J Series Notes

You know, I've never seen it stated as such, but the J Series pickup is really a manufacturing marvel! Only Harley Davidson comes close to the J Series in terms of unchanged models. (I'm specifically thinking of the "iron head" Sportster motor ('57-85), among other HD products) In any case, the J Series pickup remained virtually unchanged during it's 26 year (!) run of production.

That is a phenomenon that is unheard of in today's flavor-of-the-month manufacturing style. I doubt very much, however that this was by design. I find it much more likely that the J Series did not change as function of being produced by two of the last independent auto manufacturers, namely Kaiser and AMC.

In fact, I find that many of the changes that did occur over the years were either weak attempts to "modernize" the old design, or were necessitated by increasingly stringent emissions standards.

I can only think of one change that really made the original design better, and that was the addition of disk brakes in the '74 model year.

Aside from that, none of the changes affected the basic design of the truck. This is great news for interchangeability on the whole, but sadly when it comes to the body the sheetmetal termites have eaten many of the vintage trucks.

IMO, the J Series pickups are the best 4X4 deal going right now because they are largely "mysterious" and ignored by the masses making them cheaper to buy (usually).  The biggest advantage to keeping the J Series survivors on the road is the abundance of their slightly dorky cousins the Wagoneer and the Cherokee. From the front doors forward the Cheros, Wags, and J Series are identical in a given year.

Also, assuming that since AMC made most of these trucks, and the Kaiser examples are really getting old, when you say J Series you've said AMC. Therefore, the donor possibilities have opened wide what with AMC putting the reliable 360 and 258 in nearly everything they made!

I've noticed that when people that are fans of the "Big Three" want to look as if they know what they are talking about, they immediately point out that AMCs (and Kaisers for that matter) were made from other manufacturers parts. SO WHAT? Would you rather be looking for Nash or Hudson parts? I think it is a definite plus that Kaiser and AMC engaged in this practice for two reasons:

This is in no way a cut on either company, but some components require very deep pockets for development, something AMC and Kaiser did not have. And why would they have wanted to anyway? Most components outsourced by them were the best that was available, so why not? Let's not forget that all of the "Big Three" bought Dana produced components, but I never hear any crying over THAT!

In fact, the only component I think that AMC really got taken on was the Motorcrap ignition system. Had they gone with GMs HEI, I think AMCs reputation would not have gotten an undeserved black eye in some cases.

Speaking of the Motorcrap ignition, what do you think the odds are that AMCs have a higher incidence of ignition problems than do Fords with the exact same(?!) components? I think that Ford sold the struggling AMC "seconds" that they couldn't pass up. Kinda like giving the Indians diseased blankets... "Here ya go PAL!"

Anyway, the J Series pickups are very capable vehicles typically made from a who's who list of readily available components. They are easily modified due to the basic construction, and with basic maintenance will last until gasoline is outlawed.