I hate playing the “what car from the year you were born” game. 1983 didn’t offer up a lot of positive options. The Fox Mustang is a solid choice, but it wasn’t that much of anything to be crowing about. The Grand National was taking it’s gap year, Chrysler’s turbo screamers were still in gestation, and the F-bodies were…well, there, I guess. Other than the introduction of the new Aero-bodied Thunderbird, 1983 didn’t offer up much to get excited about. So, what normally happens is I look at the truck lines of the day and throw a dart. Sometimes it’s Dodge, sometimes Ford, sometimes GM…all have flaws, all have merits, all are good calls. But I always forget one that I shouldn’t: the Scrambler.
With a total production run of 27,792 units over the course of six years, the Jeep CJ-8 isn’t a common find. It’s a long wheelbase CJ-7 that came with a removable cab that, when affixed, turned the CJ-8 into a small pickup truck. Any of the engines offered for the CJ-7 at the time could go into the Scrambler, too, so if you wanted to pick out the 258ci six and the four-speed manual with a Dana 300 transfer case and wide-track axles, you could. This bright red CJ-8 has the 258, a T-5 manual transmission, brand-new tires and a history that includes a lot of time spent in New Mexico.
How good is this Jeep? Well, considering the temperature at BangShift Mid-West fell over thirty degrees and is now filled with blustery snow, I’d love to have this beauty parked in my yard. What about you?
I got excited, considered that this is way cooler than anything currently on the market for even remotely the same price … then realized here in Florida that a/c is an absolute necessity.
Anyone who disagrees is a lizard-person.