An old friend of mine has I believe a 1965 Jeep Gladiator pickup in the garage stored.  It was a daily driver till about 1988 or so he's had it since it was new.  It's a 4x4 with v8, the body is near perfect and so is the interior.  It also has an original camper shell on it which it has always had so I expect the bed is perfect.  Anyway the wife wants it out so I could probably pick it up for around $1500 bucks.  I'm not a four wheel guy although it would be fun I suppose.  I have a family of four and a Ford x-cab pickup already.  I'm really torn it'll probably won't get used much.  I believe it only has 80 or 90k on it.  Any thoughts appreciated.  

I would buy it in a heartbeat!(and I would keep it stock too) I have a 79 J20 that I have owned for 23 years now and Gladiator is predecessor to it. They are very sturdy no nonsense 4x4 trucks. Except for grill, trim and drive train changes, Jeep used same body and chassis until 89 when the full sized pickup was discontinued. If it is a V8 it would be a Generation 1 AMC 327 (not related to GM 327) as it was used by Kiaser Jeep from 65 to 68 so 65 was first year for it in Jeep though engine dates back to 1957 with AMC introduced it in Rambler Rebel with Fuel injection. It was second faster car at Daytona speed run that year beat only by FI vette. Engine has a sturdy block with forged crank and rods not seen in modern V8's today because of cost. The engine has a unique bolt pattern on bell housing so a newer AMC motor will not bolt it (I would keep 327 anyway) ALso 65 was first year for V8 power Jeep truck which had only a flat head 226 cu 6 until 62 and a OHC 230 cu 6 from 63 to 64. 230 was base engine in 65 (its last year) with 327 option. It should have a T90 3 speed manual which is fairly sturdy and has a much deeper 1st, 2nd and rev gear than normally seen in a 3 speed making it viable in a truck. (it had deeper ratios than CJ's equipped with same tranny) On Tcase, it could have a Dana 18 but likely has a Dana 20 (Jeep was phasing Dana 18 out) They are easy to tell apart because the Dana 18 has front and rear output shafts offset to passenger side while Dana 20 just has front axle output offset.  

Wow you know your Jeeps, thanks for the input.  I'm leaning towards getting it.  Being in Los Angeles I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of it but it would be a nice camping/fishing truck if the whole family doesn't go.  If you can post pics here I'll try it's actually a nice looking truck.  It has the old school camper shell on it (1965) with a carpet kit in the old days kids rode back there.  Can't do that in CA anymore.  I was thinking it was an automatic but it may be a column shift.  I've seen it many times but never paid any attention never thought it would ever move again.  Who knows it could be my sons first car in a couple years.  

If it is a automatic it has the rare option of a THM400 as that was tranny they used with V8. (it had a special cast case/bell housing to mate to AMC 327 engine) It really is a very nice find and well worth twice the price if clean and complete. I would strongly suggest that you keep it stock for value and it will raise more eyebrows too driving it that way because those models are really rare today and even rarer complete and stock. Pre smog too which will fit into CA really well too and add to its value.  

I would add that to my fleet! I just sadly dropped my '73 J4000 at the junkyard yesterday (rolled it last year and walked away with just a broken rib) but I have 3 more to keep me from being bored with the Chev I'm temporarily driving (I actually have an '82 Spirit for daily driving, but miss having a truck and I had to haul a 5th wheel. The Chev 454 takes as much load as my 304 did before I rolled the truck)

  I have a '76 J10 shortbox (I'm getting a stepside for it) with J20 axles and my 304 with a 727/Dodge NP208 (RH drop), an '83 J10 with 4.2L, AW4, NP208J and my J4000's old rear axle (originally from another J20) and brakes off yet another J20 on the J10 front diff.
  Then there is the '84 J10 that you can see on virtualjeep.com (before I did the big lift) with a 4.6L stroker 6, AW4, NV241 roklok and J20 axles.  

A little update:  I stopped by today and took a look at it, it's a J3000 with a stock automatic.  There's some surface rust in a few spots but other than that it's very clean.  It has a push bar with a couple off-road lights.  The interior has a bench seat that looks original but it's very clean and still soft.  Forgot my camera I'll get a pic this weekend.  Oh 98k miles and it is a 65.  

What are the chances of adapting power disks to it?  I don't mind the no power steering but not thrilled with no power brakes.  

Being that this truck was built for about 30 years with little more than a name and trim change it would not be hard to adapt modern braking to it. The front axle though should be a closed knuckle design and it might be a bit more challenging to adapt disc brakes to axle. Even still drum brakes can do a good job when in proper order and properly adjusted weather that have a power booster on them or not. I once had a 66 chevy 3/4 ton with manual drum brakes and it had excellent brakes and better than most of the other trucks I have owned over the years.