1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

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Sangster
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Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:37 am

1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

Post by Sangster »

I found a 1984 2-door Cherokee Chieft FSJ for sale on FB marketplace that I'm going to check out, if it's still available this weekend.

Doing my research online, I can't find anything that confirms if these actually existed in 1984, as everything I'm reading is that the 2-door FSJ Cherokee Chief's ended in 1983.

Can anyone confirm?
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tgreese
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Re: 1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

Post by tgreese »

Maybe ask the seller for the VIN and decode it? They can leave off the last 6 digits of sequential serial number if they don't want to disclose a valid VIN. Or a picture? Either it's an XJ, or it's an '83, or Canadian manufacture... something. Or maybe a title swap (avoid!) Looking online, the dividing line between the SJ and XJ Cherokee at 1983 and 1984 seems pretty solid.
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Stuka
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Re: 1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

Post by Stuka »

From my understanding there were unsold '83s that were listed as '84s by dealers to make them not seem like unwanted old models. But the VIN still indicates it was an '83 (look for a D before the last 6 digits).
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Topic author
Sangster
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Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:37 am

Re: 1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

Post by Sangster »

tgreese wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:01 pm Maybe ask the seller for the VIN and decode it? They can leave off the last 6 digits of sequential serial number if they don't want to disclose a valid VIN. Or a picture? Either it's an XJ, or it's an '83, or Canadian manufacture... something. Or maybe a title swap (avoid!) Looking online, the dividing line between the SJ and XJ Cherokee at 1983 and 1984 seems pretty solid.
It's 100% a full size Cherokee Chief 2 door, not an XJ. So I'll check the VIN when I check it out.

Assuming it's one of those with a 1983 VIN but sold as a 1984.....should the title show 1984 or 1983?
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tgreese
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Re: 1984 Cherokee Chief 2 door?

Post by tgreese »

Legally, the title has to match the VIN on the car. You'll have to decode the VIN. As per Stuka's comment above, these are '83s sold as '84s by dealerships. This seems unlikely to me since it misrepresents the vehicle, though dealerships maybe could get away with it. If it were true, the Jeep would still have an '83 VIN. Official year of production is coded in the VIN.

Back in the '60s, Jeeps had no year-identification in their VIN, and these Jeeps were sometimes given registrations with their year of sale. In 1972, Jeep changed their VINs and since then every VIN has a year-designation. Homologating the SJ for '84 would have been expensive (considering the emissions and safety laws), and the Corporation would not have. Especially since they wanted to sell the XJ for 1984, not the SJ.

I'd never say never when it comes to Jeep stuff like this. However, I would 100x more suspect something fishy with the title than believe that Jeep actually gave these Jeeps a 1984 VIN. JMO.
Tim Reese
Maine beekeeper's truck: '77 J10 LWB, 258/T15/D20/3.54 bone stock, low options (delete radio), PS/PDB, hubcaps.
Browless and proud: '82 J20 360/T18/NP208/3.73, Destination A/Ts, 7600 GVWR
Copper Polly: '75 CJ-6, 304/T15, PS, BFG KM2s, soft top
GTI without the badges: '95 VW Golf Sport 2000cc 2D
Dual Everything: '15 Chryco Jeep Cherokee KL Trailhawk, ECO Green
Blockchain the vote.
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