Full Size Jeep Network

I have been missing my 81 Honcho lately and decided I needed a new manual trans FSJ in my life. I came across this 81 Wagoneer for sale. I've NEVER seen a manual transmission Wagoneer before. Plenty of Cherokees, but never a Wagoneer.
The plans for this Jeep are to turn it into a 4 door Wagoneer wide track. I've got a crunched 82 Cherokee that I will use as an axle and flare donor. I've always wanted to build one. It will get a small lift and 33" tires. It will be my dream Jeep. It runs so good! Stay tuned.

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Nice! 6 or 8 cyl?

I have seen one, and only one. It was a bare bones model that was sold to the forest service. I believe it was an '84, with a T176/208 setup.

They are certainly rare. I am sure this one will turn out amazing, as all your projects do.

8 cylinder 360. I was kind of hoping it would be a dog because I've got a good low mile 401 I was hoping to swap into it. But this thing is seriously quick for what it is.
It is bare bones no options except AC for some odd reason. Must have been an Arizona Jeep or something. No power anything, no tilt, manual rear window, seriously base model Wagoneer, but for some reason upgrade to AC. But I'll take it!

I can handle most everything on a FSJ anymore, but I am seriously stressing on the rear wide track fender customization. I might need to hire one of these guys that have done it before to come do mine.

Stuka wrote:I have seen one, and only one. It was a bare bones model that was sold to the forest service. I believe it was an '84, with a T176/208 setup.

They are certainly rare. I am sure this one will turn out amazing, as all your projects do.

You know, I do not see any Wagoneer emblems on it. What does the VIN say? It may be a 4dr Cherokee.

Although the rear tail lights suggest Wagoneer.

It has the rear tailgate Wagoneer placard. It also says Wagoneer on the title. But what would the difference in VIN be between a Wagoneer and Cherokee? I can check and see.

Do a search on Facebook for the Full Size Jeep (FSJ) Enthusiasts page . There is a guy named Greg Bauer that shows the process. I paid to have mine done with the other work.. because, well.. I was scared to cut it up myself. There, I said it!

Also can see what the shop did to mine in the 400+ pictures on my imgbox albums, link in my sig.

DustinLangston wrote:It has the rear tailgate Wagoneer placard. It also says Wagoneer on the title. But what would the difference in VIN be between a Wagoneer and Cherokee? I can check and see.

Vin decoder for 81-86: http://oljeep.com/gw/vin_81-86.html

Stuka wrote:

DustinLangston wrote:It has the rear tailgate Wagoneer placard. It also says Wagoneer on the title. But what would the difference in VIN be between a Wagoneer and Cherokee? I can check and see.

Vin decoder for 81-86: http://oljeep.com/gw/vin_81-86.html

Best way to know for sure is check the VIN.

But I am curious, what does the badge all the way to the right side of the dash, on the passenger side, read?

The AC unit is black, might be aftermarket or put it by the dealer or ?? My 81 had the same color dash and the AC unit matched the color.

will e, that badge just says Jeep. I had also thought about this being a dealer added AC package. But it is all Jeep parts, the compressor, condenser etc is all the same as my other Jeeps, it just isn't color matched to the dash.

Yeah, it still might have been ordered and the AC added later. I think the Jeep dealers installed Jeep A/C's.

What did the VIN tell ya? Curious minds want to know.

Was that style dash pad a wagoneer only design? I know my 79 cherk has a grab handle on the passenger side and not the pad.

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toothofwar wrote:Was that style dash pad a wagoneer only design? I know my 79 cherk has a grab handle on the passenger side and not the pad.

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I think 81 was the last year for the all steel front dash. It might have still been available on trucks past that, but I recall seeing one after 81-82ish.

will e wrote:... What did the VIN tell ya? Curious minds want to know.

The VIN would be interesting - it would have to be a type 15 in body style to be a Wagoneer. The type 18 4-door Cherokee was introduced in 1977 to fill the downscale part of the 4-door wagon line. At that time, the Wagoneer went upscale, with only high-end equipment like V8, AC, automatic and full-time on the regular option list. If you wanted a six or manual transmission wagon with 4 doors, you'd buy a model 18 ... at least in 1977. Interesting that a Wagoneer with down-scale options like his exists... maybe has something to do with meeting the CAFE standards for Jeep in 1982?

Hmmm. This combo does not seem that rare for early 80s Wagoneers in the Four Corners area. I have seen a few over the last 18 years. This area was also crawling with 401 FSJs too when I got here. What I did find a few years ago is a fairly rare Plain Jane 75 Wagoneer with 360/T18. Been a while since I went to check on it.

The foresters service was still ordering fleet versions into the 80’s, so it is likely to have started service there. Or it could have been an “extra” that went into regular distribution if it didn’t sell as a fleet model. I have seen an 88 that had a bench seat and bare bones options that was a service model, but not many.

If it is manual, at least you know you have a 208 tc and not the 228 or whatever was before that. And you are already ahead of those that do the manual conversion on our rigs for clutch, etc..

Well sadly I have nothing weird to report.
1JCNM15N6BT
1981, Jeep Wagoneer, 360 V8, 208 part time transfer case and 4 speed floor shifter.
All from the factory, all working flawlessly. I really have never had a Wagoneer that ran so good. But it desperately needs a new exhaust. I might have to do that first.

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DustinLangston wrote:Well sadly I have nothing weird to report.
1JCNM15N6BT
1981, Jeep Wagoneer, 360 V8, 208 part time transfer case and 4 speed floor shifter.
All from the factory, all working flawlessly. I really have never had a Wagoneer that ran so good. But it desperately needs a new exhaust. I might have to do that first.

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It may not be weird but it is cool! I can't recall ever seeing a stock 360 manual in a Wagoneer. Bring it to Ouray next year so we can all see it.

will e wrote:

DustinLangston wrote:Well sadly I have nothing weird to report.
1JCNM15N6BT
1981, Jeep Wagoneer, 360 V8, 208 part time transfer case and 4 speed floor shifter.
All from the factory, all working flawlessly. I really have never had a Wagoneer that ran so good. But it desperately needs a new exhaust. I might have to do that first.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

It may not be weird but it is cool! I can't recall ever seeing a stock 360 manual in a Wagoneer. Bring it to Ouray next year so we can all see it.

I can't believe with all the Jeeps I've built over the years that I've never come out to Ouray. I've always wanted to go and I live in Utah. I'm so close. I was even in Durango last week but just couldn't make time for a quick run up to Ouray.

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