Off-Road Scrambler: 1982 Jeep CJ-8
The Jeep Scrambler was part SUV/part pickup. It was introduced in mid-1981 to help AMC (who had owned Jeep for about a decade) capture a larger share of both the recreational and compact truck markets. This 1982 example looks practically new, yet it wears its original paint at 145,000 miles. Treated with kid gloves, this Jeep is in Tucson, Arizona, and is available here on craigslist for a healthy $39,500. This tip was brought to us by the prolific Barn Finder, T.J.!
Scramblers were known officially as the CJ-8 and were a long-wheelbase variant of the CJ-7. It enjoyed a six-run through 1986, after which the Cherokee-based Comanche replaced it. With a removable half-cab, the Scrambler was essentially a small pick-up without having the separate bed added to the chassis. They only came with 4-wheel-drive, and most were equipped with 5-speed manual transmissions like this one. Production numbers overall weren’t large at 27,800 units in total with one of their owners being none other than former president Ronnie Reagan!
The seller’s Scrambler looks and runs so nice because a lot of work has been done to keep it that way. The six-cylinder engine (AMC’s 258 cubic inch?) has been rebuilt, the interior is new, the wood panels have been restored, and the wheels are powder-coated and fitted with new tires. The list may be longer than that and the seller can provide a written summary. Amazingly, the original paint is so nice having spent all its life in sunny California and Arizona.
We’re told this Scrambler is one of 7,750 built in 1982, the vehicle’s first full year on the market. Subtracting for attribution, perhaps only a few hundred have survived, regardless of the condition (and this has to be one of the best of them). This Jeep has been nicknamed “Sunny” and the seller has owned it for several years (not the original owner). If you’re into this kind of transportation, they may not come any nicer – as long as it’s within your budget.
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Comments
As possibly the sites biggest Jeep fan, I knows what I likes, and I don’t like these,,,WHAAAAA? That’s right, this, I feel, took the original concept of a Jeep a step too far. It was trying to cross over a pickup with a CJ, two entirely different worlds. It’s in fantastic shape, and about the only way you’ll find anything like this from AZ. Northern climates, that ironically these were made for, were not kind. Unfortunately, I feel, these made a poor Jeep and a poor pickup, and most wanted a CJ for what it was. Sorry, resolutions be darned, $40 grand, they’ve been in the “sunny” too long.
If its original paint where are the decals?
Decals can be removed they are on top of the paint
Most decals from that era could be removed with a heat gun. Warm enough to release the decal, but cool enough that it does not affect the paint.
Essiest things to remove
Look close at pictures they are going down the side and scrambler on the hood
Howard, I presume you’re also not a fan of the Gladiator too? This was the idea of a Jeep pickup in its purest form: a reasonably long bed (not the stubby one like in the Gladiator) combined with the CJ’s capabilities plus a longer wheelbase that helped the ride somewhat. Understandably these were ridden hard and put away wet. Nicest one I’ve seen that isn’t at an auction. Ahead of its time.
Depends what Gladiator. I’m a huge fan of the Kaiser Gladiators, new ones, not so much. My SIL has a new Gladiator, you can imagine my surprise when he described a problem he had, good old fashioned death wobble. These were like a Ranchero, and okay for picking up potted plants or that bag of dog food, but for most pickup buyers, a regular pickup did a lot more. Also, no covered space. A topper on the back greatly improves usefulness, but few had them. These weren’t cheap either, almost $10grand new, when a 4×4 pickup was considerably less. It was clearly a “Jeep” thing.
Howard… aside from the normal replacement of worn parts, “Kevin’s Off Road” has a nice dual steering damper kit. It is the best assurance I have found to eliminate “death wobble”. Just because a steering damper is not very old, it can still fail. They develop “free spots” just like any other shock absorber device. I have also used urethane bushings which help but are not really the answer. Just some thoughts to pass on to your SIL.
You ever hear of a CJ-6 they came out several years before the 7 and 8.
The CJ-6 was the same frame/wheelbase but much shorter behind the rear axle.
This was a low-budget attempt for AMC, lacking a Japanese partner, to get into the small-pickup market; and it showed. The long bed behind the rear axle, interfered with off-road ability (“Angle of Departure”) and the low sides didn’t offer a truly usable bed. Nor, for that matter, the tack-welded headerboard.
AMC was in a tough spot back then. They were still trying to go as an independent; and while the Jeep subsidiary was generating cash, it was not enough to pay for the Pacer and Matador mistakes. They were about to commit to selling themselves to Renault, but that hadn’t happened yet when this was being designed.
This was your typical Hail-Mary play, and it didn’t work. Interestingly, the later LJ Wrangler, using, once again, the same wheelbase, but with a full hardtop, did exponentially better. Why the LJ did well when the CJ-6 couldn’t pull it off, in twenty years, I don’t know. Shifting markets?
