Jeep Dispatcher 100 (DJ-5 and DJ-6)
The DJ-5, sold as the Dispatcher 100, put the round-fender CJ-5 body on a two-wheel-drive chassis and replaced the DJ-3A in 1965, with a long-wheelbase DJ-6 alongside. After the Post Office picked it over the Ford Bronco and International Scout in a 1968 trial, it became the standard American mail Jeep, with right-hand drive, an enclosed steel body, sliding doors, and an automatic gearbox. Each new engine and transmission pairing got a new letter, from the Chevrolet-powered DJ-5A of 1968 to the AMC-powered DJ-5M of 1983 and 1984, and AM General built it after 1971. A small batch of battery-electric DJ-5E Electrucks went to cities with bad air. The Postal Service chose the Grumman-built LLV as its successor in the mid-1980s.
Engines
| Engine | Power | Torque | Fuel | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willys F-134 Hurricane F-head I4 General F-134 rating for 1961 to 1970 (JeepTech), not a DJ-specific figure; Wikipedia lists DJ-5 use from 1965 to 1967, and cj3b.info shows a 1968 DJ-6 with this engine. |
75 hp (56 kW) | 114 lb-ft (155 N·m) | Gasoline | 1965 to about 1968 |
| Dauntless 225 V6 (Buick design) Optional in some years per cj3b.info; output is JeepTech's rating for Jeep use. |
160 hp (119 kW) | 235 lb-ft (319 N·m) | Gasoline | Late 1960s, some years |
| Chevrolet 153 I4 The Chevy II/Nova four; DJ rating not found. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1968 to 1970 (DJ-5A) |
| AMC 232 I6 Wikipedia also lists it for the 1979 DJ-5G; DJ rating not found. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1970 to 1978 (DJ-5B to DJ-5F) |
| AMC 258 I6 DJ rating not found. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1977 to 1979 (DJ-5F, DJ-5G) |
| Audi/Volkswagen 2.0 L I4 The Truth About Cars puts it at about 95 hp; not confirmed. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1979 (DJ-5G) |
| GM 151 Iron Duke I4 DJ rating not found. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1982 (DJ-5L) |
| AMC 150 I4 DJ rating not found. |
— | — | Gasoline | 1983 to 1984 (DJ-5M) |
| Gould DC electric motor 54-volt system with lead-acid batteries; rated 30 hp by Wikipedia and 20 hp by cj3b.info. |
— | — | Electric | 1976 (DJ-5E Electruck) |
Transmissions
- 3-speed manual (Borg-Warner T-96, column shift, later floor shift) (1965 to late 1960s)
- 2-speed Powerglide automatic (1968 to 1970 (DJ-5A))
- 2-speed Borg-Warner automatic (seen on a 1968 DJ-6) (Late 1960s)
- 3-speed BorgWarner T-35 automatic (1970 to 1974)
- 3-speed M-11 automatic (1973 to 1974)
- 3-speed TorqueFlite A727 automatic (1975 to 1979)
- 3-speed TorqueFlite A904 automatic (1979 to 1984)
Trims and editions
- Dispatcher 100
- Postal right-hand-drive versions (DJ-5A to DJ-5M)
- DJ-5E Electruck
Worth knowing
- Each letter after DJ-5 marked a new drivetrain: A for the Chevrolet four, B, C, D, and F for AMC sixes, E for electric, G for the Audi four, L for the GM four, and M for the AMC four.
- From the DJ-5B on, postal Jeeps wore a longer nose with a five-slot grille, not the CJ's seven slots, to make room for the six.
- Postal versions had right-hand drive, an extra-wide doorway with a sliding door, and no power steering, on lighter frame rails than the CJ.
- The DJ-5E Electruck had a top speed of about 40 mph and a range of roughly 30 miles; 352 went to the U.S. Postal Service and five to Canada Post.
- Retired postal Jeeps were sold off, and some carriers kept driving their own on mail routes for decades.
Year by year, newest first
- Final year of Dispatcher production, still in DJ-5M form.
- DJ-5M: AMC's 2.5 L (150 cu in) four with a Chrysler 904 automatic.
- DJ-5L: GM's 2.5 L (151 cu in) four with a Chrysler 904 automatic.
- DJ-5G: a 2.0 L four supplied by Audi and Volkswagen, with TorqueFlite automatics (Wikipedia also lists AMC sixes for this version).
- A Perkins 2.7 L diesel was tried in two DJ-5s in England, but it never reached production.
- DJ-5F: AMC 232 or 258 six with the TorqueFlite A727 automatic.
- NASA ran baseline performance tests on the DJ-5E Electruck.
- DJ-5E Electruck: a battery-electric version for cities with poor air quality, about 357 built for the U.S. Postal Service and Canada Post.
- DJ-5D: the AMC six now teamed with Chrysler's TorqueFlite A727 automatic.
- DJ-5C: AMC six with a T-35 or M-11 automatic.
- The long-wheelbase DJ-6 ended, according to Jim Allen.
- Postal versions got a stretched front end with a five-slot grille to clear the AMC six.
- Rear springs moved outside the frame rails and most got a limited-slip differential; AM General now built the line.
- American Motors bought Kaiser's Jeep business.
- DJ-5B: AMC's 232 six with a BorgWarner T-35 three-speed automatic replaced the Chevrolet four.
- A Dana 44 rear axle replaced the Dana 27.
- DJ-5A: a Chevrolet 153 four with a two-speed Powerglide automatic and a fully enclosed body for mail work.
- The Post Office tried the Dispatcher 100 against the Ford Bronco and International Scout and chose the Jeep.
- A tubular front axle replaced the I-beam axle.
- The DJ-5 Dispatcher 100, a two-wheel-drive CJ-5 with the F-head four and a three-speed manual, replaced the DJ-3A.
- The long-wheelbase DJ-6 joined it.
Notes
Version dates follow Wikipedia and cj3b.info; offroaders.com and Wikipedia also mention a 1967 start for the DJ-5A. Nothing was found on the DJ-5H, DJ-5J, or DJ-5K, or on what changed in 1980 and 1981 (empty years mean no change was found). The DJ-6 is dated 1965 to 1973 (Jim Allen, cj3b.info) or 1965 to 1968 (JeepTech, offroaders.com). Wheelbase is not confirmed: Wikipedia gives 80 in for most DJs and 20 in more for the DJ-6, while cj3b.info gives the DJ-6 101 in; Wikipedia's 3,400 lb curb weight does not say which version it covers. Wikipedia puts the move of the rear springs outside the frame in 1971, offroaders.com on the DJ-5A. Electruck range is given as 29 miles with reserve (Wikipedia), 30 miles, or 45 miles at 30 mph (cj3b.info). Wikipedia says the postal Jeep stayed in private carrier use through 2012. AM General's plant is given as Mishawaka (Wikipedia); cj3b.info mentions its former Studebaker plant in South Bend, bought in 1967.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Jeep_DJ
- cj3b.info /Siblings/DispatcherDJ5.html
- cj3b.info /Poster/DJ5.html
- cj3b.info /Poster/DJ5A.html
- cj3b.info /Poster/DJ6.html
- cj3b.info /Siblings/MarskiDJ6.html
- offroaders.com /tech/jeep/Jeep-DJ.htm
- thetruthaboutcars.com /2013/01/junkyard-find-1968-kaiser-jeep-dj-5a-with-factory-chevy-power/
- thetruthaboutcars.com /2013/01/junkyard-find-1979-am-general-dj-5g-with-factory-audi-power/
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/hurricane134/
- terryhowe.github.io /JeepTech/engine/factory/dauntless225/
- en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Willys_Hurricane_engine