While the initial Jeep CJ series was heavily influenced by the World War II military Jeep, one can easily say the renowned CJ-5 iteration was equally touched by another war—the one fought by the M38A1 Jeep in Korea. Now, by the time this 1980 example comes out of its Arizona hiding, GM Defense’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) will probably become all the rage across the theatres of operations.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, since this particular 1980 Jeep CJ-5 is actively searching for a new owner that might pull it out of the forced retirement it’s been living in for years. Exactly how many we don’t really know because the Craigslist ad for this vintage rock-crawler doesn’t quote a specific number.
It does, however, give us some other neat details. We know that although it hasn’t been parked somewhere secluded (you know, like a barn), its residence is somewhere in Tucson, Arizona, so it’s probably of the rust-free "yard find" variety.
On the other hand, as one can easily see, even from these decidedly low-resolution pictures provided by the seller, it’s been gathering a huge amount of dust inside the open cabin. Basically, you almost can’t make up the gear shift pattern for the manual transmission because of the accumulation.
Calling out a price tag of $10k is a bit bold in this condition, but at least this CJ-5 will turn out as a fine project car if all other details are genuine. According to the listing, the little SUV is all original, hasn’t been modified at all, and only comes with around 44k original miles (almost 71,000 km) on the odometer.
Besides the “bikini” atmosphere, a future owner will also be greeted by a 258ci (4.2L) six-cylinder engine attached to that four-speed stick shift, but there’s no word if the motor will run or not. Judging by the state of advanced storage, we’d be willing to bet on the latter. One other thing to note before making a decision—those rather unattractive cloth seats look like something aftermarket to us.
It does, however, give us some other neat details. We know that although it hasn’t been parked somewhere secluded (you know, like a barn), its residence is somewhere in Tucson, Arizona, so it’s probably of the rust-free "yard find" variety.
On the other hand, as one can easily see, even from these decidedly low-resolution pictures provided by the seller, it’s been gathering a huge amount of dust inside the open cabin. Basically, you almost can’t make up the gear shift pattern for the manual transmission because of the accumulation.
Calling out a price tag of $10k is a bit bold in this condition, but at least this CJ-5 will turn out as a fine project car if all other details are genuine. According to the listing, the little SUV is all original, hasn’t been modified at all, and only comes with around 44k original miles (almost 71,000 km) on the odometer.
Besides the “bikini” atmosphere, a future owner will also be greeted by a 258ci (4.2L) six-cylinder engine attached to that four-speed stick shift, but there’s no word if the motor will run or not. Judging by the state of advanced storage, we’d be willing to bet on the latter. One other thing to note before making a decision—those rather unattractive cloth seats look like something aftermarket to us.