1972 Jeep DJ

With AMC straight-six engine and automatic transmission.

The Jeep DJ-5 delivery vehicle was built by Kaiser-Jeep and then (starting in 1970) AMC's AM General subsidiary, from 1968 through 1984.

This one has the 232-cubic-inch AMC straight-six engine.

Most DJ-5 Dispatchers were bought by the United States Postal Service. The DJ-5B version was built from 1970 through 1972.

All of these trucks have rear-wheel-drive and automatic transmissions.

90 miles per hour in a top-heavy steel box like this must have been exciting.

The Big Cheese Pizza was a Wichita-based chain that peaked in the mid-1980s with nearly 100 franchises. You didn't have to dial the area code when calling a local phone number back then, so we can't determine where this truck delivered pizzas just from this seven-digit number.

What we do know is that this DJ-5 began its career delivering the mail.

The USPS Dispatchers had right-hand-drive, a single seat, automatic transmission and a big mail-sorting tray (which is missing from this truck).

These trucks were just as jouncy as rattly as you assume they were. Probably more so.

I've driven, ridden in and worked on a few DJs, and they're so primitive that they're more fun than most motor vehicles. Just don't crash!

The earliest DJ-5s came with Chevy Nova 153 four-cylinder engines and two-speed Powerglide automatic transmissions. For most of the 1970s, Dispatchers had AMC straight-six power; this one is a 232 (3.8-liter) rated at 145 horsepower and 185 pound-feet.

The curb weight on this truck was just 2,255 pounds, so 185 pound-feet made it quicker than you'd expect (i.e., fun) off the line.

You can see the original blue USPS paint on the firewall.

A few The Big Cheese restaurants using this logo still exist to this day.

The USPS bought more than 130,000 DJ-5s, and so they were tremendously cheap at auction once they were retired from government service. I had high school friends in the early 1980s who scored trashed-but-running DJ-5s for less than $100 each.

The DJ is related to the old CJ-3, but its chassis structure isn't as beefy.

If you like boxy vehicles, the DJ-5 is for you!

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