As trucks have firmly cemented themselves in the classic car community, distinguishing yourself from the crowd has become increasingly difficult with the Big Three offerings. To do so, different marques and channels must be considered to find something interesting. And that’s a good thing because so many smaller manufacturers built nice rigs for the market, and some decent deals can be found. Up for sale here on Facebook Marketplace is a tough 1979 Jeep J10. Listed for sale at $5,500, this truck would be a great entry point to the vintage truck market. Special thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for sending this tip (incredible name, BTW!).
Jeeps are off-road legends. Their importance in WWII cannot be understated, and as their name was spread throughout the country after the war, they offered some of the most rugged vehicles ever built. Of note are the trucks from the Overland-Willys and Jeep factories, especially the Jeep FC. This is one of the toughest rigs ever to traverse a dirt road across America. Jeep started producing the Gladiator series trucks in 1962 to reach the more mainstream market and continued this basic body style and design until 1988. The Gladiator name was dropped in 1971 and was called the J10.
The J10 presented here appears to be in good condition, at least mechanically. The seller lists the truck’s many mechanical updates but says it needs some rust repair in the rocker panels and the bedsides. The frame, however, looks very clean, so there should be no issues driving this truck while you fix it up. Or, keep it as a patina’d trail boss without any worries about Mother Nature’s pinstriping. The interior shows no major damage or wear on the dash or steering wheel, but the seller mentions the windshield is cracked. The split bench design is really interesting on these models, but the covers on these seats probably hide heavy wear that must be addressed.
As the prices of early Broncos and Blazers climb into the stratosphere, Jeeps seem to be a good value in this market. This is surprising, as Jeeps were really the first to bring the offroad life to the masses. Nothing evokes the idea of the back road like a Jeep, and nothing evokes the excess and fun of the 70s as a big 4-wheel drive truck painted with 2-tone strips and outfitted with a V-8, kidney slots, and cherry bombs. For this price, this is a great truck to go back in time and experience a more analog way of offroading while you see the great open spaces that America has to offer.
Used to see a fair number of Jeep pickups like this used for snow plow duty around the farms.
I used to work part-time at Templeton Service 11175 Chalmers at Glenfield in Detroit, MI from the 1970s to 1982. Mr. William Templeton, the owner, purchased a new 1971 J 10 Pickup truck. He sent it to Canfield Equipment on Mound Road in Warren, MI, to have it converted for Tow truck Duty. This was an amazing truck. On Saturdays in the summer, we would wash and wax the truck. It was white with Red trim. It had a manual transmission with a straight six engine. The truck was still going strong until 1984 when I lost track of it.
Back in the early 80s my Junior High school gym teacher had one. Always had firewood in the back or something. That truck got worked and held up great. I remember is was a stick but dont remember what motor it had in it. Great dependable trucks.
Where’s the Jeep rectangle headlight jokes now, eh? The author is way too kind, quite frankly, these were just the worst. While similar in appearance, t’was no Gladiator, in fact, considering what I went through with my ’78 Cherokee, I wouldn’t go near this Jeep. Again, like the Cherokee, I wouldn’t base my opinion solely on that particular vehicle, it’s just this truck was severely out of date when new. The front suspension was right out of the 50s. Motors, while stout, wreaked of gas just sitting, and all the little doo-dads AMC “cheapened up”. Things like gauges, accessories, everyday things like window regulators or turn signals, all broke. That never would have happened with a Gladiator.
And yes, the Asian trucks were far superior, and the J10 was an antique. Luckily the Comanche MJ changed everything, but these were quietly forgotten.
Wow Howard, you just 💩 on the parade here!🤣
In my town, Cherry Bomb Mufflers got you a ticket and if not fixed promptly, a night in jail. They were very adamant about noise pollution. The hijinks of today would not have flown in the 1970s, at least where i lived at the time. Know what? We had small children at the time, I was okay with that, wish it was still so.
Oh that one is tempting, no matter what Howard says. This one is not too far from me. My friend had a Grand Cherokee of that vintage and he really had no major problems, even drove from WI to CO a couple times.
I have a friend who had a (I think 360 powered) 78 J-10. It was a stout vehicle, but had the beginnings of rust like this vehicle has when he acquired it. Rust never sleeps.
Cherry Cherry Bombs were the Bombs of the day!
Wow! Howard just 💩 on the parade! 🤣