When I was a kid, my parents would routinely surprise my brother and me with a day trip. Part of the surprise was usually the destination – you didn’t know until you arrived (or until you correctly ascertained it based on the roads we were taking, which was likely part of the thinking behind it, to instill a sense of direction). The trips were never far, and usually ended at someplace like a beach on the lake, or a state forest park.
As soon as one of these trips was underway, it was customary for one or both of us to ask where we were going. My dad would often give one of his standard sarcastic answers: “Japan”. It was funny because of the sheer impossibility of it, us having never been world travelers. (To this day, I’ve still never flown on a plane with more than one engine).
At around the same time, I can vividly recall the day my dad – a mechanic and true-blue GM guy – broke with tradition and bought a Jeep. It was 1990, I was three years old, and it was a 1975 Cherokee. Straight six, automatic, part-time 4WD, “ran when parked”, and priced at $200 (its most convincing feature). It was green with a white native-pattern vinyl stripe down the sides. I even got to help him with one of the finishing touches – masking around the back side windows so he could black them out from the inside (to keep the sun from beating in on myself and my baby brother). That particular Jeep was in the family for about a year before the rear-end gave out. Despite normally being a “keeper”, good ol’ Pop decided he’d gotten his money’s worth out of the Jeep and towed it to the boneyard.
Fast forward to 2009. I was driving past a garage sale on the other side of town when I noticed a familiar-looking snout poking out from within a partially closed pole barn. After chatting with the nice older lady who owned the place, I got permission to check it out. What I found was nothing short of amazing.
It was a green Cherokee, much like the one from twenty years prior. But unlike Dad’s, this one had a 360, Quadra-Trac, and an immaculate tan vinyl interior. Clearly it had had some bodywork done years ago (some of it poorly), and it was nowhere near drivable – but that interior! It was the closest thing to showroom you could ever hope to find. After more chatting, a date was set upon which her son (the titleholder) would come out to the property and negotiate my purchase of the Jeep. I actually had been shopping for a 4-wheeler at the time, so much the better.
Since I couldn’t hear it run, I used the old “pig in a poke” tactic to try and get the price down. He, of course, countered with stories of its glory days and the strength of the drivetrain during his various exploits in an attempt to keep the price up. For all his reminiscing, I was surprised when he accepted my opening offer of $750 (fully expecting to argue back and forth, and eventually land somewhere close to $1000). I quickly loaded it onto the trailer before he could change his mind.
Upon getting it home, it became clear that it was the owner before him who was mostly responsible for its positive aspects; the only favor this guy did it was storing it indoors. All other recent evidence showed nickel-and-dime repairs were how he rolled, right up until it rolled no more. (Speaking of which, dig those four mismatched tires!) Thank goodness he’d only driven it for several months, or there would likely have been nothing left to work with. Virtually every component involved in the delivery of fuel and spark required either repair or replacement before it ran properly.
It’s important to note that this was late fall in Minnesota. And everybody knows what comes next – snow, which goes hand in hand with the enemy of every CC, road salt. I had been seeking a four wheel drive vehicle in order to conquer the coming winter driving conditions. But as I brought the Jeep back to its former glory, something happened: I decided I couldn’t keep it. To keep it and use it as it was intended would soon kill it, I realized, turning it into just another rusted out Jeep in a couple years’ time. And I couldn’t stand to see that happen.
So with a twinge of regret, I listed the Jeep on eBay. It sold for three times what I had into it, which made the whole ordeal somewhat more palatable. But the itch had yet to be scratched – so once the deal was consummated I went back on the hunt, eventually finding and buying a Grand Wagoneer. It’ll get its own CC in the near future.
Making such a tidy profit off this rig was a surprise. But an even bigger surprise came when the buyer called to make arrangements for its transport… to the Port of Los Angeles. From there it would be placed on a boat, bound for – of all places – Japan.
Look for a new post from Keith Thelen each Wednesday here at Curbside Classic. He’ll be documenting some of the many odd and/or interesting vehicles he’s encountered through years of deal hunting and junkyard spelunking in the North Star state.
Great story and a really cool find. Isn’t this what all of us dream of? Cool old car that doesn’t run, buy for peanuts, a few minor parts to make it run like a top, and a cleanup to reveal almost showroom condition.
I also understand the desire to not see a great old car ruined with rust. These things are especially susceptible to the rust mites, so that was probably a good call. Wow, will this thing stand out in Japan. I wonder if this is the kind of Cherokee that the buyer is expecting??? Won’t he be surprised if he thought he was getting an XJ. 🙂
I remember riding in the back of my dad’s new (to him) ’77 Wagoneer in 1983 or 1984 and looking down through the rusted floor and wheel well and watching the rear tire go round and round. Good runner, though. Dad kept it until 1989, when the rust ate the brake lines and the rest of the truck was so rusted the mechanic really didn’t want to put it on the hoist.to begin with. So, Dad gave it to one of his buddies for a case of beer and he used it on his farm for a while before it was parked behind the barn. And Dad bought his first new vehicle, a 1989 Dodge truck. By 1994 there was a rust hole in the driver’s door, which eventually fell off when he opened it for the last time in 1999.
