Believe it or not, but Jeeps haven’t always sold purely on utility or their military heritage throughout the years. Sure, that was the initial attraction of the early Willys CJ line, but over the years the Jeep brand has experimented with everything from luxury to performance, as well as additional utility, in a bid to reach a wider audience. Yes, we said “performance” in the same sentence as “Jeep”. During American Motors’ custodianship, the Renegade package saw the CJ fitted with a 304ci V8, which gave the CJ5 a pretty stout amount of power. But that wasn’t the only performance model that AMC tried out during their tenureship.
What you are looking at is a 1971 Hurst Jeepster. Production numbers fluctuate, but it’s safe to say that only a few hundred examples were ever built…and there could have been as little as 100 total out of a projected 500 unit run. All Hurst Jeepsters were the hardtop station wagon body, all packed the 225 cubic inch “Dauntless” V6, all were painted Champaign White with red/white/blue striping, all had hood tachometers, and transmission choices were either a three-speed manual or a floor-shifted, Hurst Dual-Gate equipped automatic. The Hurst Jeepster was not a barn burner…the Dauntless was only good for 160 horsepower and 235 ft/lbs of torque. But it wasn’t a Hurricane or Go Devil four-banger either, and the GTO-sourced hood tach and white-letter Goodyears were very un-Jeep-like.
This particular Hurst we found on Craigslist has had a mild lift and has spent some downtime in a barn, but the seller claims running and driving. She ain’t as pretty as she used to be, but there’s still a long road ahead for this well-worn example!
Craigslist Link: 1971 Hurst Jeepster
Hood scoop is reminiscent of the Rebel Machine’s scoop and tach, no?
Makes sense; Hurst built those, too.
Kinda, the scoop was unique to the Hurst Jeepster
Ironic that Dennis Collins is selling this & no mention of ‘Gas Stunky Garage’ – I thought they were partners
Not the gas monkey/collins one. This one is an auto trans, The one Collins brothers is selling is a manual trans.
Those are really rare. The Jeepsters are solid vehicles and the Dauntless is one of the best engines GM ever designed. Run smooth as butter with the heavier Jeepster flywheel.