Jeep CJ
The Jeep CJ (or Civilian Jeep) was a commercial version of the famous Military Jeep from World War II. The first CJ (the CJ-2) was introduced in 1944 by Willys, and the same basic vehicle stayed in production through 7 variants and 3 corporate parents until 1986. In fact, a variant of the CJ is still in production today under license. The last CJ's, the CJ-7 and CJ-8, were replaced in 1986 by the reworked Jeep Wrangler.
CJ-2
Although it bore the CJ name, the CJ-2 was not really available at retail. Willys produced less than three dozen CJ-2 Agrijeeps in 1944 and 1945. It was very closely-related to the Military Willys MB, using the same Willys L-Head engine, but there were some changes. It had larger headlights, a side-mounted spare tire and opening tailgate, and an external fuel cap.
CJ-2A
Lessons learned with the CJ-2 led to the development of the first full-production CJ, the 1945-1949 CJ-2A. Like the CJ-2 and the Military version, the CJ-2A featured a split windshield. An early column shifter and floating axle gave way to a more modern gearbox early in production. In the end, 214,202 CJ-2A's were produced.
CJ-3A
The CJ-3A was introduced in 1949, and replaced the CJ-2A by the next year. It featured a one-piece windshield with a vent in the frame. A bare-bones Farm Jeep version was available starting in 1951 with a power takeoff. 131,843 CJ-3A's were produced before the series ended in 1953.
CJ-4
Only one CJ-4 was produced. It used the new Willys Hurricane engine and had an 81 in wheelbase. It was a test model, but was sold to a factory employee.
CJ-3B
The CJ-3B replaced the CJ-3A in 1953, the same year Willys was sold to Kaiser. It introduced a higher grille and hood to clear the new Willys Hurricane engine. The CJ-3B was produced until 1968 with a total of 155,494 produced, although the design was licensed to a number of international manufacturers, including Mitsubishi of Japan and Mahindra of India. Mitsubishi ceased production of vehicles derived from the CJ-3B design in 1998, but Mahindra continues to produce Jeeps today.
CJ-5
The CJ-5 was influenced by new corporate owner, Kaiser, and the Korean War M-38 Jeep. It was intended to replace the CJ-3B, but that model continued in production. The CJ-5 repeated this pattern, continuing in production for 3 decades while three newer models appeared. 603,303 CJ-5's were produced between 1954 and 1983.
In 1965, the CJ-5 and CJ-6 got a new Dauntless V6 from Buick with 155 hp. The company was sold to American Motors in 1970, and the GM engine was retired. AMC began offering two V8 engines - 304CID and 1964-1968 Tuxedo Park
CJ-6
The CJ-6 was simply a long-wheelbase (101 in) CJ-5. Introduced in 1955, the CJ-6 was never very popular. American sales ended in 1975. Just 50,172 had been made when the series went out of production completely in 1981. Just as in the CJ-5, new V6 and V8 engine choices appeared in 1965 and 1970.
CJ-7
The CJ-7 featured a longer 93.4 in wheelbase than the CJ-5. It was introduced in 1976 and 379,299 were built in 10 years of production. The CJ-7 featured a new automatic all wheel drive system called Quadra-Trac, and an automatic transmission was also an option. Other comfort features were an optional molded hardtop, and steel doors.
CJ-8
The CJ-8 Scrambler was a pickup truck version of the CJ-7, introduced in 1981. It featured a 103 in wheelbase and a pickup bed. Only 27,792 were built in the 4 years of production.
See also
