Get the Best Priced Jeep CJ5 Parts

The year was 1944. World War 2 had been raging for five long years, and the U.S. had been involved for more than two. The tide had turned against the Axis and the end in sight when management at Willys-Overland started thinking about producing a civilian version of a military vehicle for the post-war market. There would certainly be pent-up demand; all production of civilian vehicles had ceased in 1942. The new vehicle would be based on the G.P., or "General Purpose" vehicle - which G.I.s affectionately called the "Jeep."

In May of 1944, Willys-Overland built the first "Civilian Jeep," known as the CJ-1. However, only a handful were produced, and none of them have survived. Civilians had to wait almost two more years before they had a chance to buy a Jeep of their own, which was the CJ-2A. Despite difficulties securing parts and supplies during the post war period, Willys-Overland managed to put out some 215,000 over the next four years - and the rest, as they say, is history.

By 1954, Willys-Overland had been taken over by Kaiser Motors. That was the first year of production for the Jeep CJ-5 - and production of that model would continue for almost three decades. The CJ-5 was based on the M38, the Jeep used by U.N. Forces during the Korean conflict, which had ended only a year earlier. Over the years, Kaiser made minor changes to the CJ-5 such as adding marker lights, changing the length and width, and adding power steering. Then, in 1970, Kaiser itself was merged into the American Motors Corporation (AMC). The engines, which up to that point had been manunfactured by General Motors, were switched to AMC's own power plants. In 1972, AMC began equipping the CJ-5 with a 5.0 liter V8, the largest engine yet used in a Jeep model. This required changing the body dimensions somewhat, though the vehicle's overall appearance remained unchanged.

The drive train also underwent some changes. The front drive axle, which had been a TracLoc limited-slip differential, was replaced by the Dana 30, a full-floating model that is still installed in Jeep products today. The CJ-5 got power disc brakes in 1977, and an AM/FM radio was made available as an option in the early 1980s. What is interesting is that AMC put out other Jeep models over the run of the CJ-5's production - but the CJ-5 remained the most popular right up until the model was finally retired in 1983.

Fans of the Jeep CJ-5 often find themselves scrambling to find Jeep CJ-5 restoration parts. However, these are still being manufactured on the aftermarket; there's no need to settle for used Jeep CJ-5 parts. Instead, you can find Jeep CJ-5 parts, sale priced every day at PartsGeek.com, a discount source for all things automotive. Many parts are priced at up to 80% off normal retail prices, so be sure to check out their site on the World Wide Web.