I never get tired of shooting old Jeep Wagoneers; the only problem is trying to determine their model year. This one has me stumped because it shows elements of different years — a mix and match Wagoneer.
The grille is of course the best way, assuming it’s original. This style, referred to as the Eggcrate/Boobie grille, was used on ’74-’78 Wagoneers. It’s one of my favorites along with the original vertical “Rhino” grille and the simple but effective “Razor” grille, used on ’66-’69 Wagoneers, ’70-78 J Trucks and ’74-’78 Cherokees.
This 327 V8 badge threw me for half a second, but it was obviously added later, and it sitting next to the side marker light is a dead giveaway. The AMC 327 was used only through 1967, replaced then by the Buick 350 in 1968 and that was replaced by the AMC V8 in 1971. But I get the emotional appeal of the 327 badge.
The interior caused a bit more confusion as the dash, steering column and wheel are clearly from later years. I would have kept the original.
The blue vinyl upholstery does rather suggest what the grille does: that this is from the ’74 – ’78 era.
Love that forward leaning Wagoneer script. That goes right back to 1962 and was undoubtedly Brooks Stevens doing along with the rest of the styling.
This one has the obligatory lift and roof rack with the big spare up there. Probably want to slap a few gas cans up there too before heading out on any longer overlanding runs; these are mighty thirsty, no matter if it’s the 327, 350 or 360.
This shot with the Honda Fit shows how compact these Wagoneers are, only 186″ overall length. Which also happens to be almost exactly the same length as a new Wrangler 4-door, which is of course the real spiritual successor to these.
I have to write in that on Roadkill they did an episode with a 67 they do reactivation of cars sitting around This was a very original jeep with the then new Buick 350 They were surprised it was in there one year ahead of it being used in all new 68 Buicks ! soooooooooo. A great episode to catch
That 186” length surprised me. That’s about the same as a 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner aka Hilux Surf, which seems pretty small today. And of course shorter than subsequent Land Cruiser Prado platform 4Runners.
One oddity is that the original dashboard design accommodated air-conditioning vents, but the late period dashes like the one in this vehicle required extra ductwork below the dash on a/c-equipped Wagoneers, looking almost like an aftermarket unit.
Were the ’60s and ’70s AMC V8s a related design?
I suspect that that older a/c was essentially like a typical add-on unit, but in the dash. I doubt it was integrated with the heating and defroster, unlike the newer ones.
No; the 360 was in the gen2 AMC V8 family (290, 304, 343, 360, 390, 401).
I wonder if it was made of either junkyard parts or is just a customized version with a mismatch of parts. Could have been a shell of a Wagoneer and the owner got it back on the road with whatever parts they could get. A budget restore job. A neat vehicle. I also like 186 inch length. As long as an AMC Hornet or Concord. It looks good and I am sure is a daily driver.
Most likely. This truck is obviously owned by someone who loves it and who has been doing a lot of scavenging to make their dream truck; my guess is they either haven’t found the right seats to match the dash or just haven’t gotten to the re-upholstery part yet.
The tail lights are another clue as to the years this could have been made as there were two styles. These ones indicate later years in the production run. My book on Jeeps is still in a box from my move, otherwise I would be able to say what year they changed; I believe it was around 83 or 84.
The first year for those taillights on the Wagoneer was 84. And that final dash in this one came out in 1986. I’d wager this is a model from one of the final years.
I’ve seen several of these later model GWs wearing bits and pieces off of earlier models- almost always the 60s Rhino grille, round headlights, and a retro paint job. I suppose that’s a benefit of owning a model with almost no changes over 30 years!
Nice .
I too like “B.I.T.S.A.”s .
-Nate
The taillights are from 1985 and newer Wagoneers….The older Wagoneers had the wraparound taillights and the body on the featured Wagoneer appears to be factory modified to accept the vertical taillights.
So I would say that this Wagoneer is an ’85 or newer that has had the older style grille swapped in and the older emblems put on.
Retrofitting a later dash (and all the associated wiring, AC, etc) into an older model is much more difficult than swapping an older grille, bench seats and interior door panels onto a newer model. So my guess based on the dash is this an 1986+ Grand Wagoneer. However the lack of rear glass wiper and spray nozzle that came on the 89-91 models means it’s no newer than 1988. So this appears to be an 86-88 Grand Waggy.