Junkyard Find: 1979 AM General DJ-5G Jeep, With Factory Audi Power

by Murilee Martin

January 22nd, 2013 11:41 AM

junkyard find 1979 am general dj 5g jeep with factory audi power

Even though the DJ Jeep was two-wheel-drive, Coloradans must really love them. I see DJ-5 “Mail Jeeps” in Denver-area wrecking yards all the time (for example, this ’82 and this ’72). I’ve mostly stopped photographing them for this series, because how much can anyone say about the steel box on wheels that delivered our mail for much of the 1970s? However, a Jeep with a factory-installed Audi engine is interesting, so here we go.

You could also get AMC Gremlins and Concords with Audi 2.0 liter engines, which means that Gremlins and Porsche 924s had lots of interchangeable parts (I need to remember this true fact next time I’m yelling at a LeMons miscreant with PCA patches all over his race suit). The one-year-only Audi-engined Jeep may be the rarest of all the Audi-fied AMCS, though.

To go with the mighty 95 horses of the Audi engine, the DJ-5G came with a Chrysler Torqueflite 904 automatic transmission.

As iron became rust in this Jeep, the lost mass was replaced by rodent nests. The interior of Uncle Sam’s former mail sled is very hanta- riffic now!

This dash is probably what Audi Designer Hell looks like.

#1970s #1979 #1979JeepDJ-5 #AMGeneral #Amc #Audi #Denver #DJ-5 #DownOnTheJunkyard #Jeep #Junkyard #JunkyardFind #MalaiseEra #JeepDJ-5 #MailJeep #JeepDJ

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2 of 16 comments

Kmk132 on Jun 15, 2013

I drive a DJ-5G as my daily driver. I bought 2 of the Audi powered jeeps off a gentlemen that let them sit since '92, and I love the one I fixed up. It's so much easier to work on than the straight 6 models, or the iron duke models of '83 and '84. If I break down, I have everything with me to get my up and running again within 10 minutes. It may max out at 69 on the highway with the 904 installed, but who cares; it's a rare sight in Pittsburgh.

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Cunninghamethan7 on Dec 03, 2014

What size radiator is it i need one

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