Gentlemen,
25 years ago while I was still an automobile dealer I spent over $100,000 in parts and labor to build the worlds nicest factory V-8 numbers matching CJ-5. A lot of our members have seen it at my home over the last 15 years and know how nice it is. At the time I built it (1993) the Kelly Blue Book was $3000 so it wasn't a real rational project but I had wanted a brand new CJ-5 since I was a kid. The last new one was built in 1982 so I had to build it from a nice undamaged rust free 1980 Arizona Jeep. The senior master tech at my dealership owned a Jeep CJ-5 and was a complete Jeep fanatic and expert. He was constantly working on his own Jeep and I told him I wanted a CJ-5, not the longer CJ-7 or Wrangler. He had always dreamed about building the ultimate CJ-5 hard tail but parts alone would cost 50K. I told him the dealership would fund the project and he would have an unlimited budget if he built it for me. CJ-5’s are not rare but original numbers matching factory V-8 CJ-5’s are very rare. We found an outstanding undamaged and rust free example and tore it down to the bare frame which was bead blasted and powder coated gloss black. At the time we built it Chrysler still had a complete stock of original AMC parts and every single component that was available was ordered. Every switch, coupler, wiring harness, nut, bolt, fitting, pump, compressor, you name it, was ordered. Parts that were perfectly good and worked fine with thrown away and replaced with brand-new items. A brand-new air-conditioning compressor, power steering pump, power brakes booster, and even a brand-new transmission in the crate was sourced and ordered. The existing transmission was fine but since a brand-new one was available it went into the Jeep. Plastic parts that tended to fail in time like the mounts for the outside rearview mirrors were replaced with custom made billet aluminum pieces (which you can see in the BAT photos). Custom billet mounts were made to use a front bumper on the rear of the Jeep so that the front and rear bumpers would match. The four speed and four-wheel-drive shift levers were chromed. A new windshield, all new rubber parts and the finest forged internals were sourced for it’s basically stock AMC 304 V-8. No screws, washers, or bolts were re-used. Everything was replaced with brand-new items. I have been a pilot for over 40 years and my personal aircraft have always been painted with DuPont Imron and so was this Jeep. It’s expensive at over $500 a gallon and it’s also dangerous and difficult to apply as it’s vapors are poisonous. Applying it requires a full body suit and a respirator. It’s a single stage paint used on train locomotives, buses, and airliners. Designed to take bug, rain, and hail strikes at 500 miles an hour without damage. It’s used on top fuel funny cars as it’s the only paint that survives nitromethane vapors and heat. Even when decades-old it’s tough as nails, hard as a rock, and looks and shines like it was sprayed last week. The Jeep was painted completely dissembled with the fenders, hood, and roll bar off the main chassis. The inside and outside of the fenders hood and everything else are painted the exact same. The belly of the Jeep, bottom of the fenders, and interior of the body is painted as nicely as the exterior. The paint work alone on this Jeep would cost over $20,000 to duplicate today and the only way a Jeep could be finished like this would be to disassemble it down to the last nut and bolt. If you put the best regular auto paint on the nose of a 747 it would be destroyed in a week, Imron lasts for decades. It would be almost impossible to duplicate this Jeep today because most of the factory original parts used in its construction are no longer available. Old parts would have to be used or rebuilt. And most painters who aren’t familiar with Imron won’t touch it. But when applied properly by an expert, nothing else comes close. I insisted on using the finest black vinyl instead of black leather on the interior because the vinyl would look great decades later and wouldn’t be hurt by rain if I got caught out without a top. It goes without saying this Jeep has received the finest maintenance with full synthetic lubricants and has been stored indoors since the day it was built. This project was a labor of love by the body techs, painters, and my head technician as well as myself. The four of us spent over a year putting together what I believe is the nicest pretty stock factory V-8 CJ-5 hard tail that exists. There are some nice Jeep’s out there, but there is honestly nothing remotely like this one and you can take that to the bank. The Jeep has just 7700 miles on it since completion and it's like brand new. If you’ve always wanted a rediculousely nice CJ-5 this is it. Feel free to examine it top, bottom, inside, and out at Southwest Vintage Auto before bidding if you like. After looking at this Jeep, every other will pale in comparison. For a collector that want’s a stock ride height Jeep a set of stock leaf springs can be bolted on with stock white wheels and hubcaps and under the chrome grill cover the stock grill is painted red like the rest of the Jeep. I know that this Jeep isn’t worth anywhere near what I spent to build it, no project like this ever is. You can buy it for a small fraction of what it would cost to build and whoever buys it will own something very special. The listing/bidding will end Tuesday, May 7. I still own this Jeep so there is no sales tax to the buyer. A buddy of mine who owns Southwest Vintage did the Bring a Trailer listing for me but it’s my personal vehicle. All the best.
