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:

When you find yourself in the early 70’s and you need to go off some sweet jumps, this is your chariot.

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!

Slotted mags, white letter tires, screaming yellow paint, a cool stripe package, and a V8 backed by a manual transmission. And it’s not a muscle car!

This is one of the cleanest 70’s Jeeps we’ve seen, and for good reason. The seller claims it has a scant 19,000 original miles on the odometer. The fact that it’s a V8 Renegade is just the cherry on top!

If there are two faults I could give this thing, they are apparent when viewing it from the rear. First, the mismatched Formula Desert Dog spare tire. Second, the slight amount of surface crust visible on the bottom and top of the quarter. The exhaust tips are a take it or leave it affair. Also, can we name tires cool names again? I want a set of Desert Dogs!

Aside from a period correct aftermarket leather wheel wrap, this thing is super clean inside the tub. Three pedals, a giant bus wheel and shifter, a few gauges, a simple grab handle, and a couple of farm tractor seats is all you needed in this mechanized goat. Not a cupholder in sight!

And if a windscreen was too much luxury, you can fold that down too and eat bugs while blasting through the woods. The windshield frame does exhibit a little surface crust, but hey, it’s still there! Treat it with some rust proofing paint and forget about it.

Seriously though, look at those solid floors, folks! You all know that these were rode hard and put away wet 99.9% of the time. This one miraculously escaped that fate.

No overhead sound bar or infotainment system with Bluetooth in this Renegade. Instead, you get one medium sized speaker to blast all the Amplitude Modulated squeals and noise your ears can interpret! Is it talk radio or golden oldies? Who knows, and who cares!

Sadly, this is the only under hood shot in the entire ad, and I can see why. As clean as the rest of the Jeep is, the original 304ci V8 is a bit grungy. Still, from what we can see, it’s there and appears to be mostly original. A V8 powered CJ that was born that way is a special thing indeed.

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!