Gone Postal
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- čas přidán 28. 01. 2023
- Only offered in 2-wheel drive, Jeep DJ Dispatchers delivered mail to suburban and rural Americans for 30 years. Were you one of them? So why were the rear leaf springs mounted outside of the frame rails? Watch and learn. For information on buying this vehicle, send email to: paulcrosiervt@gmail.com
- Auta a dopravní prostředky
I remember these and their distinctive four cylinder purring sound as they, like a bee, went from mailbox to mailbox. Even now, the current mail trucks have a distinctive note.
Professor Steve and his sidekick Shane killing it with facts and interesting story lines.! Great work and as always, looking forward to tomorrows lesson.!!
As a Rural carrier for almost 30 years, I kept four of these running until 2007 when I bought a new RHD Jeep Wrangler. The best year for these was 1978, as they had the 232 six and torqueflight tranny. Worst year was 1979 when they were equipped with a 2.0 AMC four banger that was sourced from Audi. To get parts you had to tell the parts guy that you needed parts for a '78 Gremlins 4cyl!
There is something soothing about all of these rusty old girls congregated quietly under the pines, their work now done.
Two "golden girls".
I always learn something new here. What a great instructor you are and you always have a beautiful classroom 👍👍
I agree
I remember sledding with a few of the neighborhood kids and the mailman got stuck in a snowbank. We went over to see if we could help, and I asked the mailman if he had it in 4wd. It was then I learned a few new swearwords and that the postal jeeps were 2wd. We were successful in pushing him out.
Holy Cow… a 1968 Chevrolet Biscayne 👍
A friend from high school bought a 57 Dispatcher in 1969 at graduation. He still owns it today and last year finished renovating it. As an aside my Father drove a Postal Jeep for several years in the early 70’s as a mail carrier.
I worked on these specifically the transmissions in the mid 80's. They were hard to get balanced on the lifts we had because of the short wheelbase.
You forgot to give us the zero to sixty, and the quarter mile times, Steve.
It's about as fast as the mail these days. For the record, I like the USPS. The workforce has a hard job and I always take a moment to chat with the carrier and say "Thanks" when they deliver the mail if I'm outside working.
Eventually
Zero to 60 in five minutes and quarter mile in 2 to 3 business days.
As always, I learn A LOT from Steve. As I have said before, Steve has forgotten more than I will ever know about vehicles!
You could also buy DJ-5's from the USPS itself as it retired them. They sold them at their regional post offices, and could be bought for anywhere from $100 to $1000, depending on the condition of the body and drivetrain. Your best bet was to find one with a good body and the straight six 232. A decent model like that ran you about $400. $50 in rattle cans gave you a decent looking Jeep. You could lock your doors open and drive down the road. A high school friend figured out he could buy a decent model like that, and with the rattle can paint job, flip it for $1500. You could sell up to ten vehicles per year without a dealer's license.
I would not have suspected the postal service would pay for limited slip. pretty cool.
It Saved them a Lot of money for Tow trucks pulling them out of mud holes, etc.
Growing up in Queens, NY I remember these in the 1970s. Even though our suburban mail carriers were on foot, I think they used some of them for picking up mail at the blue mailboxes that were on street corners and the like (and the big gray boxes that didn't have mail slots and were presumably for storing mail awaiting delivery). It was cool to see them all parked in the post office lot after all the shifts were done. Humble little vehicles that I never knew were only 2wd.
"big gray boxes that didn't have mail slots". FYI: They are called relay boxes. And you are correct. They are used to store mail for later in the route.
I saw those in the background of the two previous videos and hoped Steve would include them. They need to offer a 4x4 version today for rural contract carriers. All of those tough winter roads. I remember pulling a few K cars out so the carrier could continue.
Mr. B. Here ! 4x4 were use in Alaska ! Thanks to Uncle Sam in the 70’s were I was stationed 4 x 4 where normal ! Fairbanks .
You can still buy a 4x4 Wrangler in right hand drive brand new today. Automatic only, sadly.
Thank you Steve Get well soon.
Yay love postal jeeps... Now those were the mail jeeps I remember when I grew up in the seventies and early eighties in Rhode Island.
