any reason to want an 80 wagoneer?

on first glance it looks lightly equiped, 4x4, and best of all $400. some rust, but very little for around here. anything to watch for as I inspect?

Rust, that's the only real thing. The frame rails rust out in the rear, from about the rear doors back (especially around the gas tank). The power rear windows fail commonly but for $400, you can't go wrong. Of all the Jeeps I've had, the Waggy was the best in the snow, by far.

Not saying yours is in this class, but super nice low mileage or refurbished ones go for big money in Hemmings. There are several dealers selling them for well over 20K believe it or not! Check out the links to see what these things can go for. I was shocked.

http://www.wagoneerworld.com/premier_jeep_inventory.php

http://www.wagonmaster.com/complete.htm

At $400, if there isn't a ton of rust, I'd gladly take it. They can be made very capable.

Waggy's are the best truck/SUV/tow rig/off roader, period. AMC V8's rock and if it's a 401 you can sell the motor for huge $$$ (factory forged crank and rods). 360's are stout motors and 727 Auto trans are some of the best. Rust and power window parts are the only real problems.

compared to a wagoneer a Land Rover is fuel efficient. DUMP the computer controlled carb if you know what is good for you.

I was gonna say, they're good for frequent fill up visits. and rust

How big you planning to go on tires?

hmmm. apparently I spoke too soon about it being a wagoneer, just a cherokee.

It's still an FSJ, just an SJ. What are your plans for it?

My 85 J-10 had MPG in the teens-barely A "lifter tick" could be flat cam lobes like mine had. Not a terrible job if you're upgrading anyway but cast iron intakes and multiple V-belt brackets on 70s/80s smog machines suck balls. Not that narrow tracks are all that bad, but for looks alone its wide track FTW.

My wide track FSJ:

Buy it, you'll love it.

The lifter tick could just be a leaking exhaust gasket like mine. That's probably because mine has a Buick V8 (pre AMC Jeep).

Shawn

Cherokee = 2 door Wagoneer. If it's a stick, it probably has a 258 six, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Gas mileage is abysmal no matter what. A modern carb and headers may help get it into the tolerable range. They are really heavy, and were still built from thick steel up to the end.

Back in the early/mid 80s, all Mrs Mini drove were Grand Wagoneers. We had an 80(limited) 83, and an 87. The kids were little and they were the bomb for traveling. Absolute tanks,unstoppable and although it didn't matter at the time, mileage was between 16-18mpg highway and 14-15 city. Poor fit and finish quality, but an absolute joy for winter commuting and great in the woods to get to the camp. I did have to replace the timing chain on the 80, but it was easy.

Trans_Maro wrote: My wide track FSJ: Buy it, you'll love it. The lifter tick could just be a leaking exhaust gasket like mine. That's probably because mine has a Buick V8 (pre AMC Jeep). Shawn

that is a pimp kaiser. I had a kaiser cj5 and miss it dearly....

In the early years of the Mordern 4cyl/6cyl Mini-Jeeps which started in 1984, the high end version was named the Wagoneer. It namesake, the V8 version, was renamed the Grand Wagoneer at that time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Wagoneer

If it is an '80 Cherokee then it is the two door version of the Grand Wagoneer and is still the big-Jeep style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Cherokee_(SJ)

The trucks were called Gladiators before AMC got hold of them and changed the name to J-series trucks.

Mine's a 3/4 ton Kaiser Jeep Gladiator (J2000). It's got a Buick 350 (P/O blew the Kaiser 327 so it's got a motor from a 1970), Borg-Warner T-98 wide-range transmission with PTO, Dana 20 transfer case, Dana 53 rear axle, closed knuckle Dana 44 front axle, Warn premium hubs and a Warn 8274 winch with an upgraded -50 motor and dual batteries.

These trucks come VERY well equipped right from the factory. The only thing I changed were the hubs and winch.

Shawn

is there any easy way to tell a wide track from another? a non-jeep guy like me might think anything looked wide.

sorry for all the misinfo..... I finally went and saw in person. its a '79, 4-dr, 360, quadratrac, with a th400 WAGONEER. good not great bfg's. tan & brown exterior, no wood. very plain imo. nobody was there to start it for me.

Make sure the quadratrac is good as they got a bad rep from not being maintaned properly. Don't see much of a downside for $400, but then wouldn't $300 be even better?

I'd take it.

I want one to haul a vintage travel trailer with.

Shawn

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Make sure the quadratrac is good as they got a bad rep from not being maintaned properly. Don't see much of a downside for $400, but then wouldn't $300 be even better?

From what I'm reading, this early (73-79) quadra-trac is completely different from the ones in the 80's and newer. It's an aluminum borg warner unit, some sources talk about being fairly good, and only dragged down by later model's reputation.

From the looks of that pic it has very little / no rust compared to most of the ones around here!

Not a bad race car hauler / parts chaser.

IIRC Quadra-Trac cases are chain driven so you might want to check for chain stretch. I know very little about Q/T t-cases though so I could be wrong. All of my experience is with Jeep/Scout/Bronco Dana transfer cases.

Shawn

P.S. More info here: http://www.ifsja.org/

is there any reason to NOT want an 80 wagoneer?