This weekend I was out in western North Carolina, spreading joy and telling people the Good News about taillight culture, when I happened to notice a very strange and pleasingly homely face from the side of the road. Wide-set eyes, a big gaping mouth – sort of like a large, mutated pug dog. When I saw it, I grabbed the handbrake and came to a loud, screeching halt, ruining the drives of fives of fives of people, sure, but giving me the chance to stop and show you this rare beast.
The strange face belonged to a Jeep – but a very uncommon Jeep, at least here in North America. These were exported to a number of other countries, perhaps most successfully in Australia, and the only ones that really hung around North America were stationed at military bases.
Yes, I’m talking about a Jeep CJ-10. Specifically, a CJ-10A:
Look at that face! Wide-set headlights, a ten-slot grille, massive battering ram bumper, a face only a Jeep Mother could love. And maybe me.
These Jeep trucks were built from 1981 to 1985, and were based on the J-10 pickup truck chassis, but pretty heavily modified. The cab was a modified CJ cab, but it’s all a bit different, and even if those look like normal CJ doors, they’re not, at least not exactly.
You could get these with the AMC 2.5-liter four or the 4.2-liter straight-six, or a 3.2-liter Nissan diesel. This particular one above is a bit different than the ones made and sold in Mexico or Canada or Australia because it’s a CJ-10A, which were built from 1985 to 1986 and were considered to be Flightline Tow Tractors. As in they were meant to pull airplanes around.
These were RWD only and had a shorter, beefier “bed,” and used a 3.3-liter straight-six Nissan diesel engine, They could pull around 40,000 pounds, at the expense of not really being able to go faster than 35 mph or so. Well, how fast do you need to tow a plane, anyway?
I’m not sure how much of the bed on this one is original. Did they usually have that Willys logo stamped on the tailgate, or is that from an older Willys pickup?
[Ed Note: None of it. These didn’t really have beds. Check it out:
Maybe those rear wheel arches were repurposed? -DT]
Those absurdly heavy girder-like bumpers seem right, though. Is that whole bed from an older Willys truck?
I hope you’ll forgive my screwed-up photo, but to confirm the aircraft-towing heritage of this thing, I did see that sticker on the dash, which was far less blurry in person, that showed control tower light codes, something very handy for a machine designed to drag planes around.
I was also delighted to find this parked next to that CJ-10A:
An old Karmann-Ghia! I think it’s a ’69 or ’70 – it has front indicators that were last used in ’69 but integrated reverse lamps in the taillight lenses that started in 1970, so I’m not totally sure. I always like to see and old Ghia, but this next to that CJ-10 was just perfect, because it’s pretty much at the exact opposite end of the automotive spectrum.
Curvy, pretty, designed for style and fun, while the CJ-10A is a brutal workhorse with a job to do, and almost no regard for how it looked.
Automotive yin and yang, right there off the side of the road.
I have a contrarian opinion: The cab, front end and bumpers from the 10A were grafted to a regular Jeep PU.
That is wild. Just the other day I noticed one of these in someone’s driveway and wondered, what the hell is that ugly thing. Low and behold, Jason pops up to tell me. I think Autopian must be eavesdropping though my phone, like Google.
Can’t unsee the front turn signal indicators with tits sticking out…
Sir, do you have a personal relationship with Amber Turn Signals?
That’s her stage name. Been trying to convince her to quit and go back to college. Maybe if I just give her enough money…
If you were in western North Carolina you might also stumble across a few Mahindras for rent in West Jefferson.
Your shot of the Karmann Ghia happened to capture why I never wanted to find another one to restore. When you enlarge, it’s plain to see the common rocker rot, sag, and misaligned door. I had to cut that out, and reinforced with aircraft grade stainless tubing, completely strip the interior, sand the entire floor to bare metal and build up with fiberglass to twice the original thickness. Beefed up suspension, off road and airborne several times, never bottomed out or flexed, drove it hard for 4 years, ran into the guy I sold it to several years after, said it couldn’t be killed, he had sold it to someone else that was still driving it. It was fun as my third purchase, and first driver, but way too much work.
Gearing:
Not just the bed but the rear axle was definitely changed from a dually as a tow-pig to a more conventional “singly” (2 wheels in back) presumably to give a more realistic top speed.
I’m jealous. I’ve never seen a CJ-10 in the wild.
That’s a nice roadside combo.
BTW, Dear Spouse just showed me the “I am a Jeep” TikTok video about ADHD and now I have to share it here. “I was given a brain designed for bad roads and for detours…”
This helps me sooo much! It’s doubly apt for me (and likely some other Autopians), since my ADHD brain understands things best when working with car metaphors!
Weird Jeep? Found on military bases when young?
If there was a Pixar Cars version of David Tracy it’d have to be one of these.
And Australia!
A face that only DT could love…YMMV
My Mom had an almost identical Ghia; a 1970 in yellow with black leatherette, named “Rhoda” after her grandmother. It served our elementary school carpool with distinction and was finally retired when eleven-year-old me could no longer fit in the back seat. It was super cool.
Also, for you CJ-10A knowers in the audience: could the Jeep be run at “normal” speeds with a change in gearing/final drive ratio?
From my understanding these did have a transfer case of sorts that was always locked in “4-Low” even though they did not have a driven front axle. The rear axle was for a “1-ton” truck with a very low gear ratio. So yeah if the components are in the transfer case and it could be shifted into “4-High” or “2wd” then yes it could be run at normal speeds, but still not that fast thanks to the low gear ratio in the rear axle and the fact that the SD-33 doesn’t rev that high. Based on the axles and what I can see of the frame I think the main thing and possibly the only thing that is from a CJ-10a is the cab and front sheet metal.
So, this is it, we’ve found it! This is the Jeep pickup the designers had on the wall for inspiration for the Kia Tasman.
It’s a utilitarian work vehicle, doesn’t have to be pretty as long as it’s functional
I mean, AMC didn’t make it ugly purely for the sake of ugly as with a lot of current trucks
Would be super simple to swap over a CJ7 grille and fenders, and make this thing look outstanding.
But look at that thing! You haven’t seen something so ugly yet with such charisma since Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame!
“Would be super simple to swap over a CJ7 grille and fenders, and make this thing look outstanding.”
Cowardly. The move would be to swap this front end onto a new Gladiator.
Just swap the grill and then have four headlights.
This is the correct answer
They pulled the bumpers off the Karmann-Ghia so that they didn’t exceed the county’s average per vehicle bumper allotment when they registered the Jeep.
Am I the only that upon seeing that face immediately thought of the Pale Man (the one with the eyes on the palms of his hands) form Pan’s Labyrinth?
Made a mistake of googling the Pale Man before Pan’s Labyrinth. Cannot unsee now
There’s all sorts of interesting possibilities with an arrangement like that. Stereo vision on demand, peak around corners discretely, looking in two different directions at once. You could even do a close inspection on yourself to make sure the TP did it’s job. Not sure that one’s a plus though.
That would make a wonderful wedding vehicle.
Like something that a certain former TV host would build?
Came here to post the very same thing.
A Jeep Holy Grail.
David Tracy jumps on next flight to North Carolina.
A combination of CJ and J10 in one? Indeed DT just climaxed pulling off the side of the freeway in his i3 hyperventilating into a paper bag.
10.
slot.
grill.
everything right is wrong.
the spin is rooming!!
How do you feel about the Jeep Razor grill?
AAAAAAA!!!
MY EYES!!!
Maybe it was all they could aford.
The Comanche was offer with 8, 10, and 21 slot grills. I think the 7 slot grill thing is a relatively recent styling queue for Jeeps.