Definitely a charming and iconic design - modern mail vehicles looks so awkward by comparison……📫
Steering wheel on Right side allows the carrier to walk up to the front door on urban routes, but it also allows easy access to curbside mailboxes on rural routes.
My mother bought a used post office Jeep and that Jeep never got stuck even though it wasn’t 4 wheel drive and we lived on a steep hill.
No, that's the 153 CID, not 151 CID. Yes, same as what the Nova had, but it's not the same as the 151---they are two different engines. The 151 or "Iron Duke" came out in 1977. Yes, the 153 CID was discontinued after the 1970 model year. Those should be DJ-5As which were used from 1968 to 1970 and had the 153 CID GM engine with the two-speed Powerglide automatic. Jeep came from "GP" or "General Purpose". You Tuber "Monster Rust" drives one around and has done titles of videos such as "You've Got Mail".
No, 1970 for the purchase of Jeep by American Motors, not 1971. So yes, being a November of 1969 production that would probably be a 1970 model year product and still a Kaiser-Jeep as indicated by the data plate on the firewall. AM General would be the AMC subsidiary that assembled these through 1984. I believe these were assembled at 701 W Chippewa Ave, South Bend, IN which was one of the main facilities for Studebaker and later AM General. No, that's not correct. MOST had limited slip, but not all.
There was a man in my neighborhood that had a few of them. He later parked them in the yard, and when he passed, the house was knocked down and a new one put up in its place. I'm sure the Jeeps got junked at the time.
The GM/Grumman LLV (basically a right-hand drive S Series platform) replaced the DJs as mail carriers and were built between 1987 and 1994. Some are still around, but they are being replaced by other vehicles, including the Dodge Ram ProMaster among other vehicles, such as the Oshkosh NGDV (New Generation Delivery Vehicle). There have been a lot of fires on the LLVs because of the location of the washer fluid lines running over a heat source. Washer fluid has alcohol in it and when it hits a hot source, up it goes.
The first digit of the vehicle number is typically the year it was manufactured. So, an LLV with a starting vehicle number of "2" was made in 1992.
Jeep means Just Empty Every Pocket now.
@@suzi_mai Jeep usually equals "heap", but the older ones were pretty decent.
Working at a service station in the early 70s that specialized in Jeeps. Several times we had customers who had recently purchased a Jeep wagon or pickup truck. They complained that the 4x4 didn't work, when in fact they were 4x2s.
I'm so happy you did a video about dj5's. I daily drive a 1976 and it's a bastard child of the 70s. It has a 727 torque flight transmission. a chevy alternator. a ford starter. Chrysler carb. and now I have a hei distributor out of a buick regal and a mustang 5.0 radiator. I absolutely love this thing and yes they all come with posi
Growing up in Toledo, it was interesting to see Dispatchers used as delivery vehicles, especially the ones from Jo-Jo's Pizza, "Pizza Patrol". Thought they were painted a dark green, might have been retired postal units - but could have easily been new units from the plant that was only a few miles away from their Italian restaurant. And both Jeep, and Jo-Jo's Italian Restaurant have gone through several owners, but still open for business in Toledo! (or Toodley Do, as we call it).
Holy Toledo! What a car!
Not to be confused with “Wholly Toledo” - Cynthia Myers, also from T-Town…
These were death traps, it was common for these to tip. The successor LLV was even worse. I know this from USPS experience. The very last Dispatcher was used here in Westfield NJ up until about 2003.
Don't forget the dead axle in the 2wd Jeep Comanche as well. Hope he finds one of those.
The local Post Office delivery vans are Mercedes Matris now. The big 3 don't know how to build small vans anymore.
I purchased a surplus 1983 A.M. General Postal Jeep directly from the Lowell, MA Post Office.
It had maybe 30K miles on it. The GM "Iron Duke" 4 cyl. coupled to a Mopar automatic transmission. The sliding doors and right-hand drive were great for around town, errands, and tight parking lots. I was offered a selection of about 10 of these... different years and slightly different equipment.
It was Helluva fun to drive. I had a friend check my speed against his new truck on the highway... I could get 60-65 flat out pedal-to-metal. The ultra short wheelbase was a p.i.t.a. though... lose it on ice in winter and there was no steering out of it, just hang on for the ride and hope.
tl;dr: Wicked fun ride, but not for the feint of heart.
