Photo: Barrett-Jackson
Not long ago, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced how the future of mail delivery would look like in America. Parcels and letters will soon be delivered by fancy new trucks, including electric ones, developed for the postal service by the Oshkosh Corporation, better known as a maker of machines for the military.
A fancy premise, but if we are to trust the renderings released by USPS when the announcement was made, they’re just as ugly as all other mail trucks everywhere, ever; if not more so. So you’ll forgive us if we would have liked something more on the lines of this here Jeep pulling up our driveway.
Sadly, that will never happen, for a variety of reasons, the last of which is the fact this is a one-off custom build.
We uncovered this thing, titled 1971 Jeep CJ Mail Carrier (although it is clearly a DJ, part of the Dispatcher line made between 1955 and 1984), sitting in line to be sold during the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, later this month. It was initially built by an unnamed shop to star at one of the past SEMA events.
We’re told this particular machine started life as a Jeep originally issued for the USPS. For the purposes of the build, it got chopped, smoothed, and propped on top of a custom-built chassis running Air Ride suspension.
The wheels get their spin from a 383ci (6.3-liter) engine of Chevrolet make, equipped with two 4-barrel carburetors and backed by a Turbo 400 automatic transmission.
Like all other Jeeps deployed with the USPS, this one, too, originally had a right-hand drive configuration, needed back then to ease the drivers' work by allowing them easy access to roadside mailboxes. This configuration was retained on the custom build, making it look even more quirky.
A touch of modernity is brought by things like the custom red seats, specially-designed gauges, and Kicker stereo system with Bluetooth. A touch of retro, on the other hand, is achieved thanks to the original sliding side doors and huge Jeep embossed letters on the rear ones. Up front, there’s still the original grille.
There is no estimate on how much this build is expected to fetch, but the Jeep is going with no reserve.
Sadly, that will never happen, for a variety of reasons, the last of which is the fact this is a one-off custom build.
We uncovered this thing, titled 1971 Jeep CJ Mail Carrier (although it is clearly a DJ, part of the Dispatcher line made between 1955 and 1984), sitting in line to be sold during the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, later this month. It was initially built by an unnamed shop to star at one of the past SEMA events.
We’re told this particular machine started life as a Jeep originally issued for the USPS. For the purposes of the build, it got chopped, smoothed, and propped on top of a custom-built chassis running Air Ride suspension.
The wheels get their spin from a 383ci (6.3-liter) engine of Chevrolet make, equipped with two 4-barrel carburetors and backed by a Turbo 400 automatic transmission.
Like all other Jeeps deployed with the USPS, this one, too, originally had a right-hand drive configuration, needed back then to ease the drivers' work by allowing them easy access to roadside mailboxes. This configuration was retained on the custom build, making it look even more quirky.
A touch of modernity is brought by things like the custom red seats, specially-designed gauges, and Kicker stereo system with Bluetooth. A touch of retro, on the other hand, is achieved thanks to the original sliding side doors and huge Jeep embossed letters on the rear ones. Up front, there’s still the original grille.
There is no estimate on how much this build is expected to fetch, but the Jeep is going with no reserve.
Google News