I bought one today!

[Paulie]

She washes up nice! Soooo much dust on her.

Squeegeed, blew with gas blower and drove on higher speed road to dry off.

 

[CJ7Pilot]

Beautiful!

 

[Scramblin Man]

Looks great !

 

[Paulie]

Sans doors. It’s now comfortable to drive in hot weather and much more fun. I expect doors to stay off until mid October or so....

Sending her to shop this week for full inspection front to back. I hope it’s not a bad checkup.

 

[masscj2a]

Wow, it cleaned up nicely. Good job. How she run ?

 

[Paulie]

Wow, it cleaned up nicely. Good job. How she run ?

Really well. Fires up strong every time. Have been up to 60 mph with “normal” play in steering. Will see if we can tighten that up for the wifey.

I was worried that I might find issues after washing her and owning a few days but everything has been as expected or even positive vs what I thought I was buying. Driven a decent amount and no leaks on garage floor afterwards.

Only glitch so far was that the instrument lights were out on night drive yesterday. Didn’t know you can dim them (all the way down if you try) by turning knob. Good thing I got the original manual and warranty book. So only problem so far is my passenger running light is out

 

[Belizeit]

Say what ? No leaks on the garage floor ? Jeeps always mark their territory

 

[Paulie]

Well, I jynxed myself two posts up.

Tach gauge now fogged up...its beyond humid today but none of the other gauges are fogged. I have to conclude that some water dropped behind dash during the wash...

How common is that. How problematic? I searched “fogged” and “moisture”. “Fog” is too short.

 

[mchoward48]

Well, I jynxed myself two posts up.

Tach gauge now fogged up...its beyond humid today but none of the other gauges are fogged. I have to conclude that some water dropped behind dash during the wash...

How common is that. How problematic?

I live in south west FL so it’s super humid here, my gauges are fogged up in the morning, but when the day gets hotter they clear up. It’s not a serious issue unless you care about it cosmetically

 

[Belizeit]

I live down in the hot humid gulf coast. Very common. Just drive down the road with the defroster on and that should clear it up in 10-15 minutes.

 

[Paulie]

I live in south west FL so it’s super humid here, my gauges are fogged up in the morning, but when the day gets hotter they clear up. It’s not a serious issue unless you care about it cosmetically

I live down in the hot humid gulf coast. Very common. Just drive down the road with the defroster on and that should clear it up in 10-15 minutes.

That’s good to hear. Thanks, guys!

 

[wm69]

My gauges have always fogged up when it's humid.

 

[Paulie]

So she’s back from her checkup and I was pleasantly surprised.

Horn fixed
All fluids done
Needed both rear U joins
Rear brake job

It’s pricey to get all the fluids flushed (twice in some cases) and refilled but this isn’t so bad, IMO.

 

[CTJeeper]

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

With AMC in the 80's you could pretty much order a package, or order it how you wanted it.

You have a tach and clock, tilt, and an upgraded steering wheel that was usually seen on SR (Renegade trim) vehicles. Renegade trim, IF you got the package, consisted of rocker trim, white spoke wheels with center caps, courtesy lights under the dash, the fancier steering wheel, a black vinyl dash overlay for the gauge layout, and a few other odds and ends.

The Laredo came with leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel and grab bar, chrome grill and wheels, and rocker trim, along with a few other things.

That being said, you could order whatever you wanted, or delete whatever you wanted. You either have a base model that someone added tach/clock, tilt steering, white spoke wheels, and high back denim seats OR you have a Renegade that someone deleted the rocker trim and dash overlay. Unfortunately, no way to really tell without the build sheet (which if you get REALLY lucky, might be stuck on the bottom of the passenger seat).

I had a friend with a Renegade with chrome wheels and grill and a tach and clock (all Laredo options, but it was ordered that way) and dad ordered his base model exactly like he wanted it, and it had the same seats as my Renegades (and your Jeep).

So I wouldn't fret too much. What you have is period correct AMC. I don't see any aftermarket china garbage there. Very nice, clean Jeep, and without a build sheet I don't think anyone can prove it's all original, but I don't think anyone can prove it's NOT all original either.

As you can see by the paperwork attached, you could tell them what you wanted and they'd do it.

I have a question on the paperwork. I had to look 3 times to make sure what I saw was correct. Does the build sheet say 88 Jeep Scrambler?

 

[Scramblin Man]

88 designates Scrambler in the vin sequence.

 

[Paulie]

88 designates Scrambler in the vin sequence.

Correct. Here is the full interpretation of the VIN from original manual.

 

[CGC's CJ8]

Wow, that is a clean scrambler. I wish my project was that clean. I'm just happy to own one. Hope to start my build this winter and I will be sure to post pics. I will have a lot of questions. Congrats!

 

[Paulie]

Wow, that is a clean scrambler. I wish my project was that clean. I'm just happy to own one. Hope to start my build this winter and I will be sure to post pics. I will have a lot of questions. Congrats!

Thanks!

So far just fluids, a U joint and a fuel sender unit. Otherwise running like a top.

 

[Paulie]

And the passenger side badge is finally back on.

Took the time to take the old material complete off of badge and body.

Used a chisel on badge and 1000-4000 sand paper (wet) on body. Amazon 3m double sided tape product.

 

[chazman]

Super nice Jeep!