A couple of years back, Jeep brought back the legendary nameplate Renegade to their lineup as an entry level vehicle to open the door to all things Jeep to a new generation of buyers. Many die hard Jeep enthusiasts cried out in agony when they realized that FCA was using that name on a front wheel drive based small crossover/mall crawler. Blasphemy! Why were they so ticked off? It’s because this exists:
Back in 1970, Jeep was purchased by the American Motors Corporation from Kaiser. At the time, Kaiser had been using the “Dauntless” 225ci V6 in just about everything, which was actually Buick-designed V6 that they purchased the tooling for a few years prior when Buick phased it out of production. When AMC took over, in went AMC’s drivetrains, including the 258ci inline six and the 304ci V8, starting in around 1972. Jeep fans could get a honest-to-goodness V8 in the stubby CJ-5! It transformed the little four wheeler into a powerful off-road rig, much like a muscle car you could take into the woods on rocky trails. At the top of the heap was the CJ-5 Renegade, which was a trim package that was around at the end of the Kaiser era, and continued with the AMC buyout. The Renegade package was basically the Wrangler Rubicon of its day, with upgrades like beefier suspension components, better wheels, heavy duty brakes, and a cool looking stripe package. A Renegade with a V8 was rare, and depending on what color you chose (like Yellow, for instance), it would increase the rarity even higher.
This one we’re about to show you, a Renegade Yellow 1974 with the V8, is one of those super rare ones. It’s claimed to be all original, down to the paint and interior. Check it out!
The real shocker here is that this allegedly “one of 300 built” V8 Renegade is located in Minnesota! We are not sure if it lived it’s entire life there, but if it did, that’s an amazing feat. Most of these were relegated to driveway plowing 30 years ago in snowy states. Even if it lived in a dry climate, the fact that it has such low mileage and it hasn’t been turned into a farm implement or yard ornament is amazing. The only caveat: The seller does not list a price. Other Renegades of this vintage usually sell in the low $20k range in this condition, and taking into consideration that most of those are powered by the I6, this one could fetch a bit more, warts and all. Curiously, that’s about what a new, modern Jeep Renegade Trailhawk would go for.
With that in mind, which one would you choose: the brand new Renegade Trailhawk, or this V8-powered CJ-5 Renegade? You know which one we would drive home with, and we would be taking the shortcut through the woods!
Check out the original Craigslist ad right here!
” Lookie here! Even gets AM!”