Chip
bringatrailer.com
25 years ago while I was still an automobile dealer I spent over $100,000 in parts and labor to build the worlds nicest factory V-8 numbers matching CJ-5. A lot of our members have seen it at my home over the last 15 years and know how nice it is. At the time I built it (1993) the Kelly Blue Book was $3000 so it wasn't a real rational project but I had wanted a brand new CJ-5 since I was a kid. The last new one was built in 1982 so I had to build it from a nice undamaged rust free 1980 Arizona Jeep. The senior master tech at my dealership owned a Jeep CJ-5 and was a complete Jeep fanatic and expert. He was constantly working on his own Jeep and I told him I wanted a CJ-5, not the longer CJ-7 or Wrangler. He had always dreamed about building the ultimate CJ-5 hard tail but parts alone would cost 50K. I told him the dealership would fund the project and he would have an unlimited budget if he built it for me. CJ-5’s are not rare but original numbers matching factory V-8 CJ-5’s are very rare. We found an outstanding undamaged and rust free example and tore it down to the bare frame which was bead blasted and powder coated gloss black. At the time we built it Chrysler still had a complete stock of original AMC parts and every single component that was available was ordered. Every switch, coupler, wiring harness, nut, bolt, fitting, pump, compressor, you name it, was ordered. Parts that were perfectly good and worked fine with thrown away and replaced with brand-new items. A brand-new air-conditioning compressor, power steering pump, power brakes booster, and even a brand-new transmission in the crate was sourced and ordered. The existing transmission was fine but since a brand-new one was available it went into the Jeep. Plastic parts that tended to fail in time like the mounts for the outside rearview mirrors were replaced with custom made billet aluminum pieces (which you can see in the BAT photos). Custom billet mounts were made to use a front bumper on the rear of the Jeep so that the front and rear bumpers would match. The four speed and four-wheel-drive shift levers were chromed. A new windshield, all new rubber parts and the finest forged internals were sourced for it’s basically stock AMC 304 V-8. No screws, washers, or bolts were re-used. Everything was replaced with brand-new items. I have been a pilot for over 40 years and my personal aircraft have always been painted with DuPont Imron and so was this Jeep. It’s expensive at over $500 a gallon and it’s also dangerous and difficult to apply as it’s vapors are poisonous. Applying it requires a full body suit and a respirator. It’s a single stage paint used on train locomotives, buses, and airliners. Designed to take bug, rain, and hail strikes at 500 miles an hour without damage. It’s used on top fuel funny cars as it’s the only paint that survives nitromethane vapors and heat. Even when decades-old it’s tough as nails, hard as a rock, and looks and shines like it was sprayed last week. The Jeep was painted completely dissembled with the fenders, hood, and roll bar off the main chassis. The inside and outside of the fenders hood and everything else are painted the exact same. The belly of the Jeep, bottom of the fenders, and interior of the body is painted as nicely as the exterior. The paint work alone on this Jeep would cost over $20,000 to duplicate today and the only way a Jeep could be finished like this would be to disassemble it down to the last nut and bolt. If you put the best regular auto paint on the nose of a 747 it would be destroyed in a week, Imron lasts for decades. It would be almost impossible to duplicate this Jeep today because most of the factory original parts used in its construction are no longer available. Old parts would have to be used or rebuilt. And most painters who aren’t familiar with Imron won’t touch it. But when applied properly by an expert, nothing else comes close. I insisted on using the finest black vinyl instead of black leather on the interior because the vinyl would look great decades later and wouldn’t be hurt by rain if I got caught out without a top. It goes without saying this Jeep has received the finest maintenance with full synthetic lubricants and has been stored indoors since the day it was built. This project was a labor of love by the body techs, painters, and my head technician as well as myself. The four of us spent over a year putting together what I believe is the nicest pretty stock factory V-8 CJ-5 hard tail that exists. There are some nice Jeep’s out there, but there is honestly nothing remotely like this one and you can take that to the bank. The Jeep has just 7700 miles on it since completion and it's like brand new. If you’ve always wanted a rediculousely nice CJ-5 this is it. Feel free to examine it top, bottom, inside, and out at Southwest Vintage Auto before bidding if you like. After looking at this Jeep, every other will pale in comparison. For a collector that want’s a stock ride height Jeep a set of stock leaf springs can be bolted on with stock white wheels and hubcaps and under the chrome grill cover the stock grill is painted red like the rest of the Jeep. I know that this Jeep isn’t worth anywhere near what I spent to build it, no project like this ever is. You can buy it for a small fraction of what it would cost to build and whoever buys it will own something very special. The listing/bidding will end Tuesday, May 7. I still own this Jeep so there is no sales tax to the buyer. A buddy of mine who owns Southwest Vintage did the Bring a Trailer listing for me but it’s my personal vehicle. All the best.
Chip
Restored 1980 Jeep CJ-5
Bid for the chance to own a Restored 1980 Jeep CJ-5 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #18,572.
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