(Photos courtesy of the Canadian Government)
I’ve been on a Jeep kick lately, so when I saw this weirdo creation posted over at the Grassroots Motorsports Forum recently, my jaw dropped to the floor. This Jeep, which was recently offered for sale by a Canadian government surplus auction site (yes, really), is a very heavily customized CJ7, or is it a CJ8 Scrambler with a custom hard top? Honestly I’m not sure, but let’s check out all the weirdness together!
This one has a face only a mother could love. The iconic Jeep grille is now gone, and the headlights with it. There’s a custom front bumper and light bar with what appears to be plow lights mounted to it. Strange.
This is a little longer than your typical CJ7, so maybe it’s based on a Scrambler? Is it a custom build? I have no idea, but I love it.
Out back, it’s honestly nothing too crazy. I’m digging the giant flares on this thing.
This thing just has the look (aside from that weirdness up front). The Desert Tan, steelies with old-school balloon tires, and the flares give it an all-business appearance.
So, that’s the outside. It’s clearly a custom of some sort, but the real strangeness lies underneath the surface. Let’s get weird!
Crawling underneath this thing will make you do a neck-snapping double take! Look ma, no straight axle up front! While modern Jeeps are often derided by brand diehards for having independent front suspensions, something about this setup tells me that whatever is going on under here is a lot cooler. Looks like a lot of custom, one-off parts were made for this thing. But who made them?
What you are looking at here is the rear. Again, no solid axle back here either! And if you look closely, you’ll see hydraulic lines going to the wheels. This thing has 4-wheel steering!
Here’s a close-up shot of the front suspension. Yeah, that’s a little different than we are used to seeing on a Jeep of this vintage.
Under the hood is a carbed Buick 3.8L Turbo mill likely plucked from a late 70’s Turbo Regal. This isn’t too far of a stretch for a CJ, as Kaiser built these with a Buick-designed 225ci “Dauntless” V6. That 225 V6 was the grandfather of the later 3.8 engines, and was originally installed between the fenders of early-mid 60’s Buicks as the “Fireball” V6. If I owned this thing, a Grand National EFI Intercooled Turbo V6 would power this odd beast.
Inside, there’s tons of cargo space out back. It’s got a rear-mounted battery, and what appears to be an overhead heater. Is that a Scrambler roll bar back there? If anyone has one, feel free to chime in!
Up front, it’s typical Jeep fare, or is it? Of course it’s not! While the seats are stock, nothing else is. This one runs an automatic transmission, which makes sense provided it’s running that Buick 3.8 Turbo V6.
SO… MANY… GAUGES… And I bet every one of them has a distinct and important purpose. And those four white ones up top are labeled “Brake” and labeled for each individual corner of the vehicle. Interesting.
Even more gauges! This thing has more gauges than a modern airliner.
It runs a basic floor shifter, and I’m assuming those other levers engage the four wheel drive, but who knows with this thing!
Behind the floor shifter and between the seats are all these knobs on the floor. What do they do? Do they engage the brakes individually? Do they operate the 4-wheel steering? Do they leave oil slicks out the back and operate the passenger ejector seat? Probably all of the above.
Well, that’s not your typical Jeep! I would love to know who built it. Considering it’s offered up for sale by the Canadian Government, and since it’s strictly offered as a non-registerable “For Off-Road Use Only” kind of deal, I’m wondering if it’s a former military prototype built for our friends in the Great White North. This is the Jeep MacGyver should have been driving back in the 80’s.
Again, thanks to the guys on the Grassroots Motorsports Forum for making me aware of this unique Jeep!
Strange beast indeed?
The axles are both front end units from an M151 with what looks like half ton D44 or 10 bolt Chevy outers on them. As for all the gauges and knobs, who knows.
That is one serious Jeep!
The body tub is definitely a CJ-8 Scrambler body tub. So is the roll bar. Everything else is a who knows what. Very interesting build. I’d also love to know what in the heck all of those extra knobs and gauges are for.
It’s certainly looks CJ8 based. Hardtop looks like an aftermarket copy of a CJ7 top to suit the CJ8, The Factory CJ8 hardtop is taller at the rear and iirc is steel.