Jeep · 1981-1986
Scrambler (CJ-8)
The Jeep Scrambler (CJ-8, MY1981-1986) was a long-wheelbase CJ-7 with a 103.5-inch wheelbase and a removable half cab that turned the rear of the body into a small pickup box. Fewer than 28,000 were built.
- Years
- 1981-1986
- Drivetrain
- 4WD (part-time, manual locking hubs)
- Engines
- GM Iron Duke 151 · AMC 150 · AMC 258
- Sold in
- US
Spec sheet
- Generation
- 1st Gen
- Nameplate
- Jeep Scrambler
- Production
- 1981–1986
Long-wheelbase CJ-7 built in Toledo, Ohio. Production: 8,355 (1981), 7,759 (1982), 5,405 (1983), 4,130 (1984), 2,015 (1985), 128 (1986). About 230 right-hand-drive steel-top versions went to the US Postal Service in Alaska.
- Assembly
- Toledo, Ohio
- Sold in
- US
- Codes
- CJ-8
- Body styles
- 2-door open body with removable half cab
- Bed lengths
- Integral short pickup box
- Drivetrains
- 4WD (part-time, manual locking hubs)
- Transmissions
- 4-speed manual5-speed manual3-speed automatic
- Wheelbase
- 103.5 in
Engines
- Displacement
- 2.5 L
- Config
- I4
- Years
- 1981-1983
- Notes
- Shared with the CJ-7 (Wikipedia)
- Displacement
- 2.5 L
- Config
- I4
- Years
- 1984-1986
- Notes
- EPA lists a 2.5 L for MY1984-1985
- Displacement
- 4.2 L
- Config
- I6
- Years
- 1981-1986
- Notes
- EPA lists a 4.2 L for MY1984-1986
Highlights
- 01
- Long-wheelbase CJ with an integral pickup box
- 02
- Removable half cab
- 03
- Ronald Reagan used one on his California ranch
- 04
- Just 128 built for 1986
Related
Overview
Jeep introduced the CJ-8 Scrambler for 1981 as a stretched CJ-7 with a 103.5-inch wheelbase. A removable half cab closed off the front seats and left the rear of the tub as a small pickup box, rather than using a separate bed.
It used the CJ's part-time four-wheel drive with manual locking front hubs, a four- or six-cylinder engine and a 4- or 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic. Sales fell every year, from 8,355 in 1981 to 128 in 1986, and the Cherokee-based Comanche effectively replaced it.