Ok, bear with me because this is a somewhat stupid question but I promised a friend that I would ask for him.

A buddy of mine has always really liked the postal Jeeps (don't ask me why) and is getting ready to scrap together his first beater trail rig. He has his eye on this little DJ but we haven't been able to turn up too much info on them. Anybody have any decent links? I'm not too big into Jeep history, but those little buggers are 2wd aren't they? Engine/tranny combos? blah blah blah. Any info is appreciated. I've got my flame suit on :flipoff2:

I've been trying to tell him that for an absolute beater rig that works well (1k or less) he should just get an old Yota and have a hack/torch/welding weekend of fun. Whatever.

I don't have any links for them, but here is what I know.

1. same length as the pre-75 CJ-5 so a v8 or I6 is hard to get into it
2. all are 4 cly, 2 spd auto and 2wd
3. when AMC took over (I think early 80's) they switched from a d44 rear to a d35, not sure what the d44 spline was
4. right hand drive makes engine swaps interesting and power steering difficult

My future project will be a DJ body on a YJ frame with full width, SOA 1 ton running gear and a V8,sm465 and an Atlas II under the hood. I will probably start gathering the pieces next year or if I win the lotto.

a few years ago (okay maybe like 7) fourwheeler did a build up of a DJ, they covereted to 4x4 and did several other modifications. Kind of an interesting idea. I think their's came with a 232 I-6 if I remember correctly and a 727 auto and Dana 44 rear.

Cool. Hey, looks like there is some potential here. I was thinking that waggy axles front and rear would be an easy swap, cheap too. Will a Dana 20 bolt up to that 727, because we might be able to snag one of those for next to nothing?

The output shaft on the tranny will need to be swapped with one from a CJ or Scout that hs a D20 since the 2WD output is longer and has a different spline count. The waggy axles woud probably be too wide probably need to find narrow track CJ axles.

I didn't see the article and I am not argueing with you, but it will be very difficult to put an I6 in a DJ unless you alter the firewall. I am currently working on a v8 into a '48 CJ-2A (same dimensions)and it is a tight squeeze. The longer I6 will not be worth the effort. We are even contimplating a 4.3l v6. A good drive train would be a FI 4.3l Chevy engine with a sm465 or sm420 tranny (turbo350 if you want auto) and a d300 t-case. The waggy axles are a good choice. The d20 is good, but has disadvantages like low range gearing. Use the search engine to find the recent thread on the d20. You will have to outboard the front springs for the Waggy axle, but that will probably be the easiest part of the extensive custom fabbing you will need to do. Another suggestion is doing a SOA with Waggy springs because it will extend the wheel base about 4" (offset cetering bolt). On our project we just turned the front spring hangers around to fit the Waggy springs and in the rear we also flipped the shackle hanger and moved the main eye mount back. We are using a '76 frame and have added 6" of wheelbase.

I still think you would be better mating the body to a YJ frame.

It all depends on what year DJ you get. They never extended the fenders like they did in CJs, but the did extend the grill. The ones with the extended grill did come with AMC I6s. Check out postaljeep.com (http://www.postaljeep.com/modelinfo.html) for more info.

They did come with sixes. And the grill was stretched. I stock them. There are 4 sources for DJ parts. Guess what? I'm one of them. Click on the link in my sig. That will get you started.

As to making it a trail rig, anything's possible. It just might not be cheap.

I stand corrected on the I6 issue. I have not seen this fact in any documentation that I have. This model would probably except a 4.0l pretty easily. Just another option.

So I did a little more research (thanks for the links) and this is starting to look like it might be a feaseable project. I just got off the phone with my buddy and he is hell bent on "I just want something different. Have you ever seen someone try to wheel a freakin' postal Jeep!?" I agree though, it will be a wild ride to get it built. Here are the currect design goals and ideas. Let me know if I am totally off base here or building something rediculously dangerous. The only time that this will ever hit the street is to and from the trailhead. Well, maybe a main street cruise for shock value :D Anyway...

In so far as the axles are concerned, we are both thinking that waggys are going to be top choice. Yes, they are wider, but this thing could really use some added stability. The main reason is cost though. They are dirt cheap around here and should be a simple swap. Spring over of course, along with a lengthened wheelbase.

Regarding the motor, cheap is the big ticket point here. If it is a stock I6 then I think it will be fine, but a little 4 popper probably needs to go. So, any suggestions? The 4.3 would be a cool swap, but the cost might be a bit high. I had assumed that the output shaft on the 727 would need to be swapped, but that isn't a big deal. So what tranny and transfercase combos will bolt up to the engines offered? How about the power steering conversion?

All of the fab work will be easy. We both have good shops of our own, and if we are lacking something we've got the college metal shop at our disposal Dirt cheap and different is the main idea here :D Thanks for any input!

they can have the 6 cyl and some have an offset D44 axle. I saw one driving and I thought it was a flatfender for a second because of the thin windshield. He made it into a CJ5 looking thing with no doors and no top. Black on 31s or 32s. It was pretty trick.

I just got one for the whopping price of $0.00 last week.
It is a '73 and it has a 232 6 cyl. in it.
I'm ready to look for a t-case and axle to put in it so I can go beat it up.

I'd like to get one and put all my stock YJ stuff on it.