Usually one of the toughest things about finding a vehicle to feature on this site is a lack of good pictures. I’m sure we’ve all stumbled across what could be a killer find based on the description, only to see one blurry picture that looks like it was taken with the Snake app on a Nokia brick phone. Luckily that is far from the case here, as the seller has been kind enough to include 107(!!!) nicely shot images of this minty 1978 Jeep CJ-7 Renegade! It’s currently up for auction here on eBay with the reserve not yet met and is located in Portland, Oregon.
With the exception of the easily-removed stinger, this CJ-7 looks to be in excellent, unmodified condition. Decals and exterior paint look great, even on the wheels. There is a bit of overspray seen on the roll bar in the interior pics, which the seller curiously chalks up to a “senile previous owner,” so that remains a bit of a mystery as the paint does look to be original. That oddness aside, the seller did do an incredibly thorough job of showing every little nook and cranny of this vehicle and it looks to be free of rust aside from minor surface stuff both up top and underneath.
Under the hood, this CJ-7 features the 4.2L inline six engine, with only 41k miles on it! Seller states that the engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive, “a super rare option” according to them, however, they don’t seem to specify anywhere in their lengthy listing exactly what transmission that is. I’d guess Borg-Warner T5 unless one of our eagle-eyed readers can figure it out from the undercarriage photos and enlighten us in the comments!
The interior looks just as good as the exterior, heck maybe even better. Front and rear seats are both in excellent shape although the seller does disclose the driver’s seat has a small tear. Other than some minor flaking on the floor coating it pretty much looks like you could eat off of it. It’ll be interesting to see where the price lands when the gavel drops on this auction, and whether or not it will clear whatever reserve the seller has set.
Just watch a documentary on the Expedicion de las Americas yesterday. A guy named Mark Smith (credited with starting the Jeep “lifestyle”) took a group in CJ-7’s from Chili to Alaska. Largely unmodified those jeeps did amazing things.
years ago my son had a stock yj he ask me if it would make thru the local jeep trail ( it didn’t have the lift kit or big tires )an very demanding at that , 1 1/2 hours later we were thru and my son couldn’t believe it , we even passed some stuck and abandoned 4x4s , I showed him a few tricks and how to use the jeep vehicle to his advantage , hes had jeeps for years now . and does very well with them in off road trips !! I guess its a Jeep thing
That’s not a stinger. That’s a tow bar. This little Jeep lived a cushy life being dragged around behind an RV from park to park
And they still have the nerve to say it has 41,000 miles.
Do not recall any 5 speed transmission in a CJ until the 80’s. If it is a 5 Speed it is not original to the Jeep. A 78 with a 6 cylinder would have a B/W T14 Transmission
That’s not the original transmission in it. Somewhere along the way they had a T5 put in it. The original would have been a T150 3 speed…T5 didn’t come along until 1981
Correct on the trans info!
T150 is correct………I lose a decade every once in a while….T14/15 was Pre 1976
@wuzjeepnowsaab – very astute observation. My first thought when looking at the pictures was, “that’s not a ‘78 CJ7 – looks more like one from the ‘80s to me”.
Read through the ad and quickly realized the seller is really sloppy or not very bright (or both).
The description very clearly states it’s an ‘83 although the listing title says 1978.
The VIN clearly says it is a 1983 model.
Does anyone else see the metal poking through the corner of the brake pedal or is it just me?
In Oregon any car over 10 years old is exempt from odometer readings, so the dealer can claim anything he wants and he has.
Listing ended, apparently at 10 grand.