Jeep Trucks, an Incomplete History: The Kaiser Years

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 11/27/2018 at 08:30 • Filed to: History of Jeep Trucks, Jeep, Gladiator, Jeepster

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It’s not easy being a fan of Jeep trucks. The indignities are multitudinous.

A few days ago I was browsing a used bookstore, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . There weren’t any Jeep-specific books, but since I had just published !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I figured I’d look at their truck books to see what they had to say about Jeep.

The first book I checked: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Since the Willys MB was basically an overgrown tractor, and since Jeep had produced quite a few trucks over the years, I thought I’d find a few interesting bits of tid.

Well, bits is what I found. No trucks, but a brief discussion of the flatfender CJs. For a book published in 2003, you’d think that something more recent than 1960 would have made the cut.

In fact, they were so keenly interested in Jeeps that the second paragraph ended mid-sentence. The next page moved on to a different manufacturer. Indignities.

The other book I looked at, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , made The Complete Book of Tractors & Trucks look like a Jeep encyclopedia. Ford, Dodge, Chevy, International Harvester, Studebaker...but no Jeeps.

This gaping hole in our cultural awareness extends to Jalopnik. During his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Andrew Collins asked someone off-camera whether Jeep had ever produced a full-sized pickup truck, and then decided they had not.

The indignity of it all.

(It’s ok, Andrew, I still love you.)

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This Gladiator and the owner’s beautiful Grand Wagoneer graced the same parking lot as my Wrangler during preparations for the 2018 Toledo Jeep Fest parade.

You, my dear reader, know better. Jeep has indeed made trucks. Great trucks. Quirky trucks. Beautiful trucks. Trucks that inspire awe from bystanders in no small part because it’s a revelation that they ever existed.

Sigh .

So let us proceed with the inventory of Jeep’s forgotten children. Last time we captured every truck built during the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! years, yet Willys was but the first bearer of the Jeep flag. (Yes, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! has a legitimate claim on that title, but that’s another story for a another day.)

Jeep has the dubious distinction of always being owned by an auto company that can’t really afford to be in the auto business. (I happen to think that’s the only reason we still have the Jeep Wrangler in its solid-axle/ragtop/windshield-dropping form after all these many decades, but that too is another story.) Willys-Overland couldn’t make it alone, so !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! bought/merged with it in 1953.

Four wheel drive and the iconic Rhino grille. Now that’s a pickup even a non-truck-guy like myself can appreciate.

Kaiser produced two Jeep pickups during its stewardship of the brand: the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and a pickup version of the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Let’s take a look at each.

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Gladiator (1963-1971)

The Gladiator arrived on the scene as the rather spartan Jeep Truck was departing. As with the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the Gladiator was built on the same platform as another wagon: the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! -designed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . And as with the Willys Wagon and Jeep Truck, the wagon overshadowed the truck.

Perhaps the most distinctive styling element on the Gladiator was the Rhino grille. For all of their market success and passionate fan base, none of the other major U.S. automakers have ever manufactured a pickup truck with a grille so widely-admired. I mean, have you seen the feeble attempts Ford made on their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ?

Besides a strong sense of style, Gladiator also launched with what was then still a rarity in the U.S. market: an overhead-cam engine (the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which replaced the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). Perhaps due to its unfamiliar design, mechanics of the era were not overly impressed, and it gained a somewhat problematic reputation. In 1965, foreshadowing Jeep’s next corporate transition, Kaiser started using !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the Gladiator instead.

(This engine would famously power Jeeps until finally being retired in 2006, with dramatically better reliability than the Nash straight-6 engine that AMC had used previously.)

“The beautiful brute”

Kaiser’s relationship with AMC was further strengthened that year by offering its !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , addressing the power concerns that had constrained some earlier sales.

Other distinctive options for the new Gladiator: four-wheel drive with an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (most Gladiators, however, used a solid front axle, and IFS was retired from the Gladiator in 1965) and, entirely unique to Jeep in the U.S. market, four-wheel drive with an automatic transmission.

