. This, I’d have to say, was the most refined CJ, and make no mistake, embodied many of the same characteristics as a military Jeep. The YJ changed everything, I feel, for the better. I have a 4 cylinder, a 2.5, this motor with 2 cylinders lopped off, and recommend the 6. I read, the Renegade didn’t offer a 4, and I also recommend STRONGLY, an automatic. Going off road, and the rough terrain, a stick is a huge PITA. My YJ didn’t offer an automatic behind the 4 cylinder, but you can bet, when that setup goes, a 6 and automatic will take it’s place.
And no, Daisy Duke( mmmmm, Daisy Duke) had a Golden Eagle, later re-named “DIXIE”, for obvious reasons.
Our ancestors weren’t villians. Don’t apologize for them to people who hate you.
Calm down, ready to feist, I see. Your comment lacks structure, but I think I get what you mean. 1st, they aren’t MY ancestors, even though, I feel, the Native-Americans have the best ideas for life and beyond. 2nd, with the thin-skinnedness of today, ANYTHING is offensive to someone. Giving Jeeps Native American names, “Renegade”, always meant an unruly Indian, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Golden Eagle, all had Native American overtones,,,as a tribute to that great nation, vehicles named after things, was the highest form of honor, apparently, at the time. Personally, I, like my father before me, think they went too far, and some things are still sacred to many,,,for now.
Let’s stick to Jeeps. This is an automotive website. Thanks…
Later on, i believe Jeep did make the 2.5 available with that column shift Chrysler autoloader. They were ideal.
Are you telling me that people ACTUALLY drive these OFF ROAD?
The ones I see around here,usually driven by young women,are almost
always clean,with no scratches,& the owner all seem to have very bright
headlights,driving lights,and some have those irritating light strips.
Whatever happen to the days when owners took them 4 wheeling?
There’s a lot to like here. I dig the scars, including where it got shot in the a$$ by a shotgun! Vintage Warn 8274, the period cool stripes. I dig it, and would be proud to hit a trail with it.
They started to cost too much.
Final year CJ (it officially stopped being the CJ-7, at least as far as Marketing was concerned, when the CJ-5 was dropped).
An urban legend within Chrysler that David Tracy at The Autopian recently mentioned was that the bad publicity the CJ had for rollovers having loomed large in its’ design, the YJ Wrangler got those infamous square headlights because rectangles don’t roll. Unlikely, but it’s an interesting story.
Yes, the final year CJ.
Except it was not. The YJ (Wrangler) for all its hoopla, was just an evolution of the CJ-7 in fact. The frame was lowered a bit, relative to the axles and center of gravity; and the roll bar, which had been incorporated into the frame for some years, was turned into a roll cage with braces bolted to the windshield.
Years later it was revealed WHY the name-change and cubist-restyle of the front clip. Because of the stench of lawsuits, from CJ-5 nose-over rolls, and of the deaths from rollovers in early CJ-7s – which had body-mounted “rollbars.” These would punch through the tub, on a roll, and often kill the occupants.
The CJ-5 was scheduled to be phased out almost from the start; but the CJs had a strong following and AMC knew it had to move gradually. First the replacement of the CJ-6 with the CJ-7; and once that was accepted, phase out the decorative and personalization options on the 5. In its last year, the CJ-5 was only available with one engine and one transmission, and the Levis package was gone. It was for gas stations and it was doomed.
But the engineers and legal team wanted further isolation; so the CJ-7A was given a new name, new model code, and pretense of it being all-new.
Well, it was new enough. A brother of mine had a 1980s CJ-7 and I had a YJ Wrangler. The Wrangler was a FAR better highway vehicle than the CJ – with a Panhard rod holding the front axle in position; with the short AMC four, set entirely behind the front axle. Saginaw power steering was precise in a way that CJ recirculating-ball manual steering never was.
Yet the frame, and the tub, were almost identical. And I know this, because I bought mine with front-and-rear damage, after a police pursuit and impound.
I couldn’t find a Wrangler grille in a wrecking yard, but did find an old Phillipine-manufacture generic CJ grille in one Jeep specialist’s shop. He sold it to me, never used, for $30; and with just a little trimming, it went right on.
Fiberglass CJ fenders, likewise. Had to trim the splash shields a bit for them to lay properly on the YJ frame, but otherwise, just bolt on. I had a YJ-7.
