Brief History: DJ Series

The Willys Jeep DJ series, or Dispatcher Jeep, was produced from 1955-1970 by Kaiser then from 1970-1984 by American Motors. The DJ-3A was produced from the CJ-3A body type with the L-134 engine. The DJ series was largely recycled using leftover jeep body styles and existing technology, making these jeeps inexpensive delivery vehicles. It came with either a column shift or floor shift three-speed Borg Warner T-96 manual transmission, which was the first since the CJ-2A to have a column shift. The DJ models were offered with many different body options including a soft top, hard top, or a full van body.

The DJ could also come in right-hand drive for postal delivery use. From 1959 – 1964 the Jeep Gala, or DJ-3A, was produced and marketed as a “fun car”, used in resorts in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and then later as the Jeep Surrey in the United States. The Surreys came in pink, light green, and light blue and the tops were striped using the same color as the body, with a matching fabric cover for the spare tire mount. DJ-A thru DJ-M became the Postal/Dispatch Jeep for most of America. Rural areas still used the Jeeps through 1984… Although rare, there are reportedly still Postal Jeeps in service today in a few areas.

The models of the DJ Series:

DJ-3A: produced 1955-1965, 4-134 L head engine, three speed manual
DJ-5: produced 1965-1967, Hurricane F head engine, three speed manual
DJ-5A: produced 1968-1970, Chevy Nova straight 4, two speed powerglide automatic
DJ-5B: produced 1970-1972, AMC Straight 6 engine, BorgWarner T-35 three speed automatic
DJ-5C: produced 1973 -1974 AMC Straight 6 engine, T-35 or M-11 automatic
DJ-5D: produced 1975-1976, AMC Straight 6 engine, 727 TorqueFlite automatic
DJ-5E: produced 1976, Electruck Electric
DJ-5F: produced 1977-1978, AMC Straight 6 engine 727 TorqueFlite automatic
DJ-5G: produced 1979 AMC Straight 4 engine, automatic
DJ-5L: Produced 1982, GM Iron Duke Straight 4 engine, Chrysler 904 transmission
DJ-5M: produced 1983-1984, AMC Straight 4 engine, Chrysler 904 Transmission

Sources:

Wikipedia.org

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Can anyone believe that in the hay day of constantly changing car shapes and innovation during the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s, Jeep didn’t change a single dimension or mounting bolt from my ’47 CJ2-A all the way to the 1984 DJ-Dispatcher. How do I know?

My pet CJ2-a began to have real steering problems. i had all the steering linkage and the gear box at the end of the steering column replaced the year before. Those parts had less than 100 miles on them. So, I checked her into a local 4X4 specialty shop asking them to see why the steering had so much play in it. The owner called me in to see for myself. He had the tires off with the frame about eye level. he gave me a piece of chalk and said, “make a mark anywhere on the frame.” I made several. He followed me, punching a screwdriver easily through the eggshell thin frame at each mark. I asked what could be done. He said, “Junk-it.” because all the used frames from the1940s were subject to the same deterioration. But I found an 84 Dispatcher with no engine very little rust and a heavy duty Dana rear end with much heavier brake shoes. Changing from right hand drive to American-side was easy. The holes are already punched. The dispatcher,of course, had no front axle, so Jeep bought a piece of scrap pipe that filled the void. It wasn’t too tough to find a CJ-5 front axle with disc brakes and the same heavy DANA front differential.

The postal mythology says that the post office NEVER wanted a Jeep. Therefore, they hired “consultants” to document all the shortcomings of the Jeep. One of those shortcomings that seemed unsolvable was the narrow base between the leaf springs. Jeep had always mounted the springs to the lower side of the frame which placed the springs so far inboard, the little truck had a reputation for rolling easily. Unflappable JEEP engineers set massive shackle pins at the eight points fastened to the outside of the frame widening the distance nearly 8 inches. For this and other reasons they welded the 4th side onto the c-shaped frame making it a much stronger square tube-box frame adding another cross-member and moving the gas tank from under the drivers seat.Jeep made enough improvements to sell Congress (if not the Post Office). In 1947 the CJ2-A was a lightweight truck built to be mass-produced and essentially disposable in war conditions. My 4 wheel drive DJ with bigger rear brakes, front disc brakes, wider base and a new CJ2-A metal body (all genuine Jeep parts)is a much better Jeep… although if our armed forces had paid in 1947 what I’ve spent on this one little truck we’d have never won the war.

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Comments

The Cars Of Leonard Cohen: Jeep DJ -Tennessee, 1970s - AllanShowalter.com says:

March 8, 2020 at 10:36 am

[…] Brief History: DJ Series by Rachel (Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog: March 14, 2012) [↩] […]
My $500 Postal Jeep Made It 400 Miles to Illinois but It Was Truly Miserable * Carinsurance says:

April 15, 2019 at 2:44 pm

[…] its puppy-like charm. It’s just a rusty little box on wheels that, since it first came off the old Studebaker assembly line in South Bend, Indiana in 1976, has wanted to do nothing more than serve. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of […]
Goin' Postal: 1976 Jeep DJ-5D says:

November 10, 2018 at 7:00 am

[…] information I’ve taken the liberty of presuming it to be a DJ-5D model which, according to KaiserWillys.com were produced for the U.S. Postal Service in 1975 and 1976. Although the seller’s […]
Rachel says:

July 2, 2018 at 9:41 am

Hi Teresa, please give Mike a call toll free at 1-888-648-4923 Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM EST or email mike@kaiserwillys.com and he will be happy to help! Have a great day!
Teresa Hobbs says:

July 1, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Hi, I just bought a 74 postal jeep dj5c I am looking for parts, it runs but the gas tank leaks and I would like to replace it. Do you know of a place where I can get one?
The Cars Of Leonard Cohen: Jeep DJ -Tennessee, Late 1960s - Early 1970s - Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen Considered says:

March 8, 2018 at 5:42 am

[…] Brief History: DJ Series by Rachel (Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog: March 14, 2012) [↩] […]
Randy Hinds says:

January 28, 2018 at 8:24 am

Can anyone believe that in the hay day of constantly changing car shapes and innovation during the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s, Jeep didn’t change a single dimension or mounting bolt from my ’47 CJ2-A all the way to the 1984 DJ-Dispatcher. How do I know?