My wife had one of these in the 80s. It was a black “Laredo” package with chrome wheels and bumpers. We drove it from spring to fall with the roof off, and it was great fun. The Scrambler’s longer wheelbase resulted in a much less choppy ride than the CJ, especially on the highway, and the extra cargo space was appreciated on trips to the cottage. Ours had a limited-slip rear diff, which meant we could get to the cottage on the hilly, snow-covered unplowed roads when other 4 x 4s got stuck. The straight 6 was OK around town, but underpowered on highway trips, requiring full throttle to maintain speed against headwinds. We kept it about 3 years, and sold it to a collector for almost what we had paid for it. My wife still misses it, but likes her C5 convertible more.
Winter driving killed most of these off by rust, and I very rarely see them anymore. The few I have seen for sale within a few hours drive were too rough for me to bother with.
BTW, nice Scramblers are valued about $40K these days…..
I love that your wife has a c5
I don’t know about you but when I spend a lot of money on a car or truck I want to be good looking not something from the war how many years ago!
Correct me if I am wrong. But the head on this era had some of the most restrictive breathing. That tiny air filter (easy fix) will not help matters. Keeping things original is nice, but I would swap in a final generation cylinder head from the 4.0 liter. Nice find… It is the Gladiator’s Grand-Daddy.
Nice Jeep. Given that so many of the survivors have been subjected to roid rage this is nice. They do tend to bring the $$$ though
I’d love to have a Jeep Scrambler, and this one is a beaut, but no way would I pay this much money. The price doesn’t seem out of line with the market, but the value proposition just isn’t there, for me anyway.
I only wish my garage was that clean!
Original carbureted 4.2L engines in these were seriously underpowered. That’s why in mine I have a 4.0L F.I. H.O. out of a ’98 Jeep producing 190hp, now you can buzz along at highway speeds no problem and they still have decent acceleration and decent fuel economy. As cool as they are I wouldn’t want one with the original motor.
I had 2 of these an 82 and an 84 that I bought brand new as a leftover in 85. It was a Laredo with automatic, anti-spin and A/C
With all the money Broncos and other 6 figure SUV’s getting the money, this looks like a cherry ripe for the pickin!
Sorry, never posted that comment before. How is it a duplicate?
I like the look of these more than the new jeep pickup which to me is three boxes lined up with wheels. In the 80s I went to pick up some lunch with a coworker that had a Scrambler. We had to jump on the highway and go two exits to get the food. I looked in the rearview mirror on the passenger side door and saw the rear wheel on my side was riding about a foot or so out from its normal location. I tapped the driver on the shoulder and pointed to the mirror. Considering the situation the expression on his face was comical terror. He was able to slow down, do a couple maneuvers and got the axel back in. We got off the highway and crawled back to work on back roads. I don’t remember what the issue was.
Having jeeps is a disease and hard to shake. They all have a drinking problem yet that is forgiven by their prowess to out perform any other 4WD. This one is near spectacular plus given the limited run then a pickup to boot make this lil girl a keeper and show queen.
Look-at that engine room! That’s what im talking about….Well done!
From one Smith to another, thanks for your kind remarks. I really like this pick-up. Currently l have 3 Jeeps– daily driver 08 Liberty, 48 cj-2a, 2018 Roxor which l call a cj-7 replica. Would trade it for a nice Scrambler any day👍
nota Howard but, this is the Only One to have. Still simple to tinker with, light, longer wheel base, what more, the 258? alaska postal model has even my 1st gen bronco beat (in some ways),
AND
now reaching sales parity (oh goody goody).
Decided I wanted one of these back in the late 80’s so I went hunting. After a few weeks or months, finally found one, a 4 cylinder automatic. What a turd! Woefully underpowered, slow, sluggish to get going. What was AMC thinking? Average fuel mileage for the government is all I can think of. A buddy had a CJ7 with the 4 cylinder and a 4 speed, it was pretty peppy, but the Scrambler with the automatic was just too heavy. After a quick, well really a slow test drive, I decided I’d keep my 2wd Toyota pickup a while longer. It would haul probably twice as much firewood as the Jeep, which was one of the reasons I wanted the 4 wd capability. Ended up getting a Ford F150 4×4 a little later on, it didn’t give the fuel mileage of the smaller trucks but it would haul a larger load and the smaller truck at the same time and never grunt, lol!
Being a fan of practical classics, these have always appealed to me more than the CJ7s and CJ5s. But practicality only goes so far when I can buy a perfectly good pickup truck that is 20 years younger for less than half the asking price.
Not that I think the seller is out of line; only that I’ve been priced out of this market. $40K will buy many more interesting and more desirable toys.