'76 Cherokee Chief - Good Deal?

[Gordon gekko]

Hey all! New to the forum and first post (mods, I hope I put this in the right section).

I have been lurking for a while now, mainly interested in Waggys, but last night a '76 Cherokee Chief S came up locally and I'm not sure it's a good deal. So I thought I would throw it out here. All opinions welcome.

I talked to the owners roommate, and he is asking $1700, but indicated he would go down for quick cash. He is the third owner for about a year, and the last owner had it for 25-30 years.

Looks pretty much stock with 53K on the odometer. Pretty sure it's 153, but who knows. I managed to go by and look it over quickly and snap a few photos.

It has the V8 quadra-trac automatic. Leather interior. Engine started up quickly and sounded good. Didn't have time to actually take it for a spin, but the sellers roommate was more than willing to.

Pics.





Up in the drivers side front wheel well.



Liftgate has a few spots that have rusted through and been bondoed.


Rust along the passenger rear wheel. Looks like some fiberglass work inside the wheel well.





I thought the interior looked pretty good. All original including the carpet. Drivers seat is separated along the seams. Back seat looks almost brand new. Headliner has a few gouges that had been touched up, but no cracks. No rust coming through the floor that I could detect.

Tires have enough left to get to the tire store.

Again, any comments/thoughts other things I should consider much appreciated.

[kyamcalvert]

Welcome



About the price, that is all subjective. Personally, I'd start off offering 500. Then try waving a thousand in cash in front of his face...

[SnowShoe]

Originally Posted by kyamcalvert

Welcome



About the price, that is all subjective. Personally, I'd start off offering 500. Then try waving a thousand in cash in front of his face...

X2...rusted wheel flairs on a wide track are difficult to repair...additional cancer reduces the value as well, and this rig has some. I would sugest a fair price is somewhere south of $1200. (but thats because I can handle the rust you've shown)

[Cherokee Man]

I'd like to point out that is not a leather interior, it's vinyl. Also the dashboard switch for the tailgate glass is missing. It is likely missing because someone screwed around with it for so long and then gave up. So you can count on spending a few days getting the tailgate to work again.

Engine bay looks decent, though. I think $500 offer is a little insulting and you run the risk of making the seller mad enough to not sell it to you at all. It's still a good buy at $1000 but to go higher than that I'd need a closer inspection.

[amcpsycho2]

Welcome from Wahoo,Nebraska!It looks like it might make a good start to the addiction,I'd offer less as others have said.I was wondering what's up with the metal fuel line with the coupler in it,running across from the master cyl toward the air breather???Good luck,looks like there's some issues to deal with.

[threepiece188]

I have never seen a Quadra-trac emblem like that before!!!

The Cherokee was available with either a "Chief" or "S" trim packages. There is no "Chief S" trim package.

[janie]

Welcome to the forum. Rust issues are always a concern, and so much is contingent on how far you want to take this rig. Full restore or something to bash as a weekend warrior.

I'd go back again for a closer inspection and test drive. If the rust is pretty much limited to what's in the pic's and she drives out fine, $1000.00 - $1200.00 is fair.

Good luck!

[Gordon gekko]

Thanks for the pointers. I'm feeling like I have a better handle on price range now.

Going to go by on Monday and take a closer look/test drive. Anything in particular on the Chief that I should be looking for? My main concern is the rust and I'm going to look that over very well.

Thanks again.

[fulsizjeep]

Drive it. Don't be fooled by the "leather"... It is vinyl. I would start at $700 and see where it goes. The tailgate window switch is missing from the dash. If the window does not go up and down from the rear gate switch, I would start at $600 and tell why.

[Gordon gekko]

Yeah, Cherokee Man pointed out the vinyl. I'm actually just glad the interior is as intact as it is.

A couple of you have noted the tailgate window switch, I'm pretty sure it was there, just hanging loose under the dash.

[76FSChief]

As mentioned I think he is asking too much for what it is.