The story
Jeep launched the CJ-8 in March 1981, according to 4WDrive, and called it the Scrambler. It was a long-wheelbase CJ-7: 103.5 inches between the axles, 10 more than the CJ-7, with a removable half cab and a small pickup-style box built into the body tub instead of a separate bed. 4WDrive magazine calls it North America's first factory convertible 4x4 pickup. It kept the CJ formula of a ladder frame, leaf springs, live axles, a gear-driven two-speed transfer case and manual locking hubs. It also kept the CJ's open top, the part a pickup normally gives up.
A PICKUP THAT ISN'T QUITE
4WDrive says the stretch added two feet to the bed and quotes a 636 kg (about 1,400 lb) payload. SlashGear says a hard half cab was standard, with full soft and hard tops available; 4WDrive describes a removable soft or hard cab. Jeep sold the truck on fun as much as utility. eBay Motors notes that the Scrambler name came from an appearance package, and many trucks wore loud decal kits. The SR Sport and SL Sport packages added bigger tires, under-hood insulation and lighting, a three-spoke wheel, chrome trim, carpet and decals. A denim edition topped the range at $8,392.
Under the skin it's a CJ-7 with a longer middle. Like the CJ-7, it moved to wider-track Dana 30 and AMC 20 axles for 1982. The Dana 300 transfer case is a strong, gear-driven unit, according to Jeep-CJ.com. Prices fell quickly. 4WDrive lists a base price of $7,288 at launch and a low of $6,765 in 1982. By 1985 Jeep was throwing in a free soft top to keep the trucks moving.
WHAT'S UNDER THE HOOD
Engines followed the CJ-7. Early trucks came with GM's 151 Iron Duke four as standard, which SlashGear calls 'relatively wimpy' and Jeep-CJ.com's buyer's guide says to avoid. AMC's own 2.5-litre four replaced it later in the run, rated at 105 hp. Offroaders.com and Wikipedia date the GM 151 in CJs to 1980–83, and the AMC 150 arrived for 1984. The engine to have is the 258 straight-six, rated at 115 hp. No Scrambler had a factory V8.
Manual Scramblers used the BorgWarner SR-4 behind the four and the Tremec T-176 behind the six. Automatics were Chrysler TorqueFlites: the 904 with the four and the 999 with the six. The BorgWarner T-4 four-speed and T-5 five-speed were in the CJ line from 1982, per Offroaders.com (SlashGear dates the Scrambler's T-5 to 1985–86). The T-5 has a 4.03:1 first gear and an overdrive fifth that SlashGear gives as 0.76:1 and Offroaders.com as 0.8. On Jeep-CJ.com, members call it weak and suggest the T-176 as the easiest swap. Most Scramblers have the AMC 20 rear axle, but some 1986 trucks got a Dana 44.
SLOW SALES, LONG AFTERLIFE
Sales started at 8,355 in 1981 and slid every year to 128 in 1986, and there's debate over whether those last ones were leftovers. That adds up to about 27,800 Scramblers, against more than 379,000 CJ-7s built from 1976 to 1986. The Cherokee-based Comanche effectively replaced it. The rarest variants went abroad or north. Alaska's postal service ordered 230 right-hand-drive automatics with full steel 'World Cab' tops and barn doors. Venezuela and Australia got a similar truck called the CJ8 Overlander, with full-length rear windows.
The low production numbers are why prices have climbed. SlashGear says a well-preserved Scrambler now costs at least $30,000, and eBay Motors featured one showing just under 2,100 miles on its five-digit odometer, with a $39,900 asking price. Long-wheelbase Jeeps came back with the 2004 Wrangler Unlimited (LJ) and the four-door JK Unlimited. Neither has a bed, though, and that is why Scrambler owners keep theirs.
SIDEBAR · THE GIPPER'S SCRAMBLER
A blue Scrambler at Rancho del Cielo
Ronald Reagan drove his own vehicles at Rancho del Cielo, his ranch near Santa Barbara. His favorite was a red 1962 Willys CJ-6. KEYT reports that Nancy Reagan bought a new blue Jeep Scrambler for the ranch after Barbara Walters called the old Willys a 'scroungy jeep.' RealTruck identifies it as a sky-blue 1983 CJ-8 Scrambler Renegade, given to the President by Nancy. A White House photograph dated 2 April 1983 shows him with it at the ranch.
The truck is now the centerpiece of the Reagan Ranch Center exhibit in Santa Barbara, complete with a 'GIPPER' license plate. RealTruck says it shows a little over 18,000 miles.
