Jeep DJ: the two-wheel-drive Dispatcher

The Jeep DJ, also called the Dispatcher, was a two-wheel-drive version of the four-wheel-drive CJ series. Production began in 1955 under Willys, which was renamed Kaiser Jeep in 1963, and ended in 1984 under AM General. Along the way the DJ became the standard United States postal delivery Jeep and, in its open form, a holiday resort car.

Jeep DJ at a glance

History of the Jeep DJ

The cheap DJ-3A

The DJ-3A was introduced in 1955 for the 1956 model year. It was inexpensive because it used existing Jeep tooling and technology, and at $1,284 it was the lowest-priced production car on sale in the United States. It used the body of the older CJ-3A and the L-134 engine, but the three-speed Borg-Warner T-96 gearbox could be had with a column or a floor shifter. Buyers could choose a soft top, a metal top or a full van body with sliding doors, and Jeep marketed the car as “perfect for economical deliveries” and for “carefree business and pleasure transportation”. One version was a postal vehicle with the driver seated on the right so that the carrier could reach roadside mailboxes.

Resort cars: Gala and Surrey

In early 1959 Willys introduced the Jeep Gala for export markets, for buyers who wanted the small size and open bodywork without four-wheel drive. It became a fun car at resorts in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean, and came in pink, green or blue with a striped fabric top and a decorative white fringe. In the autumn of 1959 a similar model, the Jeep Surrey, went on sale in the United States, aimed at resort hotels and holiday centres that rented cars to guests; it came with a striped fabric top and a matching cover for what was advertised as a Continental tyre mount.

Postal DJ-5

The DJ-3A was replaced in 1965 by the right-hand-drive DJ-5 Dispatcher 100, which was based on the CJ-5 and used the Hurricane and Dauntless engines; a 20-inch longer DJ-6 was built alongside the CJ-6 from 1965 to 1973. By 1969 the Postal Service had motorised more than half of its suburban residential routes, and in 1968 it held a competition for a light delivery vehicle against the Ford Bronco, the International Scout and the Jeep Dispatcher 100. The Jeep won, and the first units went to the northern states to replace three-wheeled Mailsters that could not cope with snow and ice. The postal DJs had an automatic transmission, an enclosed metal cabin with sliding doors, a sorting table and right-hand drive; they used C-channel frame rails instead of the CJ-5’s box rails, no power steering and lighter springs, which let them carry more cargo. AM General built the DJ until 1984, when the DJ-5M with the 2.5 litre AMC four ended the line; retired postal DJs were still delivering mail in private hands as late as 2012.

Design and features

• Two-wheel drive: the CJ’s body and shape without the four-wheel drive system.
• Cheapest car in America: the 1956 DJ-3A cost $1,284.
• Sliding doors: a van body and, later, postal cabins with sliding side doors.
• Right-hand drive: postal versions put the driver next to the kerb.
• Resort versions: the Gala and Surrey were open cars for hotels and rentals.

Jeep DJ versions

• DJ-3A (1955–1965): CJ-3A body, soft top, metal top or van body.
• Jeep Gala (1959): open export model for resorts.
• Jeep Surrey (1959): the American resort version.
• DJ-5 Dispatcher 100 (1965–1984): CJ-5 based, right-hand drive; letters A to M marked changes.
• DJ-6 (1965–1973): the long-wheelbase version.
• DJ-5M (1984): the last DJ, with the 2.5 litre AMC four.

The DJ is the two-wheel-drive version of the CJ and CJ-5; the postal Jeep was eventually replaced by the Grumman LLV. More models are in the Jeep collection.

Video: Jeep Dispatcher 100 Build – By: Jordan Garrett Lane

Video by NEWEREJK on YouTube.

Sources

• Jeep DJ, English Wikipedia: DJ-3A, Gala, Surrey, DJ-5 and postal history