While it’s not a jeep in form, it certainly captures the spirit of a jeep in function. Two alternators, three batteries, and a host of features make this an unusual vehicle.  The most recent cheap jeep was launched in 1974 for the purpose of desert and mountain travel, not unlike the way original mountain bikers back in 1976 utilized old tough schwinn bikes to tackle the mountains.  It’s singular purpose –the next ghost town or bust — was a cheap, but dependable vehicle capable of on road and off road travel for thousands of miles over the period of a week.  This vehicle is still used and images and video from 2009 can be found on the website along with links to all the places these intrepid adventurers have visited over the past years (scroll to the bottom of the homepage). View the video below to learn a little bit about the unusual features of this vehicle (or go to their video page).

Steve Ricketts writes on the westernghosts.com website,  In 1974, I acquired a 1966 Pontiac convertible from another customer.   This time the price was $75.00.   Like the Chrysler Imperial, the Pontiac needed a lot of work.   After extensive engine repair and a transmission rebuild and modification, it was able to be driven to my house where the first Cheap Jeep (Chrysler Imperial) was stored.  The transformation from old cheap jeep to new cheap jeep began.   The finished product is what you see today.

It is highly modified, and works better for our purposes than anything we could buy today.   It is easy to repair on the road, and parts are readily available.  It carries more than “regular” jeeps and is a lot cheaper to replace should it become necessary to abandon.   I would really hate to take a $30,000+,  four wheel drive (Blazer/Bronco, etc.) on one of these trips.   At the very least, the paint and body would be badly damaged.   It would also be next to impossible to repair in the field, and a very real possibility exists that I would someday have to abandon it.   After all these years of use and modification, I still have less than $800.00 invested in the Cheap Jeep…and that includes the original purchase price.”

Visit the Western Ghost Towns website here.