J8 diesel photos and story

[haven]

The Wrangler J8, built for the Egyptian army, made an appearance at the Jeep Easter Week in Moab this year.



The J8 uses a Wrangler Unlimited body without rear doors. A Dana 60 on leaf springs replace the Wrangler's rear coil springs, the frame is strengthened, and larger 17x8 steel rims are fitted. A VM Motori 2.8L diesel is installed under the hood.

Read the J8 story, and see lots of photos here:

http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/new...-j8-sarge.html

Too bad Scott can't have Earthroamer convert this chassis into his camper!

[Carlyle]

I would look good in one of those, too bad I don't get to have one.

[boblynch]

The more I read about this vehicle the more I'm convinced it would find a market in the US if offered. The members of this forum alone could probably generate more word-of-mouth sales for a J8-type vehicle than recent Dakota sales.

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Perfect replacement for the SWR...............!


That's Exactly what I have been looking/hoping for!


Check out the intake on the hood.







Only thing is.....can I fit my twin blow up camp mattress in there? .....hehe

I hate setting up tents!



.

[grahamfitter]

A hard top anchored to the roll cage is much better for mounting a roof rack than the quirky external body-mounted setup I'm using now. I wonder how much of this stuff will filter down to the likes of us?

Cheers,
Graham

[IXNAYXJ]

R

-----Matt-----

[haven]

In another thread, I passed along a link to a magazine article claiming to know what Chrysler is thinking about its light trucks. The idea is to make the Dodge Dakota more car-like to take on the Honda Ridgeline. A pickup would be added to the Jeep line for people who like the current truck-like Dakota.

Here's the thread
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16495

If Jeep decides to offer a pickup, chances are the bed will be longer than the J8's to make it more practical as a work vehicle. That's OK with me, since it will become a better platform for a small camper.

I'm sure Chrysler will be watching the success of the Mahindra 4x4 pickup with 2.2L diesel engine. It's supposed to be introduced this time next year. If the Mahindra is well-received, Jeep could respond with 4 cylinder diesel, like the VM Motori unit in the J8, or the International 3.0L from Brasil. Cummins is supposed to have a V6 diesel ready soon, but at 4.2L and 400 lb-ft of torque, it's probably too big for this application.

[CRD4Liberty]

Here in Oregon, we don't see many Ridgelines on the road. I wasn't aware they were selling that well for Dodge to think about moving to that type platform.

[JPFreek1]

Yeah, we featured that vehicle on the front cover of the new issue of JPFreek and one of our contributing editor's, Matt Adair (aka IXNAYXJ) had the pleasure of test driving it out at EJS in Moab. Check out the photos in the new issue of JPFreek from our website.

[jerdog53]

iF YOU build it they will buy it!