Contributed by Russ Muller Photography
Was AMC ahead of their time? Or were they too far behind the Big 3 (Chevy, Ford, Dodge)? The answer may be “yes” to both questions. In the case of the CJ-8 Scrambler, AMC arguably created a vehicle for a market segment that did not yet exist. Prior to 1981, the year the Scrambler debuted, there was not a convertible pickup truck on the market. Sure, Blazers and Broncos could be had with a removable fiberglass top, but they were not pickup trucks. Before we try to answer those questions, let’s take a look at David Preising’s beautiful Scrambler.
David Preising is the original owner of this classic black 1984 Scrambler. He purchased it brand new from Fort Myers Lincoln, Mercury, AMC, Jeep Renault on Fowler Street in Fort Myers, FL. “I was driving down the street by the Lincoln dealer and I saw this sitting in the lot,” David told me. “I didn’t even know they sold Jeeps. So, I stopped to look at it because it was so unique and said to the salesman that I wanted to buy it so let’s make a deal. The salesman said that the list price was $10,460, and there’s no deals on this because we aren’t going to be getting many.” So, David decided to think about it and left. Later on he remembered that he belonged to one of the buyers clubs that were popular at the time. They allowed you to buy a car at $100 over invoice at participating dealerships. David checked, and Fort Myers Lincoln Mercury was one of those dealerships. He returned and told the salesman that he was part of the buyer’s club, but they wouldn’t sell it at the buyer’s club price. David had to get the buyer’s club to intervene on his behalf, and eventually bought the Jeep for the club price.
With a base price of $6,995, David’s Scrambler came with the optional 258 Cubic inch inline 6-cylinder, 2-barrel carburetor engine, rated at 110 horsepower. Other options include air conditioning, center console, power steering, power front disk brakes, SR Sport Package, tilt steering wheel, passenger side mirror, chrome rear step bumper, halogen headlights, spare tire carrier, carpeting, and wood side rails, bringing the list price to $10,460. Standard equipment included a Borg-Warner SR-4 4-speed manual transmission, part-time 4-wheel drive with manual locking hubs and 2.73:1 axle ratio, a fuel tank skid plate, and black denim bucket seats.
With 53,000 miles on the clock, David’s Jeep has led an easy life. He has always had another vehicle, so the Jeep has been for recreational use. “It’s all original,”
according to David. “The only things I have replaced are the wheels, because the originals went out of round after a number of years, and of course the tonneau cover has been replaced.” If you look closely, you’ll notice that the black plastic bumper caps have been replaced. The originals dry-rotted, so David had a set made in diamond plate. The paint is original, as are all the vinyl stripes and graphics which have held up extremely well. David added the KC Daylighters back in the ‘80’s to give it the period-correct off-road look. The only real “off-road” use it has seen was when David used to have a boat that he towed with the Jeep, and the 4-wheel drive was used on the boat ramps. The manually locking hubs are something of a curiosity these days, as it seems that all the modern 4-wheel drive vehicles feature a “shift on the fly” setup that locks the hubs automatically. But the simplicity of the manual setup means fewer parts to fail, and the nearly forty years of trouble-free performance are a testament to the beauty of simplicity. The windshield folds down, in classic Jeep fashion, but David never puts it down. “I love it. It’s very unique, and it drives really well,” and returns 18 mpg when cruising on the highway. The interior is mostly original, still sporting the black denim seats that look and feel really good. One addition David made was an aftermarket radio and speakers. “It didn’t come with a radio,” he said. The most interesting comment David made to me was this: “I have a ’36 Chevy, and this gets more looks and comments than the Chevy does.”
Produced from 1981 through 1986, the CJ-8 Scrambler was a sales failure. Vehicle safety testing at the time led consumers to believe the vehicle had dangerous rollover tendencies. With a higher center of gravity than a standard passenger car, Jeeps are indeed more likely to rollover when driven and tested the same way a car is. But so are other similar vehicles. According to Wikipedia, production for the entire run was as follows:
1981- 8,355
1982- 7,759
1983- 5,405
1984- 4,130
1985- 2,015
1986- 128
Total: 27,792
By comparison, the CJ-7 was introduced in 1976 and sold 379,299 units during its 11-year production run.
In 2003, a 2-door version of a Jeep Scrambler, based on a stretched Jeep Wrangler, was shown at the NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association) meeting. In late 2004 there was a Jeep Gladiator concept vehicle introduced. A 4-door Gladiator was introduced for sale in 2019, which is the first Jeep pickup since the Comanche was discontinued in 1992. The Gladiator comes with a 5-foot bed and sold over 77,000 units in 2020. It has been a sales success that is still available today, so maybe AMC was ahead of their time yet again…
