Uh... Lets see? Yep mines a 84 Joop.

They can kill you but they can't eat you! /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif

 

1983 CJ-7 "Jeep"

BTW: You can still buy new, unprimered OEM "Jeep" tailgates from Willys Overland.
Pricey, though ...

JAF
http://www.monsterslayer.com/jeep

 

85 JOOP

You can really tell by looking inside the cab at the stamped area. Run your fingers around and feel if it has any E feeling. Mine are smooth-ass O's

Sean

 

Well I did some emailing to Toledo. The stamps did wear out and they were not replaced because orginally the cost of tooling when AMC was in a crunch. The Joop stamp then became a little sentimental and was still being used because it was one piece of tooling that had remained consistent over the years.

This was the guy who is over the Willys/Overland company now.



Hank
88 YJ (sort of)

 

Know what Hank ? If you look up quite a few posts , I have an image of the one from Wiilys-Overland and I have looked at it REAL close and it does not look like a worn out die , the O`s are perfectly , precision machined . Now can you imagine , really , a HUGH automaker at the time using a worn out die that shows a sloppy set of letters on the metal panels of a prominent 4X4 ?? I dont think so . I think it just changed in 85 . It would be cool if you could post a copy of the letter from Wiilys . Thanks !!

Happy Owner of a 1979 CJ5
Almost finished /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif ( Ya Right ! )

There`s No Such Thing As Surface Rust

 

what part of "my 84 says joop" dont you understand.. heres another one.. look at jeep real close.. mmm.. almost a perfect O.. except for the indent in the middle.. now.. picture that indent fading away.. bada boom...
now.. lets defunc the ideal of a large auto maker.. being cheap.. 86 cj's.. mmm.. what is that rear axle.. 1/2 amc.. 1/2 gm.. or some crap like that.. basically whatever they had lying around.. sounds like a cheap ass automaker.. trying to stay afloat till they were bought out..
please dont think that they have unlimited funds.. i have seen tons of cheap ass ideals of theirs.. and im sure many other people on here have seen waaay more.. than me..

survival is instinct, but living takes guts

http://www.jeepgod.net

 

This topic has gone it course already but , your 84 Joop is like my 79 CJ . The frames from 76 to 79 had different holes for the body bushings than 80 - 86 . I know for certain mine was the original frame but it had the 80 bushing holes. Answer : It was one of the last ones off the line for its model year ( the serial number agree`s with this if you look at how many were made) .I say this ONLY because my friend was here today with his 84 CJ7 and its a JEEP , same stamping as my 79 , exactley .His serial number is VERY early . Have a good one !

Jeff

Happy Owner of a 1979 CJ5
Almost finished /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif ( Ya Right ! )

There`s No Such Thing As Surface Rust

 

I don't know, Jeff, it seems posts like this take on a life of their own./wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

1985-86 was a very rough time for AMC...the money that Renault gave them (actually Renault actually had over 50% of AMC by then) was quickly running out; they were having trouble keeping up with all the XJ orders and the then new YJ was in developement.....I always thought that they let the "Joop" stamping go because they were going to retire the CJ-7 soon anyway. Supposedly, they put "e" decals over the "o"s to keep it saying Jeep. Does anybody out there have those decals on their 85-86 CJ-7s?? /wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

i have a 79 that both is stamped jeep and has decals. they are definately original too.

79/CJ-7/AMC360/TH400/Q-TRAC/d30/d44/33's/RS9000s/Herculiner/Pro-jection 2D/MSD/4.10s/lockrights

 

Your right James . All I was trying to point out to Jeepgod ( after his tiny bit of sarcasm tossed my way) was that his JOOP ,er Jeep was probably late in the run . My friends 84 CJ stamping is as clean and crisp as my 79 is , thats why I kind of "poo pooed" the idea of worn out stamping dies. That late model change over stuff has made a couple nightmares for me . Try to order a body bushing kit for a 79 when you find you have the 80 style frame UGH !!!/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif See Ya /wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

