This 1977 Jeep CJ5 is a rare Golden Eagle edition that still wears many original details and retains most of the features that set this special edition apart. The Golden Eagle was perhaps most easily distinguished by its large eagle decal on the hood, along with gold wheels and a 304 V8 under the hood. These trucks pop up from time to time despite their limited production, but there’s usually always some detail that’s just off, from being restored and losing the original decals to never being touched and in a sad state of affairs. This one is definitely a survivor, and listed here on craigslist in Florida for $24,500.
The truck actually looks too good to be true in some ways, especially the iconic gold-painted wheels – they simply look too good to be true. The seller claims this is an original paint specimen we’re looking at, featuring Oak Leaf Brown paint over a tan Levi’s upholstered interior. The Levi’s trim was standard fare for the Golden Eagle, and one of those totally in-period enhancements that consumers seemed to dig. The Jeep also comes with a tan Levi’s soft top, and the seller notes he has two original tan, soft doors that will be included with the sale. The Golden Eagle also came with a swing-away spare tire carrier, still attached here.
This truck has just over 53,000 original miles, but still looks even better than that odometer reading would suggest. The interior remains in excellent condition, and the seller claims it is original. In fact, the seller lists numerous details that are original about this truck, including the frame, wheels, paint, carpet, window sticker, and more. The seller describes the Jeep as an eight out of ten survivor, with some minor corrosion issues that are described as “typical” for a Jeep of this era – but that it’s still remarkably clean for being over 40 years old. The 304 V8 is paired to the preferred manual transmission, yet another way this Golden Eagle checks the box.
The dash is in excellent condition, and the same goes for the steering wheel. The floors look sound in this picture, but as floors can be a common weak spot in Jeeps of this era, I’m curious if that’s one of the areas the seller references in the listing. Several new parts have been installed in the not-too-distant past, including the air filter, fuel filter, hoses, belts, shocks, tires, oil and filter, battery, carburetor, and plugs. Throw in the fact that this is a numbers matching truck, and it all starts to add up as to why a Jeep collector may love to put this in their garage. Have any of you ever owned or driven a Golden Eagle?
Had a next door neighbor who had one of these with a 304,
and power steering.He could turn it around in his garage.
Of course,with those big wheels/tires,it would shake the
fillings out of your teeth on the freeway.
Yeah, yeah, nice try, go ahead and post these solely for the purpose of enticing me, but I’m finding, “CJ” has become one of those 2020 buzz words, like Bronco, and Landcruiser, just got to bilk the public on something they have never driven. CJ, CJ, CJ, how different could it be from my new Rubicon? Well, I’ll tell ya’, people have GOT to get a rude awakening when they actually drive one. Okay, this is a bit more valuable with the graphics, but big deal, it’s a glorified army Jeep, and has all the accolades of the original. I’m finding, rust free ones are as rare as common sense today, and nice ones do command these foolish prices. Don’t be fooled, I see as winter wanes, the “price slashing” going on with these, as some I’ve been looking at have been for sale for months, looking for that perfect sucker, I suppose, but I’m not paying more than $5g’s for one of these, and neither should you.
@Howard- There is never any doubt where you stand on a topic. Over my 40 year career in Quality Assurance it has never failed to amaze me how the Jeepistas could not be aware of the amazingly poor quality of their products.
P.S. While reading your post, I pictured you in front of a giant American flag a la George C. Scott in “Patton”
Hi Frank, I just bleed Red, White, and Blue. Got my old man to thank for that, and he wasn’t all wrong. And just think, some poor sap is going to spend $20g’s on this thing. “Why does the front end shake like that”? ( Jeep death wobble) Graphics, like makeup, will do that. Like I said before, the only reason I want one, is I don’t plan to go very far anymore, and it’s the simplist vehicle I can drive, besides my bicycle, and give the modern auto industry a giant middle finger at the same time. Too bad the vultures want to take advantage of that and I’ll drive the old Squarebody rather than feed into this foolishness..
What is this “common sense” you speak of? Something from the olden days? Did you know that the official image of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet just sold for $3 million? Wait until automotive NFT’s (Non-fungible tokens) hit the market. Then you can own a tokenized digital image of this Jeep for $5k. Why deal with driving, fixing and maintaining it? And where are you going to buy the gas from anyway? Lol
You see, that’s one of the gaping plot holes in BTTF3. Standard Oil was in business in 1885, so all Doc Brown would have had to have done was send the chemical formula for gasoline by mail and wait for the gas to come in on the train.
Unless humanity abandons mechanized civilization petrochemicals will be needed for everything from plastics to lubricants. Petro oil replaced whale oil as a lubricant…do we want to return to hunting whales so that we can oil our clocks?
Howard, I understand some of the saltiness, but the thing that bugs me the most about your comments regarding vintage cars, especially trucks and 4 wheel drive vehicles is that you seem to think that whomever is interested or buys it will be in for such a shock and hate driving it. Do you assume that only young “hipsters” with too much money to burn that have only driven modern cars just see the ad, think it looks cool, buy it sight unseen, have it shipped to them and then get overwhelmingly disappointed once they drive it? Almost anyone interested in a vintage vehicle knows what they’re in for and they actually WANT that experience that an old car brings. Even if that means rattling your teeth out.
It’s got 3 pedals, most hipsters couldn’t even get it out of the driveway.