So, of the innovations Jeep brought to market with the Gladiator, most were abandoned relatively early; sadly, this includes the Rhino grille, which eventually made way for other designs while the Wagoneer and trucks still retained the front clip, as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

(Highlighted in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the fact that the Gladiator came with an alternator; that innovation, thankfully, has survived.)

The Gladiator name itself did not make the cut; after AMC bought Kaiser, the marketing name was dropped, and the trucks are now referred to as “J-series” trucks, owing to their model names: J-200, J-300, ad nauseum. However, I’ll cover that in the final article in this series, covering the AMC/Chrysler years.

If you’re interested in the fine details: model numbers, thriftside vs townside, technical specifications, basically anything you’d ever need for a restoration, I recommend !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

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Jeepster Commando (1966-1973)

If you think of the Jeepster at all, you can be forgiven for thinking of it as a roadster . Its first incarnation during the Willys years was simply that: a two-wheel drive roadster, which didn’t particularly mesh well with the emerging Jeep brand ethos.

It was and is, however, a beautiful car. Nonetheless, being underpowered and overpriced relative to its competition, it lasted but two years before Willys dropped the ax.

Kaiser resurrected the marque as a four-wheel drive roadster/pickup/station wagon. The Commando isn’t nearly as elegant as the original Jeepster, but overall it’s still a very attractive vehicle.

1969 Jeepster Commando pickup, restored to its original Empire Blue paint.

Or was a very attractive vehicle, until AMC got its hands on it. Again, more on that in my next piece.

The Commando was, unlike the original Jeepster, four-wheel drive, designed to compete with the IH Scout and Ford Bronco. It came by default with the Hurricane engine, but Kaiser also offered a Buick “Dauntless” V6. With its Hurricane it could go from zero to sixty in 24 seconds! What a speedster.

The Commando looks and feels like a Jeep, just one unfamiliar to most people. It has the classic seven-slot grille, the CJ-style external hood latches and round headlights. It even offered power take-off, so you could plow fields or dig ditches when the mood struck you.

And if you were less interested in field labor and more concerned with creature comforts, the Commando even offered a power soft top.

Holy Toledo, what a car!

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Earlier in this piece I posited the notion that Jeep has been perpetually owned by car companies who couldn’t afford to be car companies. First Willys, then Kaiser, then AMC. And Chrysler. And FCA, although (finally, thanks to Jeep!) it seems that despite Sergio’s frequent entreaties (RIP) Jeep might finally no longer need to be a bargaining chip for a buy-out.

In my next and final piece I’ll tackle Jeep pickup trucks during the AMC and Chrysler era. AMC may not have known what to do with Jeep design, but they managed to keep the brand alive, for which I’ll be forever grateful.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Just Jeepin' 11/27/2018 at 08:44

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I could totally see a timeline where the Jeepster comes back. Let’s say that FCA basically kills off all their brands but RAM and Jeep. At some point, I’d assume they’d need to make a small car/crossover at some point , even smaller than the Renegade.

I would want it to be called the Jeepster.  I picture it like an Ecosport fighter.

Just Jeepin' > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/27/2018 at 09:10

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Unfortunately I think that niche of the ecosystem is already occupied by the Compass.

Even if they want to make a smaller roadster, what are the odds it would look anything like Brooks Stevens’s original  design ?

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Just Jeepin' 11/27/2018 at 09:14

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It wouldn't look like it, but car companies love brining back dead nameplates to new crossovers

Just Jeepin' > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/27/2018 at 09:19

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Oh, definitely. My skepticism isn’t about the name itself, but “ Jeepster” in spirit: even A MC had the decency to drop that name when they butchered the Commando design.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Just Jeepin' 11/27/2018 at 13:27

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On paper, the OHC Tornado engine looked great. And I’ve heard there were issues with the engine... but I never heard what the specific issues were.

Same deal with the Pontiac OHC I6.

Just Jeepin' > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 11/27/2018 at 13:34

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This article goes into it a bit: a propensity for oil leaks that often weren’t noticed until engine damage occurred. Solved later, but reputation is hard to shake.

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2012/06/classic-engine-jeeps-tornado-straight-six.html

The military wasn’t overly fond of it in the M715, too underpowered I believe. Hoping to add another article on the Jeep military trucks, but probably not this week.

