Ah, the 80s. You were so ugly, yet, for some reason, we can’t help but love you. The 80s is back, y’all. It’s in our fashion, TV shows, movies, and definitely in our car and truck taste. Think about it; all the big, brown, square trucks are back and cost 10x what they did new. The 80s rally cars are going for more money than anything with square headlights should. It’s gone so far as for us to want to make a 2021 Jeep Gladiator look like the old 80s Scramblers and Honchos. 

How can I turn my 2021 Jeep Gladiator into an old Jeep CJ-8?

I’m glad you asked. According to MotorTrend, a company called Rider Graphix has come to give you just such an opportunity. Their catalog has pages and pages of retro graphics packages to give you the look of a retro Jeep without any (most) of the unpleasantries of driving an old Jeep. 

The Jeep Wrangler and proto Wrangler (CJ) have come in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. The 70s and 80s graphics packages for Jeeps were easily the coolest part. There were models like the Golden Eagle that came in a few color schemes but regardless of paint color, the Jeep had gold wheels, “Golden Eagle” written down the side, and a giant eagle decal on the hood. Damn, it was cool. 

For some reason, this doesn’t appear to be an option the Rider Graphix offers. However, they offer a cool runner up for the Jeep Gladiator crowd; the Scrambler and Honcho decal packages. 

What is a Jeep Scrambler? 

If you don’t know old Jeeps, you might think it’s the cool concept Jeeps from the 2019 Moab Easter Jeep Safari, but you’d only be partially right. The Scrambler was an optional package offered with the early 80s Jeep CJ8, which is what the modern Gladiator is based on. 

It was essentially a longer wheelbase Jeep CJ with an added truck bed. The CJ-8 wasn’t super popular back in the day, and as a result, these old Jeep-truck hybrids have become increasingly collectible. So, when the 2020 Gladiator came out, people were hungry for this type of Jeep layout. The only problem is, it doesn’t look like the 80s at all. 

You might still have trouble finding the “Scrambler” or “Honcho” set in the catalog

The problem with Jeep not making these decal packs is that the terms “Scrambler” and “Honcho”  with the associated color schemes are trademarked properties of FCA (or I guess Stellantis now), and Rider Graphix can only make them for you as a “custom order.” 

The CJ-8 came in a wide variety of colors and now so can your Gladiator

If Jeep isn’t going to make them as a factory option, you might as well take advantage of the custom aspect and go wild with the color schemes. Rider Graphix offers a range of colors as preset packages, but again, the custom route allows you to pick whatever scheme represents the image you have of your Gladiator. 

The coolest part about the vintage CJ-8 scramblers is that they came in so many different color combos that you can keep it factory-style and feel unique. Seriously, if you look at old 70s and 80s jeep decals packs, it will blow your mind at how many variations were offered on a truck that barely a roof or doors.