1973 renegade hood stripe

I am looking at a stock 1973 CJ5 renegade. It has the decals on the side of the hood but there is not black stripe down the center. Is that factory?

Mike

 

Most pics Ive seen have the black stripe. It may have been a deleteable feature, or may have been painted over at the dealer by customer request. Or at a later date by subsequent owner.
Kinda like the black windshield frames that got painted body color.

 

I guess the a better question would be how do I identify a real 1973 Renegade?

Mike

 

Renegade paint code on the VIN plate. Plus all the expected features - solid back panel, factory roll bar, V8, gauges, etc etc.

 

Sounds like my jeep it has the options and no tailgate but the paint code sticker is missing.

 

What style VIN plate does a '73 have? If it's like a '74, the VIN plate will have the paint and trim code. http://oljeep.com/gw/74_tsm/VehicleIdentification.pdf If it's like a '72, there was a metal foil paint and trim plate on the passenger side firewall.

Realize that the Renegade package for '73 included lots of items that were duplicated on the regular option list - HD springs and shocks, HD cooling, HD alternator, HB battery, gauge package, solid back panel, V8 engine ... if you can find the dealer brochure for '73 online, it will list all the equipment included in the package. It's intentionally a long list.

JMO - if you have all the equipment in the package, you may as well call it a Renegade. AFAIK the only Renegade feature that was not on the regular option list was the body-color roll bar. The Renegade would have the special body color and stripes, special wheels, but the wheels were available over the parts counter - so those could be added at sale time. You could also look under the dash for the original color. If it's not one of the 999-code colors, then it's not a Renegade - at least for '73.

 

Okay- I have person trying to sell me a 1973 CJ5 that he says is a renegade. It has low miles and has the stripe on the side of the hood but no black stripe down the middle. The paint code is 490 on the vin plate and it has no tailgate and has the renegade wheels.

Was there a renegade CJ5 with Butterscotch gold in color?

Thanks

Mike