Car Hunter Bags John Belushi’s Old Jeep

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It’s not everyday someone tracks down and successfully buys the late comedian John Belushi’s old Jeep. The off-road rig has been a bit of a unicorn for collectors, but since the celebrity’s death in 1982, the Jeep has been hidden away from the public, with rumors of its whereabouts but nobody coming out and declaring it’s been found, until now.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. bought an extremely rare Mustang.

The Jeep has been sitting out of sight on private property in Fairfield, Connecticut. The owner came across it in Martha’s Vineyard through a friend who knew Judy Belushi and had purchased the Jeep off the widow.

According to the owner, it was sometime in the 90s when he looked at the celebrity-owned ride. Back then it was running and the friend let the guy drive all over the area in it. Later, the guy decided he wanted to buy the Jeep and he made a deal with the previous owner.

There was a plan to restore the Jeep, but like so many things in life, that didn’t happen. One thing led to another, and Belushi’s beloved old ride just sat in a garage for years and years, until Dennis Collins discovered it and set up a deal.

With his expert knowledge on classic Jeeps, Collins was able to ascertain that the Jeep had a different grille, the V8, and was a base model. It’s a little surprising Belushi wasn’t rolling hard in a Laredo.

Collins finds some of the options added to the base Jeep “odd,” like the chrome wheels. The car hunter seems to believe Belushi pulled some strings using his celebrity status to get the unique spec.

Apparently, Dan Akroyd bought a matching Jeep.

Ultimately, despite rusted out floors and rockers, Collins makes a deal with the owner and his buddies they like and everyone’s all smiles. Collins seems to have a knack of making people happy even as he turns a profit.

Check out Dennis Collins’ video about bagging John Belushi’s Jeep here.

Image via Dennis Collins/YouTube