I used to work for Stop & Go transmissions in the late 70's. We used to rebuild their transmissions.
I learn more from Steve in these videos than I did in two years of auto shop in high school 40 years ago.
Got my junkyard fix out of the way - now I can get on with my Sunday errands! It looks as if I’ll be dodging raindrops out there this morning here in Houston……🌧
Have to get any early start so I’m home in time for the big football games……🏈
I'm going to be working on a 1969 Sears Craftsman toolbox that I bought last night. Someone "blacked it out", but I think the original gray and red paint underneath is in good shape, so I'm going to try to remove that ugly black paint.
@@googleusergp - Worked in “paint and hardware” at Sears for many years from high school into college! This was when Sears was still highly profitable and owned a bevy of iconic brand names - Craftsman, Easy Living, Weatherbeater, Kenmore, Diehard, Roadhandler, etc. I remember the appliance salesmen at our store made very comfortable middle class livings and even the shoe salesmen got commissions in addition to their hourly wage! Definitely a different era - sad to see what has become of that retailing giant….😕
The Sears "Hometown" store where I live just closed this year. 😞
Those stores were only a shell of their former selves, but it's still sad to see them go.
The first tool that I ever bought for myself was a Craftsman from Sears. I still have it....
@@straybullitt - Yep, I spent lots of time as a teenager agonizing over which Craftsman tools I was going to put on my birthday and Christmas lists! The “backbone” of my toolbox is made up of Craftsman items from the 1980’s - I would be sad to lose any of them more for sentimental reasons than anything else as they have been there with me through many nights out in the garage cussing at cars……..😂
@@ddellwo This box was actually in nice shape under the "hooptie flat black spray". I was able to strip the black paint off the drawers and then polish them with a steel wool pad. The "Strypteze" that I had must have been 25+ years old. I put it on there and it lifted that black paint immediately. I did paint one drawer (the one with the metal Craftsman logo on it), so one will be a little off. If the old paint on the frame of the box comes off nicely and reveals good paint underneath, I'll maybe strip the one drawer and get it down to the original paint like the others. Someone removed the wheels from it and it's missing keys for the lock, so I'm off to order both now.
You can't buy that same quality today. Made in January 1969, I have a matching top in just as nice original shape that I bought for $45 off Ebay and it was filled with Craftsman, Snap On, MAC and other USA made tools. It should be a nice combination when I have it finished.
I couldn't pass it up---I got the person down $25 from his asking price and he offered to drop it off to me. I walked over to my property and just as I turned the corner, the guy was pulling in the driveway. Win-win.
If you look closely in the thumbnail pic, you'll see Steve in the background doing a future video about the rare two wheeled, solid front axle, yellow bodied wheel barrow. I can't wait to hear the specs!
I think he has to do a fair bit of landscaping/debris removal before filming just to get around the cars.
👍,Steve sporting the jet black doo.
Getting shined up for Barrett-Jackson...🤙🏼
Great details, thanks Steve!
Interesting to see the differences between the CJ and DJ.... I didn't even know they were called DJs... and also to hear the story about them.
One minor point, though; I think that engine is the 153 ci 4cyl and not the 151 (Iron Duke) which was a much later model.
Yep. Not the Duke which came out in 1977.
Grasshopper, you snatched the pebble from the masters hand. Somewhat vague kung fu reference.
That might have had several engine replacements over the life of its service and been replaced with the GM 2.5. That was a GM in that cj, you can tell by the scalloped valve cover however, it was born, as you stated, with the 153. Nice catch sir.
Chevy 153 only from 1968 to 1970 with a Powerglide.
@@stephencarter1442 it makes you wonder just how it was geared with that power glide. I mean it must of had 4:56 or it would of never got to 1 to 1 very often unless, they were floored on the highway.
You mentioned the GM 4 cyl that was available up until 1970. A good friend of mine had a 1970 Nova with the factory 4 and a power glide. It was so slow and small looking under the hood.
I use to stamp parts for this jeep at AM General stamping in Indianapolis back in the early 70s
I had a '70 model with left hand drive. Only had two complaints. The roof would "oil can" something fierce with every bump and the windshield defrosters were just not up to the job. I installed bucket seats from a wrecked Pinto and drove that thing everywhere. Never got stuck even when everyone else was getting stuck.
