A V8-powered Jeep is becoming less of an oddball, thanks for the horsepower wars that have blown up in the truck segment over the last few years. However, in 1979, this had to have been a bit of a game-changer considering the lovable Jeep CJ was always a rock-hopper off road but not necessarily a vehicle you’d buy for outright performance. While it’s still not a hot rod, it’s always cool to find one of these old Jeeps with the 304 V8 and the Renegade package. Check out this CJ5 here on eBay with bids to $2,247 and the reserve unmet.
I’m surprised to not see more active bidding on this truck, as it looks like a good specimen to use while it’s being restored. The Renegade decals, though – that’s my favorite part. Plus, dark blue with the orange and yellow decals is a great look, and one we don’t see nearly as often as the other color schemes. The white rally wheels are perfectly suited to the Jeep’s rough-and-tumble appearance, and the tires look healthy. The seller acknowledges he is letting this truck go due to not being mechanically inclined and because it has a few issues.
This looks like the Levi’s-style interior with the buttons in the upholstery, but the seller doesn’t confirm nor deny if this is the case. The Jeep is certainly rough around the edges, with the upholstery torn up and the seat foam starting to spill out. The front floors were supposedly the only area of major concern rust-wise, and the seller had those sections repaired. The Jeep is said to run through the gears without issue, and the transfer case works well also. The power steering is also functional.
More worrisome are the fact that it needs new fuel lines and that fuel is not getting to the carburetor. The seller notes he parked it after the water pump went out, and once it was replaced, the Jeep would not fire up and stay running. It’s likely a pretty simple issue but it sounds as if the seller is ready to move on. This is a driver, through and through, and while I would be tempted to clean it up, there’s also a strong argument to be made for just getting it mechanically sorted and otherwise driving as-is. Which approach would you take with this cool Ensign Blue Renegade?
Had a ‘79 w/ 304 & 4 spd. Great fun.As a Jeep Jamboree Rubicon veteran it made me look like I knew what I was doing-that and the Rock Wardens, especially on The little Sluice and Cadillac.
Very tempting and close by ( a nonstop days drive but I prefer sleeping in my own bed and not in the garage with another new project brought home without warning..
While I read, the “Levis” edition( 1975-1986) was one of Jeeps biggest sellers, this is not one. The Levis did not have denim, like the jeans, but a cotton/vinyl(?) fabric that didn’t wear well. It did have the Levis buttons and tabs, like the pants, but “Levis” stickers indicated a Jeep having that, which I don’t see. I’m sorry, I can’t help but laugh, if you can’t diagnose what’s wrong with a 1979 ANYTHING, best just give up, like they did. It’s a great find, in that, this is what a non-functioning CJ SHOULD go for. A water pump is the tip of the iceberg here folks, but luckily, and you WILL get on a 1st name basis with the AutoPlace person, most all parts are in stock( somewhere) and are relatively cheap. My YJ water pump( same as a I6) was $48 bucks, starter, $75, so no $3,000 cats to worry about. The V8 is fun, but will present some challenges, however. Front heavy, poor(er) handling, gas mileage, working on it, ( the 4/6 are so easy to work on) and all the other “fun” things that make a vintage V8 Jeep a PITA, trust me, Jeeps are my thing, and have been for 40 years, and this is a nice one, but please folks, it’s no new “Rubycorn”, and that could be a problem for some not familiar with these. I can hear it now, how different could it be?
Shouldn’t Robin WIlliams be sitting upside down in the passenger seat??
I don’t believe the V8 was rare. It became an option to the CJ-5/6 in 1972 – the year the wheelbase and front clip were stretched to accommodate AMC’s car engines. The 304 was always the V8 used with these.
The price at this moment has livened up – $5000 – but I understand the reluctance. The CJ-5 is not a terribly nice SUV for a non-working non-wheeling driver. It’s less so with such a huge, heavy engine in the nose, and such a short overall length. CJ-5s with the bigger engines, and potentials for higher speeds, developed an unhappy habit of nosing over in extreme situations.
It was not for nothing that AMC, with little product-development capital, hurried in longer Jeep, the CJ-7. Took four years from when the frame stretch was done, which was about normal development time.
The CJ-6 wasn’t doing it, and obviously. It looked like a stretched low-side tray. The cuts in the body to allow the 20-inch stretch were obvious, with the section bolted in. There were no styled tops, and the steel top that was available looked Third World.
So the CJ-7 was born, and unusually for AMC, it was a home run, right from the start. But it left the CJ-5 in the dust….it labored along for a few years, its option list cut each year, until by 1983 it was killed.
Few missed it. The driving position was cramped, there was little room for cargo, and its instability was legendary.
I had a 78 CJ7 with the 304 and a 3 SPD, I never liked the CJ5s because of the very reasons you pointed out.
I bought the exact same Jeep brand new in 1979 when I was living in Colorado. It had the rust color paint, same Renegade graphics with the gold rally wheels. 304 with the 3 speed. Had a blast with it as I was in my 20s. Rolled it once and put it on its side once….they were definitely twitchy on icy roads🤣. Fixed up good as new after both events. Took off and threw away the pollution gadgets, then moved to CA and knew it wouldn’t meet the then smog requirements, so I sold it. Definitely one I wish I would’ve kept.
That jeep is awesome! Go 70s!!!
Wow did not know that Jeep was into pride back then. I always knew that something was wrong with that company!
Nothing wrong with Jeeps…they were
made for certain types of people…rugged individualists who enjoyed life.
I had a 1980 Goldenhawk with the 304 … it was like driving a backboard. Unloaded it in 2 months. No thanks …
I had a late model CJ5 that originally came with a 304. What was nice was to exchange that engine for the 401. The 401 was a perfect match right down to the motor mounts. The jeep was strictly for offroad racing and was pretty amazing on the dragstrip. Sorry I let it go.
Don’t think it’s the Levis edition,have seen a 77′ Levis edition.the seats should have the red jean tags on the sides and there isn’t the fender badging either.Maybe add a set of sidepipes?You can also fit a sbc in there as well,for a little more power….
The first CJ5 I bought was a brand new 1982 with an I6. It was a great little jeep until I totaled it late one night when I fell asleep behind the wheel and hit a traffic light post. :-(
The next one I got was a 1976 CJ5 with a 304. That one I had for about 4 years until I sold it to buy a corvette.
I had a ’73 304 CJ5 in the late nineties, after I got married and had kids. My wife used to mount the car seats in the back seat and take the kids to the public pool in it. We really only used it for tooling around town with the kids, but they still have fond summertime memories of it.
I currently have a 74 360 and a 73 304 CJ5s sitting behind my shop waiting for me to have time to take the best parts out of them both and build a new one, but life is getting in the wayand we are moving to another state, so I’ll probably sell the 73 here and take the 74 tub and new parts with me. I have a 304 ready to assemble for it, but I am thinking about putting in a 4-cylinder diesel instead when I build it out.