You have to love a Jeep truck. M-715, J-10, Gladiator…call it whatever you want, but the basic premise is there: it’s a bulletproof tank of a truck that’s dead simple to work on. What’s left to improve on? Well, how about the motor…while the Gladiator came with everything from straight sixes to Rambler, Buick and AMC V8s, none of them would produce the kind of torque offered up by a Cadillac V8. That’s right, this cream puff Jeep is packing the big mother underneath the hood, a 500ci V8.
The other thing that some people have issues with are the interior accommodations. The earlier Gladiators weren’t luxurious. They were a truck, and normally had just enough accruements inside to make driving tolerable. We don’t know if the plaid interior is somebody’s custom work or not, but if it came from the factory that way we’d be surprised.
It’s a runner and a driver, and it’s up on eBay right now. It might not be the pinnacle of comfort but it’ll get you there and get you home, and those looks don’t hurt anything, either.
eBay link: 1969 Jeep Gladiator with Cadillac 500ci V8
(Courtesy: Bring A Trailer)
I love these trucks. Been a favorite since I was a kid. Not a huge fan of the wheels, but overall…great rig.
“The lowest appraisal is at $52 k – an offer from a dealer on the table is $20k. There is an auto investor stating that it needs to go to the high end auction in Scottsdale..” Yeah, right, if I throw in another five grand will you make it run right first? Cool truck, (Caddy power is easy when a factory Buick came out of it) but I’d recommend finding something with a less-creepy description on CL for half of their starting bid, they are still not that uncommon sitting around out west.
This guy is on crack if he thinks its work $52k. He better take that that $20K offer since that is about double what the truck is actually worth.
They are not that rare, and other than a decent drive train, are not very good vehicles. Lots of problems with everything but the drive train.
I have two J10’s, a friend of mine has another six (mix of gladiators, J10’s, and J20’s).
Borrowed from the Bring a Trailer website, cool truck, for less than 10k.
I normally don’t fall for engine swaps, but the Big Block Caddy is a good choice.