What am I looking at here? Jeep edition

I was looking at some property for sale and pulled up the county assessor's website to get a rundown on the tax situation and they usually take one picture of the house. Well this is the picture they took;

What kind of jeep am I looking at here? It almost looks fullsize? The marker lights are in the wrong spot, the hood is too wide. What is this thing?

Jeepster Commando

Commando?

edit: too slow!

Jackpot. Thanks!

4 minutes. Y'all are slackin. 

Holey Toledo, it's a Jeepster!

So when you are driving that you are going Commando?

Highly unlikely it's the pickup version. Most were 'wagons'. 

I had one as my first 'car'. Though I paid for half of it, my Dad really wanted it more than I. If it has the ex-Buick Dauntless V6, it will run really well. Mine had the 4 speed, which is really a 3 speed with a crawler 1st. You could also get them with automatics. They are long wheelbase (same as a CJ-6) so ride really well. They rust in the rockers, tailgate and cargo floor, mostly. The lift hatch also can rot around the glass, usually on the inside where you won't see it until it's too late. Commando specific parts are pretty hard to come by. These were worth nothing for decades, but suddenly are bringing decent money if they aren't garbage. 

The later, 'modernized' ones aren't as cool IMO.

In reply to ddavidv :

Was there any real difference between the pickup and wagon, other than the removable roof and a back seat?

The older ones are also pretty cool.

So, if you don't want the Jeep, I know somebody who may. It's me.

There is no difference other than the roof. You could also get them as a convertible, aka Jeepster, but those are really rare.

The 'old' Jeepster was a 2WD style toy; a regular convertible that looked like a Jeep. The Commando is a Jeep tarted up to look like a car-thing. Basically, an answer to the Bronco. It is the same chassis as the CJ-6, which is a long wheelbase CJ-5. I've seen way more Commandos (model designation C-101, I suspect because of the wheelbase) than CJ-6s. Ronald Reagan had a CJ-6 on his ranch and it still exists.

The CJ-8, aka Scrambler, did not share it's chassis with the CJ-6 as many think. It actually has a longer-yet wheelbase.

In reply to ddavidv :

Just a couple of corrections from someone who has owned more LWB Jeeps than you can shake a stick at:

While the early CJ6, which was based on the military M170, had 101" (ish) wheelbase, the CJ6 in the intermediate years after AMC bought Jeep was 103.5" WB to accommodate the AMC inline sixes, which is the same WB as the CJ8 Scrambler (The CJ5 was stretched the same amount for the same reasons, as was the Jeepster when it became the "Bull Nose" Commando).   The frame was longer behind the rear axle, however, giving it the "Tail Dragger" look.  There were other differences between the frames, but those were based on model year changes in the mid '70s.

The Jeepster/Commando has a frame all its own AFAICT.  They are boxed, and a very different shape than the CJs, and not directly interchangeable. 

*There is much much more to all of this, but I am trying my best not to get too far into the weeds here.

I will update this post later with photos, but I'm on a different computer right now, and don't have photos of my CJ6s and Scramblers on this machine.   I am not quite sure if I have any photos of my '67 Jeepster Convertible with the factory continental kit and dealer installed "Jeep" Ramsey winch anywhere but possibly in a physical photo album somewhere.

In reply to iansane :

So uh, if you don't want to buy the property, maybe you could buy the Commando instead haha. Such a cool find. 

@RussianWarship, "the more you know", LOL.  My info was based on memory (and we know how reliable that is) and a very quick look at Wikipedia regarding the C101's wheelbase. I know enough about Jeeps to be dangerous, but not an expert. I owned a 71 C101 and a 67 CJ5. Both those departed my life in the 1980s. I've sworn off Jeeps since then, though would probably buy a YJ or TJ if all of the ones around here didn't have perforated frames. Jeeps are like whiskey:  I know they are bad for me, but I still want more. 

In reply to ddavidv :

No worries.   I'm a bit of a LWB Jeep freak, and most of the stuff isn't common knowledge, just what I have gleaned over the years obsessing over them.

There was a Jeep dealer in my hometown,  so there were always a fair number of these things around when I was growing up, but in every liked them as a kid.

You can swap a CJ hood, grill and fenders onto them, though, which makes them a lot better looking IMHO.  
 

You can also do the similar swap in reverse, but I don't know why you would want to. 
 

Paris Van Gorder said:

In reply to iansane :

So uh, if you don't want to buy the property, maybe you could buy the Commando instead haha. Such a cool find. 

That picture is from the county assessor's webpage and unfortunately not reflective of the current state of the property. Everything is gone on the property but a bunch of the shadows left behind make me very curious about the previous owner. I'm thinking they would fit right in around here.

Does the title to the Jeep come with the tax sale of the house?

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

The older ones are also pretty cool.

I don't know why but all I can picture is Don Knotts driving this thing with the biggest E36 M3 eating grin you've ever seen.