My pet CJ2-a began to have real steering problems. i had all the steering linkage and the gear box at the end of the steering column replaced the year before. Those parts had less than 100 miles on them. So, I checked her into a local 4X4 specialty shop asking them to see why the steering had so much play in it. The owner called me in to see for myself. He had the tires off with the frame about eye level. he gave me a piece of chalk and said, “make a mark anywhere on the frame.” I made several. He followed me, punching a screwdriver easily through the eggshell thin frame at each mark. I asked what could be done. He said, “Junk-it.” because all the used frames from the1940s were subject to the same deterioration. But I found an 84 Dispatcher with no engine very little rust and a heavy duty Dana rear end with much heavier brake shoes. Changing from right hand drive to American-side was easy. The holes are already punched. The dispatcher,of course, had no front axle, so Jeep bought a piece of scrap pipe that filled the void. It wasn’t too tough to find a CJ-5 front axle with disc brakes and the same heavy DANA front differential.

The postal mythology says that the post office NEVER wanted a Jeep. Therefore, they hired “consultants” to document all the shortcomings of the Jeep. One of those shortcomings that seemed unsolvable was the narrow base between the leaf springs. Jeep had always mounted the springs to the lower side of the frame which placed the springs so far inboard, the little truck had a reputation for rolling easily. Unflappable JEEP engineers set massive shackle pins at the eight points fastened to the outside of the frame widening the distance nearly 8 inches. For this and other reasons they welded the 4th side onto the c-shaped frame making it a much stronger square tube-box frame adding another cross-member and moving the gas tank from under the drivers seat.Jeep made enough improvements to sell Congress (if not the Post Office). In 1947 the CJ2-A was a lightweight truck built to be mass-produced and essentially disposable in war conditions. My 4 wheel drive DJ with bigger rear brakes, front disc brakes, wider base and a new CJ2-A metal body (all genuine Jeep parts)is a much better Jeep… although if our armed forces had paid in 1947 what I’ve spent on this one little truck we’d have never won the war.

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admin says:

August 20, 2013 at 12:07 pm

Hi Tim, here is a link to Michigan Auto Appraisers. They should be able to point you in the right direction.
Tim Eaton says:

August 19, 2013 at 6:57 pm

need appraisal value of my 1970 DJ-5A with 54,000 actual miles on it,
so I can obtain title from secretary of state.

how can I go about this, vehicle is in Michigan and not driveable now.
Russ Davis says:

July 17, 2013 at 6:29 am

Saw a kinda rough lookin’ DJ in postal use in Texas in 2012. Would love to get my hands on an Electruck, heard someone is restoring one in Canada.
Js Rojas says:

November 23, 2012 at 10:51 pm

First time I ever heard of a 1976 jeep DJ-5E electric postal truck! can it be a classic electric vehicle?
B.W.Thompson says:

November 5, 2012 at 12:52 am

There are still a few of these used as postal trucks in Coralles, NM. I have a great memory of one that a friends dad owned, too. It involves 2 todlers starting it and bumbling down the dirt road with said friends dad running after us haha!!!
Duane Keisling says:

September 30, 2012 at 8:29 am

I just bought a Willys jeep yesterday and I am trying to figure out the model and exact year it was made. I found a plate on the firewall of the passenger sides with the numbers : 56337 23433. It was sold as a 1946 or 1948 at the auction where I bought it.
Could someone help me out with this information.

Thanks

Duane
Kent Waller says:

August 1, 2012 at 3:50 pm

I have a DJ-5D. Is there any way to improve the suspension?
Hugho90 says:

March 16, 2012 at 5:16 pm

When I started delivering mail in 1994, Ann Arbor Michigan, I had a Jeep Dispatcher for several years. They were in really poor shape by then, rust holes. It was the volume of mail that caused the proliferation of the roomier S-10 based LLV.
Randy says:

March 15, 2012 at 9:52 pm

I have a ’64 Surrey Gala. Hoping to restore it but parts are scarce.
Larry says:

March 15, 2012 at 1:17 pm

Our local post office here in Baird, Tx still has a DJ in daily service!
Mike says:

March 15, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Good article, my local postal delivery driver has a personal ’69 DJ, that he drives when the weather gets bad.
Dave Paschall says:

March 15, 2012 at 12:38 pm

loved the photo of my DJ2A you posted in the DJ series history page. I have been working on it and have changed out the suspension and it is beginning to look tough again and not a tired horse anymore. Attached is a recent photo, I am changing out the fabbed windshield to a fold down 2 piece and going to install original seats and etc, will send in more photos when I get it further along. Keep up the good work on your website, it’s the best thing out there for Willys enthusiasts, and oh yeah ,your long line of OEM parts are awesome too.