New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

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Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

Gents,

Wanted to pop on and introduce myself. Recently acquired an '87 Grand Wagoneer from a mate who's parents owned it out in Washington state since it was almost new, hence extremely little rust and in nice overall condition, albeit with a few miles under her belt (200K). With that said, the engine was replaced with a reman unit around 100K ago and the tranny was replaced with a reman unit around 30K ago so the driveline is pretty stout and the rest of the rig is nice and original. She runs and drives well although I've got a list of jobs to attend to such as replacing the sagging headliner, sorting a very minor exhaust leak and just a general tune up and freshening overall.

In any case, I come from a pretty lengthy history of classic cars, mostly British and Italian, so this is my first foray into Jeep ownership and I have to admit I was shocked by how much positive attention she receives wherever I go, whether it be out to eat, the gas station (of which I understand there will be many trips to) or even to the barber, everyone loves this thing.

She's navy blue with tan interior and the slotted alloy/gold wheels as original. I like my cars original and unmolested so it'll be my primary M.O. to keep her as such, although if there are 'hidden' improvements which can be made for the sake of drivability/safety, I'm certainly all for them (for instance a Holley Sniper EFI setup seems like it might be worth the investment for more reliable starting when the temps turn frigid).

One quick question I did want to ask was what the original tire size is supposed to be on this rig. It has 235s on it now and I think Tire Rack shows a 215 or 225 as the two options, so I was thinking I might like to go back to what is closer to original (and of course, a whitewall!).

Anyhow, I look forward to learning about the Wagoneer, it'll be new territory for me for sure!

Regards,
Aaron
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dodgerammit
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by dodgerammit »

Most have swapped to 235s for ease of finding tire options. I know when I replaced mine, the tire shop said they only had 1 option in the original size. Hence, I decided 235s. Plus I like a good all terrain.
84 Grand Waggy-Radio Flyer (Garnet Red/3M Ebony Metallic woodgrain, with honey interior) AMC 360 :cry: 2004 4.8LS/Advance Adapter/727/242 D44/AMC20 Serehill tailgate and headlight harnesses :fsj: Ongoing thread-viewtopic.php?t=11897

92 Wrangler Islander 4.0/32RH/231 D30/D35 RHD

will e
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by will e »

Aaron, hello from Phoenix Arizona! It sounds like a really nice rig. And yeah, these old rigs are part of 'Americana' and will garner some attention. You'll learn to hear things like "My dad had one" or "I owned one but sold it". The body didn't change much over the almost 40 years of production so they span many generations.
81 Waggy 'WILL E' Retired
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Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. Yeah, I'm used to the "my dad/brother/cousin/buddy had one" from owning my Triumph TR6 for 20-odd years now :) I was just surprised how many people take note of the Jeep's presence since it's not *that* old, but yeah I do suppose those trucks are a pretty well-engrained part of Americana. In any case, I'm looking forward to ownership and will be back by here if/when any questions come up!

Regards,
Aaron

candymancan
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 pm

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by candymancan »

Yea i get a ton of people saying my dad owned one or i grew up with one lol its funny..

The thing i like are kids reactions.. i noticed alot of kids under 10 seems to be fascinated with it.. I think because it looks different then all the same looking cars on the road today..

Everyone thinks its from the 70s and are suprised when i say 90... Funny thing is its from the 60s.

225 isnt jard to find in SUV tires. Mastercraft or Cooper make 225 all terrains.. Have master craft on my 5.9 and 4.0 and cooper discoverer A.T on my wagoneer.

I only went to 235s because its a slightly bigger tire
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)
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deckroid
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by deckroid »

If the wheels are original, you can easily put 31 x 10.5 on it. The Cooper Discoverer AT or ATP are very nice tires. (I think they are only at Discount Tires though)
1984 Grand Wagoneer. V8 360 stock. Mostly original. Repainted 2018 with original Nordic Green Metallic (Flake).
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REDONE
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by REDONE »

Howdy!
If you want to keep it original, keep it waxed religiously! The paint from that era was bad, and after all these years, it'll only take a few days in the yellow southern sun for that clear coat to start going milky!

The Cooper Trendsetter is a common white wall in 235/75r15. It's a decent all-season tire known for its quality, low cost, and 80s/90s period correct look.
Image

They're available almost everywhere from BigO to Walmart, but I took that picture from Amazon (Sears installs Amazon's tires), and it looks like they nailed it to the ceiling in that pic, haha!
Again, welcome to the fray and looking forward to some pics!
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
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T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
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Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.

Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

So I heard that my Wag has a couple rather rare options; power sunroof and vinyl top, is this true?
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REDONE
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by REDONE »

I'm never seen a vinyl roof on an 87. To the best of my knowledge, I thought they only came on "Super Wagoneers" in the late 60s to mid 70s. I've seen exactly ONE 81 Brougham with a caramel colored vinyl roof the owner "swore" was factory, but no others.
79 J-10 (Honcho Mucho) KE0LSU
304/Performance Fuel Injection TBI/MTA1/SP2P/Magnum rockers
T18/D20/D44s&4.10s/33" Mud Claws
Grizzly Locker Rear
4" front spring drop, 5" rear shackle flip
Chevy style HEI (ECM controlled)
Dolphin "Shark" gauges in a fancy homemade oak bezel
3/4 resto, rotting faster than I've been fixing it.

Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

The top on mine sure looks factory and I think I saw someone else say they had a vinyl top on their '87 or '88 over in another forum but certainly no way to know what's truth and what's not on the interwebz, so to speak. Wonder if I can reference a period sales brochure to confirm whether the vinyl top was an option in the late '80s

Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

Here we go, read this. Apparently the vinyl top was a factory option from '85-'87

https://www.grandwagoneerbyclassicgentl ... agoneer-5/

candymancan
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by candymancan »

deckroid wrote:If the wheels are original, you can easily put 31 x 10.5 on it. The Cooper Discoverer AT or ATP are very nice tires. (I think they are only at Discount Tires though)

I got my cooper discoverer axt at national tire and battery... They were only 300$ (discounts) for 4 tires 15-75 or 70 -235 i believe they were.

Mastercraft is a cooper brand so same company.. There all terrains are cheap too and so far with 8 tires on two Jeeps i havent had any issues and they look good.
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L Limited 219k
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 I6 laredo 430k
1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer 155k
1976 Jeep J10.. 85k(repaired)

Topic author
WagoneerOwl
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 4:42 am

Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by WagoneerOwl »

I see Tire Rack has the Hankook Optimo white wall in both 225 and 235 size. Seems the 225 is correct for an '87 whereas the later rigs went to a 235?
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HowardT64
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Re: New Grand Wagoneer owner in Cincinnati

Post by HowardT64 »

Congrats!!! and Welcome to the madness :) Show us some pictures :)
2016 Jeep Patriot
"Faith"
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