If there’s one three-letter combination that’s seared into the brain of every American car enthusiast of a certain age, it’s SBC, which stands for Small-Block Chevy. Ever since it appeared on the scene in 1955, this compact cast-iron marvel has found its way under the hood of just about every RWD car you can think of, whether Chevrolet put it there, or someone else did. And the most common displacement is also a well-known number: 350 cubic inches. One of the cars we’re going to look at today has had a 350 small-block since day one, and the other recently acquired one.
I got a little silly for most of you yesterday, it seems. But in fairness, I did warn you that we’d be venturing out into left field a bit this week. The gigantic diesel-powered extra-wide Studebaker was polarizing, but even with its absurd looks and even more absurd price tag, it managed to pull off a win.
Thanks to those of you who identified the engine in the other choice as a Studebaker V8. I should have known that. Several of you had ideas on how to finish its front end in a more attractive fashion, and I have some ideas of my own too. As it sits, it looks like one of my old attempts at customizing model cars by cutting two kits up and gluing them together, but I can see a way to make it work. Is it worth doing? Absolutely not, but it’s fun to think about.
Today’s choices are downright tame by comparison, but they’re both rarities. One is quite possibly the least attractive vehicle ever to carry the Jeep name, and the other is also pretty ugly, but iconic. And both have Chevy 350 V8s under their hoods. Let’s check them out.
1972 Jeep Commando – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Muskegon, MI
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The original Jeepster, way back in the Willys-Overland days, was an attempt to bring a more car-like vehicle to the starkly utilitarian Jeep lineup, and it turned out to be a really cool car. It only lasted about three years, though, before Willys shelved it. In 1966, new Jeep owner Kaiser brought the Jeepster back, this time on a 4WD chassis and carrying the name Jeepster Commando. When AMC acquired Jeep in 1970, it took the Jeepster concept and basically ruined it. Now called simply the Jeep Commando, the new version had an elongated nose to fit AMC’s inline six engines, and a new and hideous grille that looked like a Tonka toy of a Ford Bronco. This ’72 Commando somehow makes the botched nose job look even worse, with its gigantic tube bumper that sticks out a foot from the front.
This Commando would have come from the factory with either an inline six or an AMC 304 cubic inch V8, but for the last five thousand miles it has been powered by a new Chevy 350 crate engine, probably with a four-barrel carb and probably making somewhere around 200 horsepower. It’s a big step up in ease of maintenance and parts availability from the old AMC engines, but I understand if purists are upset. I don’t know for sure what transmission is in it, but I think Jeep was using the GM Turbo 400 at the time. It all runs and drives just fine, according to the seller, who says it’s “dune or trail ready.”
The four photos of this car you see here are the only four photos in the ad, and they’re not much to go on. This is the only view we have of the interior. If that rip in the driver’s seat is the worst of it, then I’d say it looks pretty good, but more photos in the ad can never hurt. You get something like 24 spaces for photos; why not give us a better look?
The outside, apart from the AMC grille and the terrible front bumper, looks pretty good. It has a little rust here and there, but for this part of the country, it’s nothing. The paint is even still shiny in most places. It has nice slotted mag wheels with 35-inch tires on them that give it a good stance, and it comes with both the hard top and a soft top. And of course, you can drive around with no top at all, which is a feature more modern SUVs should bring back.
1977 Checker A11 Taxi – $4,850
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Caledonia, MI
Odometer reading: 99,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Checker is unique among defunct car brands in that most of its production was never sold to the public. The bulk of Checker cars were built to be used as taxicabs, starting way back in 1922. It wasn’t until 1960 that Checker offered a model for sale to consumers: the Superba, shortly thereafter renamed the Marathon. You might think that this is a Marathon, but it is in fact an A11 taxicab model, special-ordered by a Checker dealer for his own use in 1977. The A11’s design is based on the earlier A9 taxi, which dates all the way back to 1956, and barely changed at all until the last one rolled out of the factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1982.
Earlier Checker taxis used flathead inline sixes built by Continental, but the firm switched to GM engines in the mid 1960s. In 1977, three Chevy engines were available: a 250 cubic inch inline six, a 305 small-block V8 with a two-barrel carburetor, and a 350 with a four-barrel that put out 170 horsepower, not bad for the malaise era. This one has the 350, and a beefy Turbo 400 transmission. It runs and drives very well, the seller says, and it has had a lot of recent work done to the cooling system and brakes, among other things.
A11s, and Marathons for that matter, are anachronistic and utilitarian inside, but it gives them a sort of timeless charm. This car could be any age, really, except for the obviously ’70s Chevy steering column and wheel. Basically the whole interior is black vinyl, which isn’t the most comfortable material around, especially in the summer. But the ad also mentions a new air conditioning condenser, which gives me hope that the AC actually works.
You’d expect a Checker cab to be yellow, as most of them were, but this one is painted in almost-but-not-quite Forest Service Green. Could it be that Smokey the Bear was moonlighting as a cabbie at one point? Only you can prevent forest fares, after all. The seller suggests painting it yellow and renting it out as a movie prop, but I think that would be a shame. I like it exactly as it is, rust, dents, and all.
Hopefully today’s tamer offerings are a little more to your liking. We have only one more Showdown this week, as I believe we are off on Friday for the Juneteenth holiday, and I’m trying to decide how crazy to get tomorrow. I have some ideas. Until then, pick the 350-powered ’70s machine you’d rather drive off into the sunset in.
