Classic Jeep might have been a headache to get to the trailer, but it was worth the work.
When people talk about an incredible barn find, this 1979 Jeep CJ-5 is just the kind of vehicle that they are discussing. This classic Jeep was restored and then parked in a dry, ventilated barn a few years later before sitting for 17 years. The host of the Drive Often on YouTube channel bought the vehicle sight-unseen, but it turned out to be a great move.
Classic 1979 CJ-5
We don’t learn this until the very end of the video above, but this 1979 Jeep CJ-5 was restored in 1996 and driven for a few years, before the owner had to move in 2001. The owner couldn’t take it with him for whatever reason, so he parked it in a horse stall of his parent’s barn, where is sat until the YouTuber bought it earlier this month.
When it was purchased, the buyer had never seen it in person, but he had seen the picture of the Jeep in the barn. The previous owner explained how it came to be covered in 17 years’ worth of dust, but that was all that the buyer had to go on – making this purchase quite the gamble.
Fortunately, he hit the jackpot on that gamble.
Freeing the Jeep
When the host of the video got to the barn, he found that the 1979 CJ-5 was still in the horse stall with all four tires flat. He hadn’t planned on that, so he had to hunt for an air compressor to fill the tires before it would roll out of the barn. His wife, who had come along to run the camera, pointed out that her car had a small compressor in the tool kit, so they used that to fill the tires with air.
Unfortunately, the compressor had to be plugged into the car, so it would only reach the front tires of the Jeep at first, but with the help of several guys and a come-along, they were able to roll it out of the stall far enough to fill the rear tires as well.
From there, they were able to easily push the classic CJ-5 out of the barn and up onto the trailer – hitting the road for home in Connecticut.
Quick Rinse
After getting the 1979 Jeep back to his house, the host gave it a quick rinse, at which point he revealed that the CJ-5 was rust free and very near perfect from top to bottom.In the end, this Jeep was a remarkable barn find – the kind that keeps the dream alive of finding amazing classic cars sitting, covered in dust in an old horse barn.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
