Did you ever regret selling a car? We’ve all done this before. Sometimes, the feeling is so bad you spend years waiting for it to pop up in the classifieds. Well, David Collins sold a Jeep so rare that he tracked down the new owner in Little Silver, New Jersey, and is repurchased it for the second time.
When it comes to Jeep, Dennis Collins is your go-to guy. He’s built an empire as an American entrepreneur servicing these outdoor SUVs at his shop, Collins Bros Jeep. He’s also an avid car collector and spends a good chunk of his time flipping old classics for profit.
“We’re going after a 1977 CJ-5 Renegade Levis Edition Black V8 super nice Jeep that we sold 16 years ago.” Collins revealed in one of his more recent videos.
Ever heard of Manny Khoshbin’s Hermes Edition Bugatti Chiron? As you’d imagine, designer-clad cars didn’t start recently. Back in the 70s, Jeep had a similar deal for its CJ trim. In collaboration with American clothing company Levi Strauss & Co., the Levi Edition CJ’s came with amazing tan or blue upholstery that featured Levi buttons.
According to Collins, they had this car 16 years ago at Collins Bros Jeep, and it was featured on a lot of websites and car magazines. At the time, the rare Jeep had 14,850 miles (almost 24,000 km) on the odometer (it currently has 39,650 miles, which is almost 64,000 km). Collins' special Jeep Levis hasn’t changed hands since. The current owner got the 1977 CJ-5 Renegade Jeep from Collins’ dad in 2006.
Under the hood, it packs a naturally aspirated AMC 304 V8 cubic-inch V8 good for 115 hp (117 ps) and 220 lb-ft (298 Nm) of torque. It has a Borg Warner T-18A wide-ratio 4-speed manual transmission. This model had an estimated curb weight of 3,130 lbs (1,420 kg) and a towing capacity of 2,000 lbs (907 kg).
According to Collins, the 1976 and 1977 versions of this off-road SUV are the most difficult to restore because they are proprietary items that are one year only.
The owner took great care of the Jeep. It’s still in immaculate condition and still dons its original decals on the engine bay. It was even registered in New Jersey as a historical vehicle.
“Jeep didn’t like to paint these black because it showed all the weld marks and all the rivet marks, and you could see them,” Collins revealed, before finally striking a deal off camera.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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