of torque from 6.4 liters of displacement.

But it’s so cool we’ll take it as the V8-powered Scrambler that was never made anyway.Īt the core of the concept is of course the HEMI engine we know and love, capable of developing 470 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. Base models received a 150-cubic-inch four-cylinder engine rated at 82 horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque. The Scrambler featured a 103.5-inch wheelbase and measured 177.3 inches from bumper to bumpermore than 22 inches longer than a CJ-7. It’s a four-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on the 392 variety, modified by Jeep to be reminiscent of the original. AMC was late to the mini-truck party when it rolled out the CJ-8 in 1981. Well, ok, you’re right, it’s not an actual Scrambler from decades ago, taken out of storage and somehow remade into an impressive off-roader. There's no major equipment difference, just the level of dcor items. Jeep offered the CJ-8 in three trim levels until the 1985 model year: standard Scrambler trim, SR Sport, and SL Sport. This weekend the 2023 Easter Jeep Safari kicks off in Moab, Utah, and, as it’s done for years, the carmaker will be bringing to the orange desert floor no less than seven concepts. The only major production change was that in 1982, tread width on all Scramblers and CJ-7s increased by 3.4 and 4.6 inches, front and rear. The other main difference between CJ-5 and CJ-7 was to the chassis, which consisted of two parallel longitudinal main c-section rails. And if you happen to feel the same way, and wished the Scrambler had a proper American engine in its bay, here’s retribution. Video of my 1981 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler accelerating away, turning, passing (with headlights and brights), turning again and braking (a bit of a medium to hard brake application). The Jeep CJ-7 featured a wheelbase 10 inches longer than that of the CJ-5, with its curved side entry cutouts partially squared up to accommodate hinged doors. It probably had nothing to do with the truck’s poor performance, but I like to think the absence of a V8 engine from the CJ-8 lineup back then was somewhat of a factor. It wasn’t such a big hit on the market, with just under 30,000 of them being sold during all seven years.

Also known as the CJ-8, this Jeep variety arrived on the scene in 1981 and was only in production for seven years.

1981 jeep scrambler