My wife has wanted a Jeep for years. Which I will not get her because," I think they are overpriced (old or new). I should drag one of these home to her for Valentine's day 😆.
Thanks Guys! So much I didn’t know about those postal Jeeps! When we were kids, we thought they’d be cool to have to buzz around. Never knew they were lightened and had limited slip rear ends.
Great Video Steve, nice to see a little Jeep History.
My sister had one of these for a long time. She loved it. Her kids hated it.
North Caldwell NJ had these still working for the post office 20 years ago, I know at least one was a stick shift
Good Jeep stuff Steve I retired from the Jeep plant in Toledo Ohio and yes I remember those mail carriers
I had a 1975 DJ5 made by AM General. 258 six, Chrysler automatic transmission and the posi rear axle.
It was highly capable of 90mph plus.
The only thing was that as light built as possible it would swap ends at about any speed if traction was less than dry. The right hand drive only was a problem if trying to pass another vehicle.
Mine has been modified a tad by the previous owner and would leave a couple of impressive black marks on the pavement. No long smoky affairs but for a six it was cool.
The thing had mirrors all over the front and the one up by the front bumper was called a "pot lid" mirror.
Before we were married my wife and I enjoyed going to the various drive in movies in the Clearwater FL area.
I can't say we remember all the movies we paid to see.
Hey we were both consenting adults over 21, ok?
I miss that little Jeep and see them often for sale still but so far only with that 4 banger.
I did have a friend that put a 401 V8 in his and it WAS capable of long smoky burn outs😳😁😎👍.
Cheers
Terry
BTW mine had a sticker that said the vehicles were only for the domestic market and illegal for export.
T
4 of my aunts were mail carriers and they all had mail jeeps with a 232 amc in them
A fairly simple process to convert them to 4X4 with that solid front axle. Make for a different kinda Wheeler on the trails. Seen a couple of CJ trail rigs that the owners modified with those AMC 5 slot grills. They made it possible to move the rads a few inches forwards so they could install BigBlock Chevy power.
Morning Steve, The familiar sound coming down the street. 4 cylinder Postal Jeep. Ready for the next edition of your Hubcap classrooms.
Incredible story, great job!!!
Good morning Steve, thanks for the history.
I remember in the early 1980s they used to auction them off for $300 and up. One seat and one wiper is all you got. Thanks for another history lesson Steve
God I remember these when I was a kid.
I remember these in the 80s when I sas a kid. Was bummed to see them go.
My Nabor growing up had one of those old mail jeeps. He turned it into a ice cream truck, he hand painted “Jeeps Treats” haha. That brings me back
When I was a kid, I thought these were the greatest things in the world!
Hi Steve, great video on the DJ series, Jeeps. Have a safe trip back home from Scottsdale. You ain't missed much unless you're a fan of snow and muck. Have blessed day everyone Namaste 🙏🏼
Great video Steve. I'd buy one of these if I could find one. The AMC 232 straight six has a lot of torque, and with posi it would never get stuck.
I had a DJ-3A years ago. Paid something like $500 for it and it ran well, though the 3-on-the-tree linkage was prone to binding. I lived in a private lakeside community and the previous owners used it like their neighbors used golf carts.
Unfortunately, I let it sit as I was active duty military and had little time. I towed it from Kentucky to Virginia, and finally to Louisiana, where I sold it shortly before moving to Georgia. Last I heard, the new owner has it running and looking good, though it's not really restored, per se. It was a hardtop with a fixed windshield and the top was long gone by the time I got it. With no seat belts or quarter doors, cornering was an adventure, with anything on the floor sliding out. It also had a bias on the right front brake, so at about 20mph, I could lock the brakes and do a 180.
Now that is old school cool. And I learned something new about them. Always wanted a old school mail Jeep.
