So, just what are we looking at here?

https://www.gcsurplus.ca/mn-eng.cfm?snc=wfsav&sc=enc-bid&scn=209826&lcn=355669&lct=L&srchtype=&lci

A 1983 Jeep for sale on a Canadian government auction. As pointed out to me by my friend Eric, it's being sold from the base that houses Defence Research and Development Canada. I figure it's either someone's pet project with access to fun instrument panels and random parts - or it's a development vehicle. Looking at the pics, it's a whole lot more than just a Jeep with some bolt-on bits.

Who can identify, well, anything? Is that a turbo engine with a blow-through carb? The ad says it's a Buick. Hydraulic ram steering? Independent suspension all around, that's easy enough to spot.

More pictures at the auction site.

that alone speaks volumes

I just realized this is the rear axle. So he's got hydraulic rear steer.

Buy it and tell us all about it.

You could get the old 225ci oddfire Buick V6 with a draw-through carbureted turbo setup from '78-'82 and that's what that looks like, and the N/A 225 V6 was a pretty popular swap in Jeeps. That's what I'm guessing it is, the old Regal Turbo Coupe engine in a Jeep. Not the most powerful engine, like 190hp, but in a Jeep I'm sure that's enough.

That rear diff looks like it has a PTO off of it too. Not portal hubs, I wonder what they are? All front stuff? I know you can find blow through carb info on the Buick V8 stuff that eventually formed the basis for the Land Rover V8's.
It's weird and I want you to buy it.

wonder what axle

I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with this Jeep just looking at dials and pushing buttons to see what they do.

I wonder if the guy who ordered all this stuff is still alive.

Love all the unmarked black pull-knobs. Imagine driving it down a dirt road at 20 mph and very tentatively pulling each of those knobs. Enough reason to get it right there.

mazdeuce wrote: That rear diff looks like it has a PTO off of it too. Not portal hubs, I wonder what they are? All front stuff? I know you can find blow through carb info on the Buick V8 stuff that eventually formed the basis for the Land Rover V8's. It's weird and I want you to buy it.

Maybe that diff came out of a six-wheeled truck.

kb58 wrote: Love all the unmarked black pull-knobs. Imagine driving it down a dirt road at 20 mph and very tentatively pulling each of those knobs. Enough reason to get it right there.

I think I'd be nervous about some of those just standing still.

Apparently needs some extra power for something?

those top 4 gauges look like pressure to each individual wheel brake. Maybe it doesn't have lockers but instead the ability to apply individual brake pressure. That might explain the unmarked knobs too.

Awesome.

I want that so much, even though I know it's probably not smart to buy a vehicle with a zillion tacked-on custom mods of mysterious purpose. The 4WS and skid plates alone are reason enough to buy it, but then there are all those weird mods to explore!

Edit: Also notice the custom twin-stick TC shifter.

In reply to jstein77:

Hydraulic pump? Like low-riders?

Needs more gauges.

This jeep is like something I would build if I had too much money and free time

jstein77 wrote: Apparently needs some extra power for something?

These bad boys take a lot of juice to run.

I think this is a CJ6 or Scrambler; it's longer than a normal Jeep. It would have had solid axles front and rear; this may be the first Jeep I've seen that was set up for off roading but has been swapped to independent suspensions front and rear.

The offset carb makes me wonder if they were right about the Buick engine, or if that's the AMC straight six under what appears to be a blow through turbo.

MadScientistMatt wrote: ...this may be the first Jeep I've seen that was set up for off roading but has been swapped to independent suspensions front and rear...

Must have been owned by a Toyota guy, swapped it to independent suspension so he could have an excuse to SAS it later

Someone needs to buy this thing because now I'm way too curious as to what all is going on here.

It would make a lot of sense that this was set up to run a roof-mounted gun - look at the huge hydraulic lines going to the roof.

Hmm, big gun on the roof, independent suspension all-around and 4WS...I think what we have here is a DIY Halo Warthog

HUMVEE prototyping project?

I'm pretty impressed at how nice the frame is, so that PTO definitely didn't get used as part of a plow truck.

Because of the block's shortness, I'm calling it the old inline 4 with a turbo. Since Keith did not mention a second turbo, the motor has to be inline.

NickD wrote: You could get the old 225ci oddfire Buick V6 with a draw-through carbureted turbo setup from '78-'82

Who made it? Buick switched to even fire in '77.