Berang > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 03:37

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I have a 1967 road test of the Commando. What interests me most though, is Kaiser’s purpose for the vehicle. They wanted to move the image of the Jeep upmarket, to have a sort of lifestyle vehicle.

The Scout and Bronco were modern, stylish competition for the CJ, but they were still very basic, even crude. The Jeepster gave Kaiser something to market that wouldn’t just match the style of these new competitors, but move the 4x4 into a new market segment. It’s really the first step towards the modern luxury SUV, the first step in the direction of the mall cruiser. Here was something that looked a little bit nicer, rode a little bit softer, handled a little bit better than the competition. Ford and IHC’s response to the Jeep was simple to make something that didn’t look like it had been styled in the 1940s, easy enough - so Kaiser’s response to their vehicles had to strive for something a little bit higher.

Just Jeepin' > Berang 11/28/2018 at 08:38

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Thanks for the insight, that makes a lot of sense .

Who published the road test? I’ d like to look online to see if I can find a copy.

Mercedes Streeter > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 10:55

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I love, love, love this obsessive look into Jeep history!! It’s often said that every Oppo is an expert on something and pieces like these continue to drive home that point. :)

One day I’d love to own a Wrangler. My current income would probably get me behind the wheel of a TJ (unless I managed to stop buying motorcycles long enough). I’ve had dreams of owning a manual, soft top, 2-door Wrangler in a cherry red and taking it out on the trails I’m too scared to in the smarts.

Just Jeepin' > Mercedes Streeter 11/28/2018 at 11:01

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I’ll admit I rushed the last one a bit to squeeze in under the deadline, but in fairness I actually don’t care much about pickups so it was a bit of a grind.

The nice thing about a TJ is that you can pick one up relatively affordably and not be too crippled financially if you destroy it off-roading.

That,  and they’re awesome.

Berang > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 13:37

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Motor Trend

scramboleer > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 23:24

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Love this series. Thank you.

1966 Kaiser-Jeep Gladiator J3000 4x4 pickup with 327 V8

Just Jeepin' > scramboleer 11/28/2018 at 23:45

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That’s a great lineup. The only one I’ve seen comparable is one owner’s collection at the Toledo Jeep Fest (the fellow David wrote about after).

scramboleer > Just Jeepin' 11/29/2018 at 01:46

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That picture was taken atop Mt. Diablo near Walnut Creek, California in 2009ish.

ranwhenparked > Just Jeepin' 12/22/2018 at 21:48

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That Dauntless V6 was a real workhorse of an engine, powered Buicks up through 2008.

GM spun it off their aborted aluminum V8 in the early ‘60s (with the V8 design going to Rover), but sold the tooling and IP to Kaiser-Jeep after a few years, when they decided a V6 wasn’t worth the effort, with customers so V8 focused and straight sixes handling the low end of the market. American Motors dropped it when they bought Kaiser-Jeep, since they had a modern new straight six already and didn’t need an extra engine, and GM bought the stored tooling back from American Motors in the ‘70s when they realized they needed an economical, modern V6 during the gas crisis, and kept on cranking out the 3800 well into the 21st century. Fortunately, American Motors was so frugal that they couldn’t bring themselves to throw anything away, even if they were very sure they were never going to use it again. Kaiser-Jeep’s frugality helped, too. A brand new, modern engine that someone else just developed, for cheap, was just too good a deal.

Confusing the family tree, the V8 ancestor was reengineered for cast iron and was used in Buicks into the 1980s, while the original aluminum V8 was used in any number of British cars, including Land Rovers, straight into the 2000s and is actually still in limited production by MCT ReMan Ltd. in the UK for aftermarket and specialty applications.

So, Jeeps  and Land Rovers have used variants of a common engine family, creating a second touchpoint on their family tree. 

onlytwowheels > Just Jeepin' 11/10/2020 at 20:44

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I had one of these as a young ster.

Merfthemadmauler > onlytwowheels 11/10/2020 at 23:33

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I’m glad I got to play with Tonka toys like that.

onlytwowheels > Merfthemadmauler 11/10/2020 at 23:51

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I think it and other toys influenced my vehicle buying choices later in life.  Very smart marketing.....