The Scrambler is the most undervalued jeep of them all, a true limited edition classic! Produced in limited numbers over a five year period has made this jeep potentially one of most valuable jeeps ever. A stock Scrambler in great shape can easily be valued at more than $9,000 US. There were only 27,792 produced from 1981 to 1986. The rarest of all was the 1986 Scramblers, only 128 were produced that year. (well at least they were titled as 1986 Scramblers)

American Motors Company built the CJ-8, a 103-inch-wheelbase, that was a stretched CJ7 with a short top and pickup bed with lots of rear overhang, the CJ-8 came in hard or soft-top models. The CJ8 was approximately 24 inches longer than the CJ7 overall and had 10 inches added to the wheelbase. The Scrambler was a very modest seller, but an upswing in popularity in the 1990's has turned the old CJ-8 into a very hot item with lots of room for trick modifications.

From just behind the doors forward, the Scrambler is all CJ in appearance. All sheet metal except the body tub is interchange with the CJ7 and late CJ5. A few options unique to the Scrambler were new fiberglass removable hard tops, short soft tops, a pair of great looking wooden bed rails and a bed cover. A massive 3" diameter roll bar mounted in the bed replaced the smaller CJ roll bar. The pickup part of the bed measured 5 foot by 5 foot, but only 3 foot by 5 foot was really usable. The lost space was due to the wheel wells and roll bar posts. Even with such a small payload area the Scramble was rated as a 1/4 ton truck from the factory. In soft top form it was America's only roadster pickup.

Virtually all of the Scramblers mechanical components are interchangeable with the CJ5 and CJ7. The only mechanical parts that differ are those that had to be lengthened, like the drive shaft and brake cables. The wiring to the tail lights is slightly different and the filler tubes to the gas tank had to be lengthened. The standard engine was the Pontiac-built 82 horsepower 4 cylinder 151 cubic inch engine, optional engine was the 110 horsepower in-line 6 cylinder 258 engine. The 258 was the most widely used. The AMC 304 and 360 were never given as an option.

The Scramblers extended length had it's advantages. The weight distribution, 52% in front of the driver and 48% behind the driver delivered a much better ride than the other CJs. With the pickup like bed and go any where reputation, a huge number of Scrambler found there way to ranches and farms. Even today we often here stories of CJ8s found on farms with less than 50,000 miles on them.

The Scrambler or at least today's version, the long wrangler, is still being produced outside the United States. It has the exterior and interior look of the YJ.

SCRAMBLER SPECIFICATIONS

Description

Dimension

Wheelbase

103.4 in

Overall Length

177.2 in

Front Tread 1981

51.5 in

Front Tread 1982-1986

55.8 in

Rear Tread 1981

50.0 in

Rear Tread 1982-1986

55.1 in

Overall Height

67.6 in

Overall Height, in w/Hardtop

70.5 in

Width

65.3 in

Front Overhang

23.5 in

Rear Overhang

50.3 in

Tailgate width

34.5 in

Tailgate height

16.4 in

Ground Clearance

6.9 in

Load Space

61.5 x 55.8 x 16.4=30.4 cu ft

Fuel Tank Standard

15 gal

Fuel Tank Optional

20 gal

Curb Weight

4759 lbs