Jeff

Happy Owner of a 1979 CJ5
Almost finished /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif ( Ya Right ! )

There`s No Such Thing As Surface Rust

 

it seems to me that when they stamped out bodies, they didn't do it all the time.. they probably stamped out a bunch, then a bunch more.. so, when the 1st pile was used up(in 84)) they stamped out a ton more.. who knows when they got used.. 84, 85, ??but the last ones stamped would have been the first ones used..so maybe (this is a theroy) the 86's might still have the e just a bit..
another theory....
see, i grew up in a tool and die shop...the die may have been set up differently in the later runs, either causing wear, or not stamping as hard. another possibility is that the upper portion of the die was changed... causing only on direction of stamping... no countered letters...
its impossible to say with out asking someone that was there...

~~Elusive~~
tj-7..tellico tested, uwharrie safaried, /wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif..see it at http://www.jeepgod.net
oh yeah, and a 2000 tj, 4.0, dana 44, nv3550

 

84 CJ8 Jeep
85 CJ7 Joop
The stamping on my 84 is clean and crisp with no signs of a worn stamp.
The stamping on my 85 has the p filled in as well as the e's but the J is still crisp, and still looks like a J.
I'm just thinking to myself here, but, if a stamp was to wear out, wouldn't it wear out progressively and not all at once? I mean wouldn't the stamp be worse in 82 than in 81 and 83 worse than 82 and so on? It's not logical that a stamp would all of a sudden go from clean and crisp to old and tired in the middle of a model year.
And how come the J is still intact? Why wouldn't the bottom portion of the J fill in just like the others ?
My theory is, that when it came time to purchase new stamps, it was more cost effective to make them simpler because they were getting covered with decals and nobody would really care anyway.
Little did they know that trying to cut a few corners would spark such a debate 15 years later.
Most automakers would handover thier firstborn for this kind of attention over their product. This kind of passion can't be bought or sold, it can't be marketed or advertised, it has to be earned.

just my .02
CTjeepnut

Funny thing is, the more I practice, the luckier I get

 

What is interesting to me is the fact that all this is now a part of history....a history that is rooted in the Jeeps being manufactured by independent and, sometimes, marginal producers in it's first 45 years or so.....now that Jeep belongs to a company with deep pockets, all these little quirky but interesting stories will fade into Jeep lore...a little sad if you stop and think about it for a second./wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

 

Bingo CTjeepnut !!!

You got it. It's cheaper to machine an "O".

In reality, there were probably numerous sets of dies used during the 84-85 production run and those dies were probably supplied by an outside vendor or three. Every little corner cut means a buck saved.

One of my buds over in CA has a 79 CJ7 with an 84 or 85 JOOP body and his was not stamped by a worn die. The back side is crisp and you can still make out the stretch marks from the male side.

Rockcrusher

 

yes due to stock piling.. some 84 bodies might have been actually made in 82-38 time frame.. and i just dont buy into that a company that was in the hole like amc was in the 80's.. would spend money on new dies.. just because the ee's wore out.. and yes in later years or whenever they did get new ones im sure its way more cost effective to make o's since the put stickers over them anyways.. just look at the tj's.. its not even joop anymore.. just an outline..
i think by the end of this.. we will have heard from someone who worked the stamps.. or someone will have done a scientific research on this and we'll have the actual answer.. but who knows.. that may even take some 15 more years..

survival is instinct, but living takes guts

http://www.jeepgod.net

 

You guys have really hashed this one over. Beat it to death. My '64 says JEEP, in all capitals. have read in the past that there was a point in time when the dies were actually wearing out and the stampings were bearly readable, but as has been already mentioned they would wear out gradually not suddenly between model years. Actually it is neither an "e" or an "o", it is just a raised area of metal that an "e" will fit on. Initially, I thought to myself, "Why would a major corporation make itself the laughing stock of the industry (maybe they already were?) by putting "joop" on the side of their vehicles." But in actuality nobody even niticed.

"When in doubt go faster"
'64 CJ5, 351W, T-18