It feels like original, unmolested survivors have been coming out of the woodwork lately. I may be drawing conclusions, but I think we can add this 1983 Jeep CJ-8 to that group. This was sent to us by a Barn Finds reader who found it here on eBay in Sadler, Texas. The auction has received 46 bids pushing the current high bid to $31,100, but the reserve has not been met.

The Jeep CJ-8 was introduced as a 1981 model. It was based on the CJ-7 but rode on a longer wheelbase. While never selling in large numbers and declining in popularity every year, it did manage to last through the 1986 model year. Throughout those 6 model years 27,792 CJ-8s were built – 5,405 were from the 1983 model year.

Everything about the exterior looks right here. The Copper Brown Metallic paint, the Scrambler decals, the Jeep mudflaps, even the modern BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A tires. There is no rust and that is claimed to be factory original paint. I only see it on the top of the passenger fender, but the seller does point out that there are some signs of the paint thinning. Hopefully that will reveal a nice patina, as many Texas sun-baked cars do, even though it spent most of its life in Wyoming.

The interior is described as original, but the seller also says any items that showed wear were replaced with OEM or NOS parts. There’s no detail on what those parts were, but as with the exterior, everything looks right inside. That nutmeg upholstery is spot-on. The pedals show some wear and there may be a few spots on the carpet, but the interior overall is in excellent condition.

Under the hood is a 258 cubic-inch inline 6-cylinder. Power is sent to the rear wheels – or all 4 wheels when engaged – by a floor mounted manual transmission. The seller offers some details on its running condition: “The Jeep starts, runs and drives correctly.  No smoke, no drift or odd mechanical behavior.” The previous owner completed some engine and suspension refreshing and added a “rare Mopar fuel injection system.”

I thought CJ-8 fanfare may wane after Jeep introduced the Gladiator, but you can see from the skyrocketing price on this one – with an unmet reserve, nonetheless – that my prediction is incorrect. With few examples built, there can’t be many left in this condition. Is this the Jeep you’d be forking over your hard-earned dollars for?