1972 Jeep Commando for sale

Updated 12/30/10

1972 Jeep Commando for sale

Background:

I bought this Commando in 2002. For a few years, it was my daily driver. I always enjoyed driving it. It handles well. Unfortunately, it has sat neglected for the past few years, waiting for other projects to get done. I think that it is time for it to find a good home.

I have had this Commando "listed" for about a year, but have not actively pursued selling it (Craigslist/Ebay/etc). Rather, I have relied on word of mouth among Commando folks. Apparently, this site has been listed on one of the Commando boards and I have received several calls and emails in the past few weeks. As a result, I have updated the page and added some photos.

The two major concerns of the people who have contacted me are the condition of the engine and the amount of rust.

Concerning the engine, the buyer should purchase the vehicle with the thought that the engine may need to be "freshened up". It ran good for many years. Not real powerful, but we are located at 7500 feet. In the last few years, the engine seems to have lost power. This could be because it need a tune-up, or because it is getting tired. The engine does not seem to smoke. I have not driven it enough recently to know about oil consumption, but I don't recall that it was abnormal. I have a Jeep 360 engine that I bought to replace the 304. I was told that it was in good condition. I have pulled the pan, and it looks like one cylinder is slightly scored. It should be considered a builder.

I have added some rust photos. This is a Colorado car, so the rust is not nearly as bad as you would find in many states. The rocker panels were the only obvious exterior rust area. I welded in steel panels and coated the inside of the rocker panels with a liberal coat of Pro 15. I am not terribly proud of the workmanship, but most folks would think the work acceptable - some would freshen up the body work. I have added some photos that show the interior rust.

The rest of the bodywork was fairly good workmanship. The work was done in steel in 2004. Bondo was used to finish the metalwork. You can see some of the detail in the pictures below. In recent years some surface rust around the bodywork area appeared. I have ground the areas to explore that rust. It was surface rust that resulted penetration of the primer. The ground areas have not been finished. That is good news/bad news. The good news is that the buyer can see the work areas. The bad news is that the areas need some slight finishing work before painting.

Details:

Odometer: 83,292 (I believe this to be the correct mileage)
304 V8 Engine shows signs of getting tired and buyer may have to rebuild in the near future
I have a Jeep 360 that is in reasonably good condition, but should be considered a builder 360 (should be a drop-in engine conversion)
Turbo 400 automatic transmission (seems in good condition)
Power steering
Stock axles (front Dana 30 rear Dana 44 - think 3.73 ratio)
Stock transfer case (Dana 20)
Rebuilt drum brakes (have access to parts from J10 that could be part of a front disk conversion)
Tires are 31-1050R-15 BFG (almost full tread)
Rims are 15-8 American Eagle model 55 (including spare - roof mounted)
New Warn front hubs
New transmission mounts
New radiator
Central fuse block (see photo)
Speedometer has been rebuilt
Rebuilt front drive shaft
Rear axle is converted to full floating with Warn kit (see photo). It has lock-out hubs but it can be converted to full locked hub
New Alcan lift springs on both axles with new shackle hangers
Heater replaced with Vintage Air unit (see photo - great heater, AC not hooked up)
Headlights on relay
Con Ferr roof rack (needs painting and mounting is kind of crude)
Dual exhaust outside frame (a bit loud, but have Supertrapp muffles on end of pipes that makes it sound better).
Good quality radio with cassette, removable faceplate, and "OK" box type speakers (needs new antenna)
Aftermarket roll bar mounted on large pads welded to the floor/fender
New rancho RS5000 shocks
New fold and tumble rear seat (see photo)
Good front bucket seats (Chevy Astro Van - very comfortable - see photo)
Locking center arm rest/storage (see photo)
Extra gauges (see photo)
Raised rear fenders (all bodywork done in steel - see photo)
Rocker panels repaired with heavy sheet and liberally sprayed on inside with Por 15
Body in generally good condition. Needs paint. Some floor and minor tailgate rust (see photos).
Has very strong tow bar. Commando can be towed anywhere. The four locking hubs makes towing a dream.

All of the photos are thumbnail. Click on them to enlarge.

Photos showing rust:

This is a great project vehicle. It will not be a huge project to make it a good road vehicle. As of this writing, the engine runs rough because the gasoline is old. It ran fine before I parked it a few years ago, although it had lost some power. The power loss may be because it needs a tune up, but it could also be because the engine is getting tired. I have a lot of the original maintenance receipts from the previous owner.

I will not pretend that this vehicle was driven by a little old lady. The original owner was a rancher and seemed to do regular maintenance.

I have made every attempt to honestly represent this vehicle.

First $3000.00 offer takes this vehicle. Similar Commandos on Ebay sell for quite a bit more money.

Sold as is where is (Evergreen, CO)

Jim Shepherd

Evergreen, CO

jim@beltguy.com

303-478-3501