Jeep history is always fascinating because, i think, of all the ways they have touched our lives, like one way for me was as a teen in Frankfurt, West Germany in the Seventies when the MPs were always puttering about our housing area in their Jeeps and not for nothing as it was the era of the Red Army Faction. And the MPs were always friendly and even accommodating toward us kids doing our thing and I won a bicycle race through the streets of Frankfurt with an MP Jeep leading the way. And on the final stretch I wound up my bike so fast that I almost ran into the back of the Jeep and I can still hear the MP in the passenger seat exclaim that they needed to speed up. :)
I can still hear the sounds the Jeep made as they trundled along from roadside mailbox to mailbox. Every place I've ever lived our mailbox sat out by the road. Never had a mailbox on our house or a 'on foot' mail delivery person!
And somehow with only 2 wheel drive the mail was always delivered. No need for AWD or 4 wd. Maybe the skill of the drivers had something to do with it?? LOL
My uncle was a USPS postal worker who walked his route. Everyone knew "Andy the Postman". My uncle never needed to go to a gym, he walked miles and miles and was always a fairly trim man, even in retirement.
There's a junkyard about an hour from my house. And they've got about 6 of these.
Hello from Butler Pennsylvania the Birth place of the Jeep and home of the Bantam Heritage Jeep Fest....With out the Bantam car Company there wouldn't be a Jeep.
And let's not forget that Butler, Pennsylvania is home to Kramer Automotive Specialties, a leading provider of 1962 to 1965 Mopar Max Wedge and Race Hemi reproduction parts!
Steve, Thanks for delivering another worthy video. 😁
Ant to see more about Dis.
A family friend was a rural route delivery driver, and she rolled two of these postal jeeps. A little top heavy and narrow wheelbase.
My neighbor back in the 70s was a postal worker. They used to let them bring their mail jeeps home because, theoretically, they would wash and wax them, and it was cheaper than paying someone to do it. He passionately hated the jeep and had all kinds of reasons that the thing was a useless, reprobate piece of crap that the government maliciously inflicted on its poor,, hardworking postal carriers. At some point soon after, Congress decided that custom jeeps were too expensive they replaced his jeep with a brand new US Mail Pinto. LOL. He was not a happy camper.
Owned a 56 Dj3a hardtop model like what was in Pat Foster’s book. Was a blast of a little Jeep that was in fact LHD and was used in a mill in WV. Sold it half way across the country where it now resides restored and loved.
I remember those so well growing up in Puerto Rico, as a kid living on a remote area . They used them to go where cars couldn’t drive through! Them exact models!
My dad had one years ago as a retired postal worker and I’d love to have one.
The roof vents, I recall these from rural California. I have seen a license built Mitsubishi flat fender Jeeps. The 3 diamonds were embossed where "Willys" was.
I owned a DJ-5 Commando (left hand steering) they were supposedly use to move mail between post offices and not for daily mail delivery. Mine had the 232 Straight 6. I installed a propane heater and used it for camping. Sure do miss that little Jeep.
Oh, good. I was hoping you'd cover the mail jeeps. Yeah, that "rain, sleet or snow" slogan didn't mean much out here in the rural west where more people live on farms than in towns... at the time these were delivering mail. That limited slip rear end wasn't always enough out here, so people didn't always expect their mail to be delivered in adverse weather. Some of these were converted to 4wd... I used to know where one was setting, unfortunately rotting away like these two, but I think it got picked up a while back, hopefully to be restored, not crushed.
My post office still uses these
Growing up the little town where I went to school had one. They made the driver wear seat belt. Only in drive.so he backup on his entire route. Just thought that was interesting.
@@backachershomestead that's pretty cool. My post office leaves the door open year round. Kind of sad. It isn't terrible or rotten shape either.
@Not A Garage There was 2 sitting in a junk yard in Illinois a few years back they where complete and clean. Tried to get my son to bring them to Tennessee for me but wife said no. To many projects. 😢
You must live in a small town. I haven't seen on of these in at least 25 years, maybe more.
Mine too, I hear that sliding door around 3PM & I know mails here. They tend to mark their territory's with oil these things
Those postal jeeps were all over, even ice cream rigs,great video
Excellent information as always and entertaining as well. Probably would make a great teail rig with a power train swap
Back in the eighties, Downtown Ford of Sacramento bought up a big fleet of these jeeps, refurbished them and painted them all different colors. $3500, but you had to take away two of them for that price.
