We love the Full-Sized Jeep platform here. J-trucks, Cherokees, Wagoneers, and M-715 military trucks all sit well with us. There’s just one problem with them, as far as we’re concerned: they didn’t hold up too well over the years. Rust did a lot of them in, and hard work and abuse took care of a lot of them. Nowadays finding an FSJ in any useable condition is a score, but finding a two-door 1983 Cherokee in this kind of condition is nothing short of a miracle. Actually, no, not a miracle…this Cherokee looks this good because someone loved it enough to sink $40,000 or so into an all-in restoration on the rig, and they did it right.
This Jeep was found as a low mile, fairly rust-free example out of Arkansas and it was treated to the kind of restoration that is usually reserved for high-end muscle cars. Everything was torn down and rebuilt to as-new specifications. A 1983 Jeep usually was pretty spartan, but this Cherokee came fully loaded out: 360ci AMC V8, power windows, power locks, power steering, power brakes, tilt wheel, and air conditioning, making it sound more like the luxury-oriented Grand Wagoneer than the rough-and-ready Cherokee. The body was stripped to the metal and sorted before being properly prepared and painted. Everything that showed wear was fixed, including hard-to-find bits like the rear window seal.
It’s obvious that the owner really loves this Jeep, having sank money into it that cannot be recovered. That doesn’t happen because someone is in the business of fixing and flipping cars. That occurs because someone appreciates the value of the vehicle they have due to an emotional attachment to the vehicle. So, after all of that work was done and all of that money invested into this Cherokee, would the owner sell it? Easy…the one vehicle that sits above this Cherokee became available: a 1969 Boss 429 Mustang that the owner has been chasing for 21 years. Can’t argue with that kind of logic, but that does mean that the Jeep needs a new home! The bid is currently sitting on the north end of $15,000, but there is a reserve. While $40K is probably way too far to be right, you’d be hard-pressed to reproduce a restoration that has this kind of quality for less. Whatever this Jeep goes for, we’re just glad to see that someone loved it enough to restore it right.
eBay Link: 1983 Jeep Cherokee Chief
Beautiful.
That’s a nice clean FSJ.
Beautiful Jeep there. My first Jeep love was a 77 Cherokee 360-4-barrel/T18 4-spd.
Problem with putting a value on this is most GM, Ford, Mopar, Ricers & tuners don’t really pay much attention to Jeep stuff, let alone FSJ Jeeps.
So that tends to narrow the market for something like this to mostly serious Jeep nuts, who are used to buying these things for dirt cheap, because nobody else wants them. True, they usually are not this nice. Also we are all usually strapped for cash at any given time due to sinking all our money into keeping our beloved beat up Jeeps in running shape.
Perfection there. So much would have this if only I could afford it.
That thing is sweet.