2004 American Glory Jeep CJ5 #15 Red, White & Blue Die-Cast Metal

The Jeep CJ5 models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 through 1986. The 1945 Willys “Universal Jeep” was the world’s first mass-produced civilian four-wheel drive car.

In 1944, Willys-Overland, the primary manufacturer of the World War II military Jeep, built the first prototypes for a commercial version, the Jeep CJ5, short for “civilian Jeep”. The design was a direct evolution from the war jeep,

but the most obvious change was adding a tailgate, and relocating the spare wheel to the side.

Also, besides adding basic civilian amenities and options and legally-compliant lighting, the Jeep CJ5 required a sturdier

drivetrain than the war jeep, because the targeted rural buyers would work the vehicles hard and expect years of durability,

instead of mere weeks as during WWII. From then on, all CJ Jeeps consistently had a separate body and frame, rigid live axles

with leaf springs both front and rear, a tapering nose design with flared fenders, and a fold-flat windshield, and

could be driven without doors. Also, with few exceptions, they had part-time four-wheel drive systems,

with the choice of high and low gearing, and open bodies with removable hard or soft tops.

A few stand-out changes during 42 model years were the introductions of round-fendered vs. flat-fendered bodies (1955 Jeep CJ-5),

straight-6 and V8-engines, automatic gearboxes, and different 4-wheel drive systems.

The 1976 Jeep CJ-7 stretched the wheelbase by 10 inches (25 cm), and made doors and a removable hardtop common items.

After remaining in production through a range of model numbers, and several corporate parents, the Jeep CJ5 -CJ line was officially ended after 1986.