Category: Jeep

The History of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer – Benjamin Hunting @Motortrend

The History of the Jeep Grand Wagoneer – Benjamin Hunting @Motortrend

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How the 1984–1991 Grand Wagoneer cast the luxury SUV mould for today’s model.

Although luxury trucks are a key profit center for modern automotive manufacturers, there was a time when only a single brand on the American market was brave enough to make the leap from ski station to valet station. It was the early ’80s when AMC decided to go all-in on an aging platform by transforming its already decades-old Wagoneer into the Grand Wagoneer and open up an entirely new segment for U.S. buyers. The Jeep Grand Wagoneer beat the (still Spartan but nevertheless high-priced) Range Rover to the American market by a handful of years, and while Land Rover was able to outlast its underfunded rival in the long run, as contemporaries there was no question who was first, and in the minds of many sport-utility fans, who also did it better.

Ancient Roots

A bit of backstory first. The original Wagoneer, internally known as the Full-Size Jeep, FSJ, or SJ, debuted in 1963, and would soldier on for decades with only minor mechanical tweaks. The first hints that the truck had the potential to woo an upscale clientele came with the Super Wagoneer, which then Jeep owner Kaiser released in 1966. Packed with luxury gear completely foreign to anything trucklike at the time (power brakes, a high-end radio, tilt steering, power steering), it wasn’t long before the model was commanding nearly three times the average transaction price of an entry-level automobile.

Once AMC purchased Jeep in 1970, the product line coalesced around the more basic Cherokee and its more family-friendly Wagoneer variant. Despite repeated urging from AMC dealers to increase the price point on the latter—due to the surprisingly high household incomes of buyers attracted to the truck’s blend of on-pavement comfort and rugged go-anywhere image—each truck would stay in its lane for the next several year

Grand Wagoneer, the luxury SUV before the luxury was a thing – Terry Shea @Hemmings

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Before there was Escalade, before Navigator, and certainly before anything BMW X or Audi Q, there was Grand Wagoneer, pretty much standing alone as the luxury utility vehicle that maintained all of the capability of a proper Jeep product. Sure, Land Rover’s Range Rover was available in the U.S. from the mid-1980s, but market penetration was pretty limited.

In just about any town of any size in the USA with a Jeep dealership, you could buy a Grand Wagoneer.With its DI-NOC woodgrain sides against the Dark Baltic Blue paint, leather interior and full slate of power options—from back when that was a thing reserved for luxury cars, this 1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer currently listed on Hemmings Auctions was the model for future luxury SUVs. Today’s fancy truck-wagons are largely equipped with fully independent suspensions, but this Grand Wagoneer still rolls on its original solid Dana 44 axles suspended by leaf springs front and rear.

In other words, it still has all of the good truck stuff that made Wagoneers extremely capable off road.

HOW ICON BUILT THE BEST JEEP WAGONEER EVER – Hoonigan Build Biology

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Johnathan Ward from ICON brings by another toy we’ll never be able to afford – the ICON Reformer Kaiser Wagoneer. Meticulously crafted and impressively engineered, this is yet another one of Ward and team’s hand-built creations that transcends simple car building to become a true work of art.

SPECS

Owner: ICON 4X4 @icon4x4

Car: 1965 Kaiser Wagoneer

Engine/Powertrain: GM LS3 E-Rod, handmade CAI

Transmission: GM 4L80E

Exterior: All components reconditioned, lots of polished stainless and chrome, subtle custom badging

New Jeep museum planned for Toledo – Daniel Strohl @HemmingsClassicCar

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New Jeep museum planned for Toledo

Over the last 20-plus years, one effort after another has been made to definitively secure Toledo’s spot as the spiritual home of the Jeep with a permanent museum dedicated to the four-wheel-drive-focused brand. That campaign appears now to have come to fruition with the announcement of a museum set to open in the next few years.

According to the announcement, made Tuesday by the members of a yet-to-be-named non-profit working group dedicated to building the museum, the 56,000-square-foot Jeep Experience is slated to open sometime in 2022, will take inspiration from the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green and the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, and has the blessing of FCA.

“We look forward to working with Toledo community leaders to bring this interactive Jeep experience to life,” FCA officials said in a press release. “There are no more passionate fans of an automotive brand than Jeep, so we are thrilled by this initiative to honor the heritage of such an iconic brand, and celebrate the women and men who have dedicated their lives to building these vehicles for nearly 80 years.”

A location for the Jeep Experience has yet to be announced. The working group is expected to release more details after the new year.

