Had a '77 Chevy Blazer K5, loved it, no a/c, no power steering, super low 1st gear ( granny creeper gear) and headers. Great on gas, manual locking front hubs. Fabulous in the snow. So I figured, hey, let me go one better and buy a brand new Renegade in 1982, 6 cyl,v5 speed, position rear, no a/c, no power steering ($12,000).
Well I got stuck in front of my own house being an idiot driving through the plowed snow. Had to fire up the Blazer to pull it free. Learned a very important lesson about ground clearance being stringer than 4 wheel drive. But the big issue was the lack of heat, thought the t stat was out or no good, put in a new 195° but still limp heat. Then the distributer crapped out the first month. Then the carb went bad. I loved that CJ7 but what a pita. Kept it 20 years though.
Now I'm ready to try again, but not with that 2.4 or the auto.