Man, did it ever irritate Jeep purists…
That’s a pretty accurate assessment of the Jeep evolution, JPT, but if I may, you missed some key points in the CJ v. YJ debate. While some things were shared, as you mention, the YJ has longer, wider springs, wider stance, updated 4×4, 5 and later 6 speed, new dash, and improved heat-A/C, my YJ drives a lot like a car. The CJ, not so much. Naturally, I complain about the 2.5, which can hold it’s own on a flat, and gets reasonable mileage( 22 maybe?) for a Jeep, but any incline, drops off pretty quick. Like most, in 4×4 mode, cut that in half. Also, I read, the YJ didn’t offer an automatic behind the 4 until 1994, and by then, the TJ was around the corner.
We go ’round and ’round about the headlights, ( pun intended), like do you like stacked or slanted headlights, or the “other” kind. I happen to like the square ones, always did from the get-go, it just seemed to fit the style at the time, a time I feel was the best time. Naturally, Jeeps of all kinds are represented here, ( CO) FFWs, CJs, and YJs are fast being replaced by new, cost no object Rubycorns, and such, which is cool, still a “Jeep Thing”, just lost some of the personal attention between Jeep drivers. The Jeep “wave” is still very much alive. I wave to all Jeeps,,,FFWs, ( never), CJs( if any), YJs,( couple) and TJs,( by far, most popular) all wave back, new Rubycorns, hardly ever,, :(
I left a lot off because those weren’t really germane to the discussion (imagine, me balking at being off-topic!) But that’s mostly correct.
I disagree strenuously with your dismissal of the four. First, even with a carb, the AMC 4 was light-years ahead of the Willys Hurricane F-head. Yet off-roaders did fine with it for a decade – 1955 (first year of the CJ-5) to 1965 (when the Buick V6 became available).
Perhaps yours is carbureted. The FI AMC four, with Chrysler FI, produces close to 200 hp net…FAR more than the 1970s in-line carb’d six.
Granted the six of the FI era is more powerful. It’s also heavier on the nose…the four in the Wrangler, is jammed up against the firewall. ALL the engine is aft of the front axle; and it took ownership and a lot of highway use to realize what a brilliant choice that was.
I have never had a Wrangler with the six, but the CJ-7 with a six is…bad, on the road. Like trying to make distance on the sidewalk with a pogo stick. Seems the only way you can’t fall, is up.
I’ll allow, in extreme off-road situations, more power is better; but how often, how many, users are in such situations? Few. Times or owners.
YJ’s are hands down the best traditional Jeep ever. More refined than the CJ, more old school Jeep than a TJ. Anything after the TJ; forget it.
I had a 94 Sahara, 5 spd. The best.
WOW the price.. just wow. As nice as it is. It’s NOT THAT NICE. Not that collectable. You can buy something far more desirable that will go up in value much more. But again this isn’t a used car market anymore. It’s a who’s the biggest fool with the money market.
Check out what Dennis Collins wants for his Jeeps.
I used to own a CJ-6A Tuxedo Park with a Dauntless V-6 and full metal top. I was never comfortable driving it on the road. It felt unstable on paved surfaces and in corners. The track seemed narrow, with a feeling of top heaviness. Due to its rarity (it was all original, down to the decals) I didn’t want to modify it to install a roll bar, so I always felt vulnerable to a rollover. As a result, I sold it after a short period of ownership, replacing it with a more practical vehicle-a Unimog…
Getting impossible to find a rust free CJ in the NE. Almost all have metal plating covered rust. Really enjoyed my 79 CJ7, went anywhere, skinny and dangerous. Just like the eras motorcycles. Sure a Wrangler or new bike with auto shifting, abs and traction control is safer. But “better”? That’s subjective, and Id rather have a CJ7.
Btw how do you write this story and not mention the shotgun blasted hole in the tailgate???!! Pure Arkansas, I would never fix it.
Btw sold quickly.
heck here in ne it’s hard to find even up to tj’s with good frames. i spent a year looking for my niece’s graduation present. mind i was also after an auto(2 clutches a very forgiving boy friend and an even more forgiving uncle and it was decided that 3 appendage driving was not in the cards for her).
this one is a decent looking driver and the price is about right for the market. for me tho i would be after a long wheelbase ie scrambler. these older bones don’t enjoy the whip crack of the short wheel base any more
Zenith is correct, and there is no lack of structure in naming your backhanded remarks. And you are correct, they aren’t your ancestors.
matt, what the hell are you talking about? On second thought, never mind.
Jeff CJs aren’t wranglers .
You all know a lot..it’s interesting..I wanted a jeep back in 79 but it wasn’t a good daily driver to me..which is what I needed at the time..I’d like 1 now but can’t afford it…food , a roof and a grand cherokee with hemi is best I can do..keep up the conversation for us that can’t or don’t deserve to.