Jeep History

A quick history of Jeep 4x4's and their manufacturer.

The Company

1953: Kaiser take over Willys-Overland. ? 1963 ? -->
1970: American Motor Co. (AMC) take over Kaiser Jeep.
1982-1986: Renault owned AMC Jeep (I remember this well because I worked for Jeep in those years as a parts counterman for a dealership & hated the way they set up their microfiche for parts. We also had to deal with the cars Renault made. It was a nightmare. 4wheeldrive.guide at about.com --> - Kern L. Napoletano).
1987: Chrysler take over AMC (and Jeep).
1998: Mercedes Benz and Chrysler merge to form Daimler Chrysler.

Early Years

1940: Jeep specification issued and prototypes built by Bantam, Willys-Overland and later Ford; see the Rifkind report.

1941-1945: Jeep MB, built by Willys- Overland and Ford, Willys 2.2L 4cyl side-valve engine.
Pictured is a 1942 Jeep MB.

1942: Ford GPA - Amphibious Jeep or Seep.

Civilian Jeeps - CJ

CJ2A: 1945-1949, first civilian Jeep.
Right, Chris Lewis' heavily modified 1947 CJ2A [7/'00].

CJ-3A: (a) 1948-1953
Right is a 1951 model - David Wallis [2/'97]

CJ-3B: (b) 1953-1964, one piece wind-screen, low wipers.
Note the high bonnet (hood) to clear the taller F-head (ioev) motor.

CJ-4: [ ? ? ? ]

CJ-5: (a) 1955-1969 one piece windscreen, high wipers.

CJ-5: (b) 1970-1983 low wipers. Terminated after the '83 year due to safety questions[MK].

CJ-6: 1955-1969 one piece windscreen, high wipers, 101" wheelbase.

CJ-6: 1970-1976 low wipers, 101" wheelbase.
1974 Jeep CJ-6 (right):
Many people believe that 100" is the ideal wheel base, 90" being a bit short, restricting load capacity and giving a choppy ride on-road, 110" restricting manoeuvrability off-road. Despite that, the CJ-6 was one of the less popular Jeeps. Terminated in 1976 after the introduction of the popular CJ7 [MK].

CJ-7: 1976-1986 S/T or removable plastic hard-top.

1985 Jeep CJ-7 (right) courtesy of Dick Salsbury [5/97] Last year was 1986 as the Wrangler YJ came in in 1987 [MK].

CJ-8: a 1985 CJ-8 or Scrambler (right) belonging to Alex Gephart. Last year was 1986 as the Wrangler YJ came in in 1987 [MK].

CJ-10.

1987...: Wrangler YJ [MK]

......

Military Jeeps

MC M38: 1950-1951 military, one piece wind-screen, low wipers. MD M38A1: 1951-1971 military, two piece wind-screen, high wipers. M151 Jeep (Mutt) and HMMWV (Hummer or Humvee) in Military Vehicles /Mil/Mil.html RST-V 2000...

Jeep Commanche

The Commanche is the ute (pickup) version of the Cherokee. This 1986 model is fitted with the V6 and automatic transmission.

URL:/4WD.html

Thanks to R.Walker, members of the Military Vehicles Club, [MK] Michael Kittleson and many others for background information.

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