You may recall a few weeks back, I posted up a Jeep Wrangler Renegade survivor that the owner allowed me to post for sale. Truth be told, the number he was asking was a bit high, but I didn’t have the time to get into a market analysis while standing in his driveway as the rain poured down. Anyway, if that one tickled your fancy but you were turned off by the price, this red Wrangler Renegade may be worth a look. The 1991 “YJ” chassis Wrangler is listed here on eBay with just over 72,000 miles for an asking price of $12,900 and the option to submit a best offer.
The Renegade trim is an acquired taste. Personally, I love it, but I am also a big fan of almost anything from the late 80s and early 90s that incorporate flares of some kind. And obviously, the Renegade had big-time flares. It had flares for days, as the hip kids say. The truth of the matter is I don’t meet too many Jeep enthusiasts who really dig this look. Most of them seem to prefer the skinnier, non-Renegade models, if for no other reason than that they look more like a Jeep. The Renegade always struck me as an imported two-door coupe trying to act like a 4×4, which I didn’t really mind – but devout Jeep fans and off-roaders may find the whole presentation off-putting, and especially when it was new considering the premium price for the Renegade kit. Fortunately, the interior was still a traditional YJ-chassis Jeep inside, and this cockpit is in excellent condition.
Even if you weren’t a fan of the Renegade kit, you have to appreciate the fact that many of the owners of these special-edition rigs seemed to take great care of them. It is pretty rare to find a Renegade that’s a total beater, likely because the original owners ponied up some very real money for one when it was new, and the subsequent owners had figured out 10 years down the line that this was a Jeep model worth loving. It’s important to remember that the $4,000 Renegade package was more than just a trim kit, however: there were numerous mechanical improvements made under the skin that all combine to make this special Wrangler a truck worth owning, regardless of your feelings about fender flares.
In addition to the flares and integrated side steps, you also got off-road shocks and a larger capacity fuel tank to the tune of 20 gallons. A leather-wrapped steering wheel and special “Trailcloth” fabric helped to check all the boxes, giving the Jeep a dash of extra luxury in addition to the improvements made to off-road performance and on-road looks. Today, the YJ-chassis Jeep is enjoying newfound appreciation among the collector car and truck market, especially as yahoos lik me try and buy all of their dream vehicles from high school. This Renegade YJ looks like an excellent value at the current asking price, but if you can get it for less, even better. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jonny for the find.
Located in Deal,New Jersey.
Where’s Howard?
Calm down, diddly, diddly, I’m gathering my thoughts.( echo) Yeah, the flares look ridiculous and the 1st thing to go. I will admit, without them, like mine, the slightest mud or dirt, goes all over. If you don’t go off road, it makes the vehicle look worse. The square headlights, which I like, are always a point of concern, but the flares are just too much. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how’d you like the play? It’s certainly in much better shape than mine, the 6 is the preferred motor, my 4 cylinder is horribly underpowered, but for what I use it for, it works for me. Jeep-wise, and I may be a bit partial, it’s the best Jeep made. Why? It has the older charm of the CJ, still simple, no chilled cup holders here, longer springs for better ride, widened track, better heater, comfy interior, nicer dash, , and in the immortal words of John Lennon, “and nothing to get hung about”,,and I found more internet support, and ANY question, someone looked into it. Oh sure, there are issues, ever hear of “heat soak”? Yeah, me either and the price and condition doesn’t guarantee you’ll have none, it IS a 30 year old Jeep, and as the moniker suggests, Just Expect Every Problem, and you’ll be okay. I love my YJ, and the next owner here will too, fo sho! Thanks Jeff.
Just for the record, I have Wrangler socks, Wrangler pants, Wrangler Jeep,,I guess that makes me a “Wrangler”, eh?.
Better a “Wrangler” than a “Poseur”.
I’ve noticed a lot of Jeeps with the front fenders removed,
being driven on the street.WHY would anyone want to do that?