The Checker makes me want to crank Offspring and Bad Religion so I can go make some Crazy Money.
The vote is tied at 115 to 115 as I am writing this, which seems right to me because I think these are equally cool. This is definitely a “both” day for me – these are damn cool vehicles for the asking prices.
I voted for the Checker. For me, the biggest reason was that I really like the color. This is a good color for just about any car, but it looks spectacular on this thing. Plus, the Checker looks like it is in slightly better condition than the Jeep, and it seems to have a lot of new parts. I want this car.
I dunno why exactly it makes me think like this, but I went Commando (hey-yo!) because they put those BFG Mud-Terrains on it.
I have to imagine if you’re putting a new-ish crate motor and 35 inch BFG’s onto a vehicle, someone actually cared and it should be decent.
YMMV, of course.
Slot Mags for the Win!
I’d love to drag and drive that cab
Unlike yesterday, I’m tempted by both. I grew up around Checkers and they are quirky-but-honest cars that were designed for repairability, unlike cars of today. But at the end of the day I am a Jeep guy, and a Commando, even the ugly later ones, has been on my list of Jeeps to own at some point in my life.
I voted for the Jeep. I daily drove a 70 commando for a few years (30-ish years ago) and know what I am getting into. There may even be parts and a tailgate still, in my MIL’s garage. I am sure I could drop the gas tank blind folded after doing it so many time.
The Checker is the wrong colour, and I hate painting. I’ll definitely Just Empty Every Pocket today.
I thought the opposite, I love the color!
I don’t dislike the colour. I expect any Checker I own to be vintage Taxi livery.
I tend to agree, but it’s nice to see otherwise, IMHO. The hilarity of getting flagged down by old New Yorkers would be so awesome, until it’s not.
I like the Checker, that Jeep looks like a car from Wreckfest with a crasher bumper.
Currently, my most off-roady vehicle is a Mazda CX-5, whose off-road capabilities are limited to grass fields used as overflow parking at a festival. So call me John Matrix and give me the Commando.
Hey Sully, remember when I said I’d kill you last…..I LIED!
I like the jeep better, but both are old cars in winter areas, so I’m wary of what the runt underneath looks like
Oooh, Checker cab.
Maybe as a bit of fun, since VW has none, you repaint it in the Harlequin pattern with each panel different.
The Checker is cool but I’ll go with the Jeep. I’m not really a Jeep guy but that looks like fun and I’m a sucker for the ol’ tree-fiddy (I have 4 already).
I’m pretty indifferent to both of these, but since I’m forced to choose, give me the Jeep, I guess.
I’ll go with the Checker, always wanted one.
Both?
Yeah, gimme both.
“No, honey, trust me! They both run and drive this time!”
I wouldn’t be upset with either but I voted for Checkers
The Checker is rusty around the back and weirdly jacked up, too. But I like it. Instead of using it as a movie prop (let’s be honest, it’d be the one that falls off the bridge and explodes in an action movie, and…just no.) I would rather either level it out and keep it as-is, or embrace the Pistachio and the rear height, jack up the front with a tube axle, make the 350 a hot 383, slicks in the back, skinnies up front, and go B-Gas drag ‘n drive. Call it “Fare-ly Fast.” Or maybe “Checker’d Flag.” Oooh, how about “Checkered Pass!” What other good Gasser names are there for a Checker?
As I’ve said before, the local off-road scene doesn’t suit my tastes or the kind of people I want to hang out with. Too much punisher flag, mud, and cheap beer. Great west coast trail rig if that’s what you want.
Is it “jacked up” or is that just the natural ride height without load (passengers) in the back?
I don’t think that’s where a
Checker normally sits, no, looking at pictures. This one seems to have helper springs or something. It’s raked like a late ’60s Pro Stock.
There’s too much truth in this statement. I grew up out west and always pine after these fun old off-roaders based on my experience exploring trails in wide open places with hardly anyone around, but the crowds I’ve seen in local off-road spots are not the types I want to be around these days.
Oof. It’s Day 3 of Farm Implement week on the Showdown. I’m too young to be nostalgic for these and too conventional to give up things like basic emissions controls.
The Jeep looks like something a sun-cooked anti-gubmint extremist has been driving to and from his Kingman Arizona doomsday bunker ever since he thought Obama was comin’ for his guns back in oh-eight.
So Checker for me.
I voted for the Jeep, but I’d make sure the frame isn’t rusted out before handing over the cash.
Either would be a hoot, but for the sake of headache avoidance in the form of being able to find parts without drawing a pentagram on the floor, Jeep.
Not driveline parts, mind. You can get those in a box of Cracker Jack.
The Jeep seems more fun. I already have plenty of on-road conveyance so the Checker really doesn’t check any boxes for me.
A rusty old Jeep or rusty old taxi for $5,000? Neither for me. Just far too many useful modern cars in that price range. (Or multiple cool motorcycles)
They would have to have one less zero to interest me.
That front bumper will give me room for about 24 big Hella lights.
That’s Hella Lighting for ya.
That oughta hide that grille.
You could hide a whole smart car on there with 24 Hella lights on it.
going Commando, and letting it all hang out. Buuuut seriously, folks – I honestly don’t think it’s all that ugly, and it would be kinda fun to wheel around in that thing. I can’t say the same about the Checker. I mean..it’s fine, but I have as much nostalgia for these things as I do for an old GMC city bus (don’t tell Mercedes)