Well, Eric, I’m sorry my posts bug you, I’m really not here to impress you, and yes to your statements, as the folks that actually drove these fade, most people today don’t really know the whole story just because they never drove one, but more on the premise that “well, it looks like my new Rubicon, how different can it possibly be”? I think it’s important for people to hear another view, I’d like to think, I bet I saved more than one person a chunk of money, like a 2nd opinion at the doc.
Vintage anything is a way to experience what once was. Amateur radio has a dedicated cadre of folks who firmly believe that real radios glow in the dark. Wanting to own and drive an old car, truck, boat, motorcycle, or airplanes beats the daylights out of a whole lot of unsavory activities.
Howard, you speak truth. I would for sure drive one before I bid on something like this, may the young beware of what they only think they understand.
Howard,
Who peed in your Jeep wheaties? WOW!
Howard,
Could you tell us how you REALLY feel?
You know, you guys, I knew I’d get some flak and it’s cool. You can say what you feel, like I did, within reason, of course.. I’m just an old guy that can no longer enjoy the hobby I’ve had all my life, because these people see dollar signs, nothing more. It’s a sad end to a 50+ year hobby, and it’s okay, I guess, me and guys like me, had the ORIGINAL fun, and these prices will be death of the hobby, you’ll see. Snowflakes couldn’t care less. Not a matter of someone peeing in my cornflakes, I’m upset at what the hobby has become. Maybe off topic, but you simply can’t have someone buying $2.4 million dollar Corvettes( last Mecum auction, oh, that guy wanted that Corvette, you won’t out bid me, dag nabit) and someone else pushing a shopping cart in this country. No wonder people are upset. I’m so close to pulling the plug on everything, and you people want to buy your 5 figure CJ’s, be my guest.
And for some that may not know, for some unbelievable reason, who Daisy Duke ( Catherine Bach)was, she did drive a white Golden Eagle Jeep on “Dukes of Hazzard” show, but later on, they removed the “Golden Eagle” and put the “Dixie” on the hood. She was hot. https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/480688960207685830/
I was giving you a bad time,I hope you didn’t take me seriously.
I too,am fed up with the stupid money people are spending on vehicles – look at the prices of Broncos,older pickups,
VW buses,& even …..Deloreans.
“I’m so close to pulling the plug on everything”
Promises, promises.
Oh I am aware of of how poorly jeeps are screwed together from the factory having owned my 81 cj7 for over 21 years. Compared to other 4x4s from the 70s you don’t seem to get much bang for your buck, a Scout for example is a much better built 4×4 than a jeep. To me just about every thing need to be upgraded in a jeep just to catch up to the Broncos and Blazers of the time but once you make some improvements there is nothing like a jeep for 4 wheeling it’s the right size and so easy to see over the hood when doing a little rock climbing, you just need to fix what AMC should have done in the first place.
Much like Trans Ams, these were plentiful on the road back in 77-78.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg (or in this case, the Golden Eagle or the Flaming Chicken Firebird)?
Yep, the Jeep guys certainly had no shame in copycating that one. They saw TA sales figures and decided they needed a hood bird too! lol
Whenever I see one, no matter the color, I will always and forever think of Ms. Duke, my childhood crush. Like it or not, poor build quality or not, old school Jeeps have hit the, “they’re selling for what?” level.
Funny, but so have the new ones at $50k. They’re nuts…
I drove a Cherokee Golden Eagle in high school in Connecticut. Loved that truck. My aunt crashed it into a stone wall in the snow and my mom sold it. Last I saw it it was a rusted plow truck parked next to a gas station.
I had been looking for a CJ but the prices have gotten out of hand, even just in the last week I have seen a big seller raise prices 2 grand across the board. They can be fun toys to tool around in, but still it’s just a toy.
I have a ‘94 YJ. Lifted, 2.5 4 cylinder/5 speed. My son has a ‘74 CJ, 304 V8/3 speed, and a ‘97 TJ 2.5 4 cylinder/5 speed. They’re more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Smooth boulevard cruisers? No. But then we don’t have 1/2 the asking price of this rig in all 3.
They’re all going up in price, although I’m not sure about the 4 cyl. People want the 4.0. Even so, take care of them as an investment, but also drive and enjoy.
When this Jeep was built the CB radio craze was going full tilt. One of the most popular and expensive radios was the Browning Golden Eagle, which had a distinctive “ping” sound when keyed from receive to transmit. Pontiac had the Flaming Chicken Firebirds, Jeep had the Golden Eagle. The 4×4 craze of the late 1970s put these in many a driveway.
I have a Browning Mark Three with the rare AM only transmitter.
Didn’t Daisy Duke have one of these?… I can’t remember.
Why can’t you remember, were you distracted by other things she had?
This is a nice CJ. My 76 CJ-7 rusted to death (I think the rust was built in at the factory) and I miss it. I was a factory rep and made customer calls all year long and when the weather sucked I got the CJ out. Lock in the hubs and throw it in 4H. I kept an ice scraper handy so I could clear the windshield from the inside because the defrosters were wishful thinking and the heater was marginal. But it would get me where I was going. In the summer I kept a bikini top on it like this CJ has and it was fun to drive. And yes Howard, it was a glorified Army Jeep, but I have some pleasant memories of those also. Did it wobble? Add a steering stabilizer. I’m surprised this one doesn’t appear to have any of the trademark factory rust. I’d love to have it, but I wouldn’t give $25k for it. I suppose in its unmolested state the seller thinks it worth it.
Don’t sell it to Dennis Collins. He already has enough. Give someone else a shot! Lol
It’s A Jeep Thing…