Ha! Remember “Wrangler Jane” from F Troop? Her name was Melody Patterson, and was 15 when cast in that role, and lied she was 18, and an expert horse rider. She married “Danno” from Hawaii 50, moved to Hawaii, had 3 kids, couple more marriages, and didn’t do much else. Died in 2015 at 66.
The deal with the fenders, is many are retrofitted with long travel suspension, and these tires that are for front end loaders, I think they just get in the way. A cop would have a field day with those, I think fenders are mandatory.
One of my farm vehicles is a ‘99 wrangler with 49k miles. 4 cylinder , low MPG, but used as it is designed, farm off-road hunting vehicle , it does what is expected. The 49 k are hard miles, but my jeep has been outstanding with hardly any trips to the mechanic. Would have been stolen twice , except for the hard to locate kill switch that I had installed on all my vehicles. It stays in a pole barn in Mississippi. No rust , but looks rough inside and out from staying off road most of it’s life. I call it my 4- wheeler with a heater. Of course – no A/C.
Don’t know which is ugliest, the flares or the headlights. In the market for another jeep, won’t be this look.
The flares! (sorry Jeff) You can’t make a Jeep a Can Am car! I actually like the flared look from back in the early days of IMSA, Trans Am, Can Am, etc, but I can’t decide if this is a disco car or a “girl’s” car as we used to say. On the other hand, I like the wheels, very similar to the Centerline Champ 500’s from back then.
The Wrangler was the first true road-acceptable CJ.
Never mind the name change; the Wrangler’s updates are all evolutionary. The body tub is almost exactly the same as the CJ-7. The frame is very similar – mostly that the center part is lowered a bit, for a lower center of gravity. Lateral move on front and rear axles, always a bugaboo with CJs, 2 through 8, was eliminated – with Panhard rods.
The 1972 CJ series update, to give room to install the much-bigger AMC engines, gave an additional two inches. I found it interesting that once AMC launched their four-cylinder (ten years late) and were adopting V-6 engines (after selling the line and design of the one they had, the former Kaiser, nee Buick, unit)…that the stretched nose, which did appearances no favors, didn’t disappear.
Later, owning a YJ Wrangler four, I saw why they didn’t. The whole of the four-cylinder engine was behind the front axle, and not by a little. Technically that was a mid-engine vehicle.
And it showed on the road. The YJs and TJs were excellent road cars in their own right – believe it or not.
At least that’s true of the four-cylinder models. Units with the six, have far more weight on the nose, some over the front axle…the FI six’s power would make things much easier off road, but handling probably suffers.
I have never driven a YJ six, so I have to guess on that.
For those of you who don’t like square headlights: The 1972-85 CJ front clip is a bolt-on, only requiring some shaving on the fenders and corners of the grille. I had it done on mine – after some light front-end damage in a parking lot. It was actually popular in East LA, for a time – they were called YJ-7s.
I wouldn’t do it to this one, though – love it or hate it, it’s part of Jeep history.
I must be one of the few who actually likes the flares. As a 4 time Jeep owner I was never a fan of the rectangular headlights and other YJ styling queues, but over the years, and now owning a XJ, my tolerance for the headlights has softened and so as my overall opinion of the YJ. If I were to own one it would be either this one or a moderately modified one with an OME lift and 31’s.
to be fair all 92 and newer YJ’s came with 20 gallon fuel tanks, they just left a long insert on the fuel fill if you didn’t pay for that option same goes for the engine. There was a simple restrictor put in place right behind the airbox to lower the HP -vs- the same engine in the Cherokee of its time.
I like it but I’m always reluctant to buy anything out of the New Jersey/ New York area
Gone already. You can almost hear the thud of a Radwood fan’s skull on the pavement in the mass stampede to get at this one!
This auction ended, but no one bought it.
I had a 92 Renegade, I liked the fender flares but the front and back bumpers had to go. I also painted the main body blue and the body kit silver took out the rug and Rhino lined the inside.