Jeep did the same thing with the front axle, on the 2wd Cherokees, from 84 up. Dodge did too, on the 94 up 3500hd/4500 series chassis cab trucks. Smart way to save money for production. Great video Steve!
Yep...I've converted a few XJs from 2wd to 4wd. The XJ is the best J.....Wranglers are for Cheerleaders.
I had a 76 long wheelbase scout II traveller 2wd with the same type of steel tube front axle with leafs at all four corners and a Dana rear with Trac-Lock .
Suzuki Samuais did as well. They had a cheesy drop at the ends but just a tube of steel
Growing up in the 80`s a lady on my street had been a mail carrier in our town and when she retired, she either bought, or they gave her a DJ. It was in the all-white with the red, white and blue stripe color scheme. It sat in front of her house for about a decade without moving before she finally got rid of it.
I was disappointed not to see an AMC 258 under either hood. That's what my 1976 DJ-5D had. I was a teenager in 1996 and drove that my junior & senior year. The kids (and teachers) at school thought I was nuts. 😆
Great work, as usual. I drove these to deliver pizza in Texas in the late 1970s. They seemed sturdy but absolutely awful to drive. More like a military vehicle than a car.
Morning Mag Fan ! Very good information Mr. B . Served in Alaska vehicles were 4x4 !
I remember them well. The postmen were very rough on them. The guy who picked up bulk mail from the box on our block would throw it in park about 20 feet before the box "Grrrrrrrrr BANG screech" and skid up to the box with the rear wheels locked.
Great work as always
My first vehicle I ever bought was a 74 DJ-5C with an AMC 232 6. Was a fun vehicle while it lasted. While only 2wd would still go through a ton of snow and mud with the LSD. Turning radius was hilarious and 8 3/4 turn lock to lock with about 1/3 wheel of play on the steering wheel, you didn't steer down the highway you "herded" it in a general direction.
I never thought much about these Jeeps until I saw the Grumman that replaced it. When they went out of service they could be purchased for almost nothing.
Excellent video!
My favourite Chevy Blue is on the Biscayne in the background. They had a pale green and yellow too back then all great colors. I like the 7 slot grill on the Jeeps.
Great vid, really enjoyed!!!
Sealed the deal- Now I need one, thankx again Steve!
I had a DJ-3A exactly like the photo in the book that I drove to HS back in the early 80s. It was a left-hand drive. Willis flat head with 3-on-the-tree. Only 2nd and 3rd were syncromesh. It had so much torque that you almost never started in 1st. I push started it by myself so many times my battery was weak and the generator didn't work as well as it should have. The sliding doors were super handy to just jump in. It had horrible death-wabble above 50mph. The cab top was plastic and held on by a million little bolts all the way around. My friend and I took off the plastic top one summer to make it into a 'convertible'. It was not great to drive in the winter with an open dif and no weight on the rear end. The sliding doors would freeze shut in ice storms and we would have to crawl in through the back door. I sure miss that little Jeep!
Had a Chevy Nova they were so cool you could actually change the starter without jacking it up
This was the 153 cu in four. The later Iron Dukes were similar with 151 cu in. Early Iron Dukes had both manifolds on the same side as the Chevy 153. Later Iron Dukes had crossflow cylinder heads.
Rock on. Great info Steve. 🥃
I remember seeing these everyday
Interesting facts about the jeep grill openings.
Was watching the Barrett Jackson auction last night. Didn't know you were doing that since 2005! Very knowledgeable.
Very informative Steve! Always learn something from your video lessons! Please do the little Rambler sitting next to the mail Jeeps! Thanks!
Love those old mail jeeps.
Thank you So much for covering the DJ's, Really hard to find people that know about them, let alone give them credit where credit is due since they arent All 4x4 as some were ordered that way for more rural usage. I have owned 5 of these rigs and They are realiable and Good light little rigs for just about everything including offroad use.
Hi Steve,I was sure hoping for some model content over the winter. Any chance we may get some? Thanks for whatever content you put out, I enjoy it all.
You really do a good job on these videos AND I enjoyed seeing you on the auction show where you did a similarly good job.
I remember the blue and white mail Jeeps. I also remember when they went to all white with blue and red stripes on the Jeeps. From there they went Grumman bodies.