Jeep CJ (1945–1986) — history, production and every registry record

The Jeep began as the US Army's quarter-ton reconnaissance car of 1941: the Willys MB and the identical Ford GPW, some 640,000 of them by 1945. Willys-Overland registered the Jeep name and in mid-1945 sold the CJ-2A, an MB with a tailgate, a side-mounted spare and a power take-off, to farmers and contractors. The CJ-3A of 1949 added a one-piece windscreen; the CJ-3B of 1953 a taller bonnet for the F-head Hurricane engine, and with it the design that Mahindra, Mitsubishi, Hotchkiss and Viasa built under licence for decades.

Kaiser bought Willys in 1953 and in 1954 sold the M38A1's rounded body as the CJ-5, which stayed in production for 29 years; the CJ-6 was its long-wheelbase version. American Motors took over in 1970, fitted its own engines, and in 1976 lengthened the CJ-5 into the CJ-7 — the model the Wrangler YJ replaced in 1986. The CJ-8 Scrambler of 1981–86 was a CJ-7 pick-up. Toledo, Ohio built every American CJ.

3 chapters, 1948 → today

1Willys-Overland: MB to CJ-3B (1941–1953)1941 – 1953 2Kaiser Jeep: CJ-5 and CJ-6 (1953–1970)1953 – 1970 3American Motors: CJ-7 and the last CJs (1970–1986)1970 – 1986

194819601975199020052025

11941 – 1953

Willys-Overland: MB to CJ-3B (1941–1953)

4 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTER

Bantam's prototype, Willys' Go Devil engine and Ford's production capacity produced the standardised MB of late 1941; Ford's GPW was built to the same drawings. The CJ-2A of 1945 (214,760 built), the CJ-3A of 1949 (131,843) and the CJ-3B of 1953 carried the L134 and then the F-head Hurricane four on the 80-inch wheelbase.

Registry records · chapter 1

Willys MB / Ford GPW1941–45

Jeep CJ-2A1945–49

Jeep CJ-3A1949–53

Jeep CJ-3B1953–68

21953 – 1970

Kaiser Jeep: CJ-5 and CJ-6 (1953–1970)

4 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTER

Kaiser's CJ-5 of 1954 came from the military M38A1 with a rounded bonnet and wings, an 81-inch wheelbase and, from 1965, the Buick-derived Dauntless V6 as an option; the CJ-6 stretched it by twenty inches for load space. Kaiser also built the M38A1 for export and the Forward Control FC-150 and FC-170 trucks on CJ running gear.

Registry records · chapter 2

M38 / M38A11950–71

Jeep CJ-51954–83

Jeep CJ-61955–81

Jeep FC-150 / FC-1701957–65

31970 – 1986

American Motors: CJ-7 and the last CJs (1970–1986)

4 VEHICLES IN THIS CHAPTER

AMC put its 232 and 258 sixes and 304 V8 into the CJ-5 in 1972 and lengthened it to 83.5 inches. The CJ-7 of 1976, on 93.3 inches, took an automatic transmission, Quadra-Trac full-time four-wheel drive and a hard top with steel doors; 379,299 were built. The CJ-5 ended in 1983 and the CJ-7 and CJ-8 in 1986, when the Wrangler YJ — a CJ-7 underneath — replaced them.

Registry records · chapter 3

Jeep CJ-51954–83