I also understand not wanting to see a great old car ruined. I sold my ’66 Bug to someone with a carport rather than let the tin worms devour it in my driveway.
Good move..I’m sure there is folks that would try and convince you,that a liberal application of oil based rust inhibitor, would save it.
Rust inhibitor needs to be applied yearly within the first three years.,or preferably sooner.
> I’m sure there is folks that would try and convince you,that a liberal application of oil based rust inhibitor, would save it.
That would be me. An annual oil spray at Krown (or whatever the equivalent is in your neck of the woods) and it would be fine for a good long time.
Mikey, I agree with the need to apply it annually, but I don’t see why you say that one must start the regimen within the first 3 years of the car’s life. If it was structurally sound to begin with, the annual oil spray will keep it so. Neither my pickup, my wife’s CR-V nor her Civic before that were oil sprayed in the first 3 years of their lives, and I haven’t lost any sleep over it. I was actually thinking of writing a CC on my pickup sometime, seeing as it will soon be 20 years old.
Having said that, I would be a concerned about any previous bodywork done earlier in the vehicle’s life, especially accident damage. If the bodyshop drilled holes to use a dent puller, then smeared a coat of bondo over top of the panel, the bondo will be exposed on the backside of the panel where the holes are. A good oil spray place will use long wands to spray the backside of all the body panels. My concern would be the bondo soaking up the oil and causing it to separate from the steel.
I’ve lived in Minnesota all my life, and yet I’ve never heard of getting an oil spray. At most, you see a sticker on a 70s/80s vehicle for one of the many brands of undercoating (Ziebart, Rusty Jones, etc) that were offered as a one-time application when said vehicle was new.
What sort of oil is it? And in what parts of the country is such a thing offered?
Krown and Rust Check seem to be Canada-only franchise outfits. I did a little searching, and in Minnesota it seems a lot of bodyshops do rustproofing as part of their business. I saw one webpage that said Best Auto Body in Minneapolis uses a thin oil like Krown. I guess you’d have to call around and see what kind of oil each shop applies.
Krown oil spray is thin like penetrating oil. It will get into small crevices and soak into existing surface rust, but should be applied annually. It’s not like the waxy “dripless” oil and definitely not like the old Ziebart rubberized undercoating. Shops that spray the dripless oil may say to bring it back annually too, but it builds-up and may clog the body drains and trap water.
I take our daily drivers to Krown annually. Around here, most pickups the age of mine are rotted out all around the wheelwells, bottom edges of the doors, and the bumpers rot out from the back side. Just today I saw a Dodge that was _maybe_ 10 years old that was rusted out. My truck is still in great shape, and I attribute much of that to annual rustproofing. It has also kept most of the steel brake and fuel lines looking like new.
What a beautiful Jeep. And it looks even better accompanied by that Wagoneer.
Never been an SUV guy but if I had the time and means to keep two of those up, I could see my driveway looking like that. Classic.
My friend’s mother was a contrarian and generally drove Studebakers, but by the mid ’70s driving a Stude was not an option for a daily driver. So she switched to a Jeep Cherokee. Her son and I bummed the vehicle to take to the ’77 Indy 500. Our day had barely begun when the water pump blew chunks, probably on Rt 40 in western Maryland. We let it cool down, drove to a nearby service station where the mechanic in residence (they still existed) managed to change out the pump.
Ha! looks like a Dodge Dart passing you guys in that photo even!
Nice shot BTW.
Love $200 ran when parked I bought a Nissan Sentra that way recently dropped in a battery and it drove away, I cant seem to find Jeep Cherokees for that money here but Ive driven dozens of ex lawn ornaments some were good some were junk 3 of the cars registered to me currently were bought that way and they all go well right now, the Sentra is rusty and unregistered but hey it gets me to work and parking it at the beach all day while I’m working is unlikely to do any harm( concrete mixers are failing Cert of Fitness regularly due to cab rust) and once I’ve koshered the plates and stickers it will be a good old dunger.
Ironic twist of fate!
That’s a beautiful Jeep. And that interior! Certainly well-preserved, but just the thought to detail with that Native American-looking inserts matching the exterior paint stripes.
Big fan of classic jeeps. I love the western patterns on the interior and exterior of the ’79 jeep. Looks like that jeep was quite the find.
Thats my jeep…same yr same model…..I put allot of work into mine…Interior is perfect but the paint was changed….Im getting ready to paint it and struggling on what color…original or same as it currently is.
I did decide to change out the grill to a 76…Just so much nicer.
One vote for the original color scheme. The longer I look at it the better I like it. It would make the vehicle really stand out in this modern world of black, silver and red.
This is the grill swap.