1970 Dj-5a Lhd Dispatcher 100 Ex-postal "rattletrap"

"I can also tell you that right in the manual the curb weight is 2330."

^ That is a joke. A CJ5 weighs around that before you start adding stuff to it. DJ's all came from the factory weighing over 3400 lbs - the top alone weighs 800 lbs. I do know because I have weighed all of it.

The only DJ I haven't weighed is the Model 88, but I think it will be heavy as well, despite the fiberglass body. The Cummins 4B weighs nearly 1000lbs alone.

"To the best of my knowledge, no letter-suffixed DJ was ever offered to the public."

You could order a brand new DJ until 1974; after that, you had to buy them used. So DJ5-A through DJ5-C were offered to the public, and you will find the majority of DJs still out there fall into those years.

My Jeep has a DJ5-A frame under it right now and the entire thing is boxed until the rear gas tank. I am in the process of converting another 1970 frame, and it is the same way - it just depends on what month they were made. The DJ5 model and later all should have boxing like that, but they used leftover frames for some. If you are putting it under a CJ, you don't want the flimsy unboxed frame - it is even weaker than the CJ one. You want the box frame because DJ5 and up were designed as 1/2 ton vehicles, not 1/4 ton vehicles like a CJ5.

"After that, they were all white out of the factory. "

That is 100% false.

 

I can see we are through here. Until I take my own DJ-5A to the scale I cannot provide any more reliable fact than the factory manual provided by Kaiser Jeep Corporation to a Federal Government agency. So if I or that manual are a joke to you, then move right along. No need to respond to any more of my posts. I have no interest in arguing with speculation and opinion. Good day.

 

You have no interest in someone telling you are wrong about something - even if they can prove it. But, you are right it is pointless, I knew you for what you are from your first post.

I will respond to whatever I want.

 

Good Day, sir.

 

Today was an active day on Rattletrap. I finished up installing the new Smitty Belt low-back seats. The donor DJ-5A provided me with original seat brackets and also the sliding rails for the adjustable driver's seat. I used those and modified a pair of my previous ones to match the new height. Previously I had some sort of S-10 or something or other junk yard seats that had camber built into the seat bottom, but these Smitty Bilt are shaped much more like the original and are pretty flat. The front being 3 or 4 inches taller makes a big difference in the seating position. These feel really nice to drive around the yard and up and down the lane in.

I wanted the passenger seat to match the driver in position and height. So I used some 1.25" square tubing and bolted the seat to it, then bolted it down to the seat frames. The bolts into the seat frames are welded into the tubing so it mimics the assembly on the driver's side.

Also now both passenger and driver have factory type seat belts. Previously the passenger seat was a generic J.C. Whitney type that just flopped around. No retraction, no inertia spring... It's nice to have everything paired up as if it was that way all along.

The other nice accomplishment was fitting in this correct battery hold down.

 

I forgot where I found this photo, and the resolution isn't so great. But one can see two 1969/70 model DJ-5As in the picture. The unit number and license plate indicate the 1969 contract year. The tall seat frames like I just installed can be seen clearly in the open door.

 

For giggles I went looking for other spec sheets. I found one for an DJ-5C. Curious how the rated payload actually is a hundred pounds less than my model, while the weight is a hundred pounds more. Looks to still have the 14" wheels as well, though the rear axle ratio is lower, probably gives a better cruising speed.

Edit to include my sources: The above images came from the website here: http://www.catotti.us/jeep/library/ which also has the operators, service and parts manuals for the Model C. I did a peak in at the body section of the parts manual and the front floor pans are certainly different from mine. Look more like CJ ones instead of 38A1.

 

Here's some information from the Postal Employees magazine "Postal Life". January 1979 with regards to the fleet going to all white.

 

Was trying to run him the convoy today, but a test run to the gas station last night revealed I have some fuel/carb adjustment issues to sort before we can tool down the road for more than ten or fifteen minutes. To console myself I took a couple of glamour shots in the morning light:

I am really happy with how these tires look. Really puts the stock appearance back into this based on the photos in the manual and factory photos I have found.

 

That thing's got some great patina.