Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (LJ)

In April 2004, eighteen years after the CJ-8 Scrambler went away, Jeep brought back a long-wheelbase Wrangler. It stretched the TJ by 10 inches between the axles and about 15 inches overall, and called it the Wrangler Unlimited. Owners call it the LJ. That gave a two-door Wrangler 2 more inches of rear legroom, 13 more inches of cargo space and a tow rating of 3,500 lb instead of 2,000. It sold for $24,995 at launch and lasted barely two and a half model years. Then it became one of the most chased Wranglers ever built.

THE SCRAMBLER'S WHEELBASE, RETURNED

The LJ's 103.4-inch wheelbase is almost exactly the 103.5 inches of the CJ-8 Scrambler it was reviving. The longer frame gets one extra crossmember, and the body grows behind the rear wheels. That stretch is why the rear overhang is the LJ's one real off-road compromise: Jalopnik's David Tracy lists a 27.7-degree departure angle, and the low transfer-case skid makes the belly the next thing to touch.

Mechanically it is a late TJ. The engine is the 4.0-liter AMC-derived straight six, rated at 190 hp and 235 lb-ft. Standard LJs got a Dana 44 rear axle with a 3.73 limited-slip and the Command-Trac NV231 transfer case with a 2.72:1 low range. The standard short-wheelbase TJ made do with a Dana 35 unless you ticked the right option boxes. Automatics used the 42RLE four-speed, and Jeep's 2004½ spec sheet lists only that automatic for the first LJs. For 2005, manual Wranglers moved from the NV3550 five-speed to the six-speed NSG370.

THE RUBICON UNLIMITED

For 2005, Jeep gave the long-wheelbase body the Rubicon drivetrain. The Rubicon Unlimited had Dana 44 axles at both ends with air-actuated lockers, the Rock-Trac NV241 transfer case with a 4:1 low range, 4.10 gears (Jeep's spec sheet says 4.11), diamond-plate rocker guards and LT245/75R16 Goodyear MT/R tires. You could have it with the six-speed manual or the four-speed automatic.

Jeep also built 1,000 numbered 'Sahara Edition' Unlimited Rubicons in 2005 to cash in on the film Sahara. All were Light Khaki, with a chrome grille, khaki tops, graphite Moab wheels, two-tone seats and a numbered dash badge. In Jalopnik's breakdown, the Rubicon LJ is the one that puts the whole formula together: TJ coil springs, a fully boxed frame and a wheelbase in the trail 'sweet spot', plus a factory locker on each axle.

WHY COLLECTORS CHASE THEM

Jalopnik, citing forum and sales data, puts LJ production at about 47,000 over the run, roughly 20 percent of Wrangler sales in those years. That isn't rare by Jeep standards. What made them collectible is that the LJ has no direct replacement. In 2007 the JK Unlimited grew four doors, a 116-inch wheelbase and about 350 more pounds. The LJ is still the only factory Wrangler that combines two doors, a long wheelbase, a coil-sprung solid-axle chassis and the 4.0 straight six.

Hagerty's valuation team says later TJs, 'and especially the Unlimited Rubicon, have been the priciest TJ on the market.' Jalopnik called the LJ the 'holy grail' of Jeeps. Unrusted, unmodified examples now command a clear premium over short-wheelbase TJs, while a clapped-out one is still just a TJ with more frame to rot.

HOW IT ENDED

The TJ family finished with the 2006 model year. Its replacements debuted at the January 2006 Detroit show. The JK two-door kept a short wheelbase, and the JK Unlimited replaced the LJ with four doors and a wheelbase about 13 inches longer again. The long two-door Wrangler was never offered again, and the TJ and LJ were the last Wranglers with the AMC-derived 4.0 straight six.