Jeepn'stuff: The J Series Pick-up

Jeep is renowned for its capable SUVs but SUVs have not been the contribution of the brand to the auto industry. From 1962-1988, Jeep produced the J-Series trucks also known as the Gladiator during earlier years. Jeep first produced trucks under Willys in the 40s and before the J-Series was dropped, began producing the Commanche which was discontinued after 1992.

The J-series will be the focus of this post as it is the forgotten truck and it has become relatively hard to find. Despite lower sales figures, the J-Series was produced for 26 years with the same body and very minimal changes, much like its brother the Grand Wagoneer, and later the Cherokee, all of which shared the same platform. Most notable, there were two distinct J-Series trucks, the J-10, and J-20. The J-10 was a short bed and the J-20 was a long bed. Though the same body has the Gladiators, J2000, J3000, and J4000, The J-Series distinction came in 1974 and continued until 1988. Neither truck ever offered an extended cap. During its life, the J-Series pickup saw three distinct owners, Kaiser, AMC, and finally Chrysler who discontinued the J-Series because Chrysler was already building the Dodge Ram and saw no need for the Jeep, especially due to low sales figures.

One notable option package on the J-Series trucks was the honcho package, which included bold decals on the cab and bed and mimicked the wide track Cherokees. It is important the distinction be made that the Honcho package was just that, a trim available from 1976-1983. The Honcho distinction does not apply to all J-Series trucks, a common misconception, but applies to the ones with the specific Honcho graphics It was the graphics that separated Honchos from the rest of the J-Series trucks and the Honcho package was only available on step sides and short beds (J-10s). Stepside Honchos were only produced from 1980-1983 and only 1,264 were ever made (Wikipedia, 2014).