The Jeep Experience appears to be the first in a long line of proposed Toledo-area Jeep museums to get any sort of support from an owner of the Jeep brand. As early as 1997, Buddy Carr, a former radio station owner in the Toledo area, envisioned a Jeep museum that would’ve spotlighted the company’s labor force as well as its products. “It wouldn’t be just a bunch of Jeeps on a floor,” he said.

New Jeep museum planned for Toledo

Related– The last AMC: Jeep’s ZJ Grand Cherokee turns 25

How I Got My Free Jeep Grand Wagoneer Running After It Sat For A Decade – David Tracy @Jalopnik

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How I Got My Free Jeep Grand Wagoneer Running

Back in June, I used a 2020 Jeep Gladiator to tow a free Jeep Grand Wagoneer 250 miles from Dayton, Ohio to suburban Detroit. Since then, the Woody—which, as you might imagine considering its price, is a rodent-infested piece of crap—had languished in my backyard. But last weekend, the heavy SJ-platform machine moved under its own power for the first time in over a decade. Here’s how I pulled that off.

One of the greatest joys in the whole of automobile-dom is firing up a vehicle that hasn’t started in many years. It’s a great problem-solving exercise that teaches you how cars work, involves physical exercise, lets you hang out with friends to work towards a common goal, and appeals to whatever part of the human brain is so captivated by things like mysterious shipwrecks.

How I Got My Free Jeep Grand Wagoneer Running

Related – Nevada Train Derailment Claims Dozens of Jeep Gladiators

Nevada Train Derailment Claims Dozens of Jeep Gladiators, GM Trucks – Ed Tahaney @MotorTrend

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Here’s a literal trainwreck for truck and off-roader fans: A train carrying a load of brand-new Jeeps, Chevys, and GMCs derailed near Caliente, Nevada, on July 10. The rural town is about 30 miles west of the Utah border. Fortunately, no one was hurt on the Union Pacific train, but dozens of factory-fresh vehicles were destroyed. Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee told local reporters it was the most spectacular mess he’s ever seen. The majority of the damaged vehicles were new Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators; a number of Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras were also involved.

See the rest of the story here

Dallas Auto Parts Autumn Dig Out – Cold Ash

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The summer/autumn “dig out” swap meet at local vintage Jeep dealer Dallas Auto Parts, quite a few pitches selling Jeep and vintage militaria. The most interesting aspect was the Jeep aspect of the Dallas setup

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Dallas sell complete Jeeps and also just about any part you would need to maintain or restore a vintage Jeep, from oils and grease to entire body kits.

1972 JEEP COMMANDO – A 304 CUBIC INCH V8 CLASSIC 4×4 – Ben Branch @Silodrome

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The Jeep Commando was directly based on the outgoing Jeepster Commando, however it featured a series of modifications designed to allow it to accommodate the AMC 232 and 258 six-cylinder engines and the 304 V8 engine.

THE JEEP COMMANDO – C104

American Motors Corporation (AMC) bought Kaiser in 1970, they immediately set about ensuring the Jeepster would be competitive in the rapidly growing early 4×4 SUV market genre. The likes of the Ford Bronco, the International Scout, the Chevrolet Blazer, Range Rover, and the Toyota Land Cruiser were proving stiff competition for the Commando which many considered a little dated.

Read the article here

Jeep Builds a Muscle Car – 1970 XJ-001 The awesome XJ-001 – Pat Foster @Hemmings

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Well this one was a realk surprise for me and I have to say I kind of like it for it’s weirdness.

The Jeep XJ-001 was a one off styling exercise from 1970

The reason we call it a Jeep muscle car is because, although it was built on the small CJ-5 chassis-which at the time offered only a 225-cu.in. V-6 as its biggest engine-the Jeep concept sportster was going to be motivated by good old American V-8 muscle. And not the 304-cu.in. V-8 that later was available in CJs. No, this special Jeep was motivated by a gutsy and powerful 360-cu.in. AMC V-8. Talk about absolute power! The choice of an AMC V-8 was not all that unusual because Jeep had been buying V-8 engines from American Motors since 1964.

Read Pat Fosters story of the XJ-001 here at Hemmings

Mapledurham at War – The Eagle Has Landed

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Near where I live is a local historic village called Mapledurham which has amongst its claims to fame is that the movie the Eagle has Landed was filmed there in 1976. The film was set mostly around the Church and Water Mill and involves a plot to kidnap Winston Churchill during WWII resulting in a standoff between German paratroopers and US Army Rangers stationed nearby.

Every year in the village there is a Mapledurham at War event which features military reenactments, recreations, dioramas and vehicle displays at the water mill and surrounding grounds.

In keeping with the plot of the film American forces are well represented in all aspects of the event.

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