Everything Jeep Fans Should Know About The CJ8 'Scrambler'
The Jeep brand dates back to World War II when Willys Overland adapted the Quad it built for the U.S. Army into the CJ-2A. Jeep has since passed to Kaiser and AMC, then to Chrysler when it bought American Motors in 1987. Chrysler came under the Stellantis umbrella when Fiat Chrysler and the Peugeot Group joined forces, and the CJ line died with Chrysler's introduction of the first of four generations of the Wrangler. The rarest CJ was the CJ-8 Scrambler, an extended version of the CJ-7 with a small pickup-like bed behind the seats. Jeep only made about 28,000 CJ-8s in its run from 1981 through 1986, compared to more than 379,000 CJ-7s produced between 1976 and 1986. The Scrambler was two feet longer than the CJ-7 with a wheelbase of 103.5 inches — exactly 10 inches longer than that of its more traditional brother.
Initially, the Scrambler's base engine was the relatively wimpy Iron Duke 151 cubic-inch I4, but a carbureted version of Jeep's stalwart 2.5-liter four-banger took over as the low-end option in 1983. Despite having a single cubic inch less displacement than its predecessor, the 2.5 liter's 105 horsepower output was more than 20 horses stronger than its papa.
CJ8 Scramblers are hard to find today
The most desirable CJ-8 engine option was the 258 cubic-inch (4.2-liter) I6 that made 115 horsepower, as Jeep didn't offer any V8 engines in the Scrambler. Underneath four-cylinder CJ-8s sat a BorgWarner SR-4 four-speed manual transmission, while six-cylinder models got the Tremec T-176. Buyers who didn't know how to drive a stick shift could opt for Chrysler's Torqueflite 904 automatic with the four-cylinder engine and the TF 999 with the six. For 1985 and 1986, manual Scramblers got the BorgWarner T-5, which had a stump-yanking 4.03:1 first gear and a 0.76:1 overdrive fifth.
Behind all those transmissions sat a two-speed Dana 300 transfer case, with the front driveshaft running to a Dana 30 axle. Most CJ-8s had the rather flimsy two-piece AMC 20 in the back, but some 1986 Scramblers got much beefier Dana 44 rear axles.
The standard top was a hard half-cab cover, but full soft and hard tops were also available. Like the CJ-7, The CJ-8 Scrambler can be upgraded with higher-ratio axles, lift kits, and lockers. Many Jeepers replace the stock engine in their CJ with one of AMC's strong but gas-chugging V8s or swap in a Chevy LS motor, but supply and demand make these engines and underbody upgrades far easier to acquire than a CJ-8 to put them in. CJ-8 Scramblers originally sold for between $9,000 and $10,000, but a well-preserved model will cost at least $30,000 today.
[Featured image by CZMarlin via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|Public Domain]