- Introduced in 1967, the U.S. Government’s DJ-5 chassis is based on the Jeep CJ-5 platform.
- Jordan Fisher’s “Junkmail” DJ-5 was born from a $150 mail delivery rat rod project.
- It currently produces around 1,200whp with a 632ci big-block and nitrous plate.
You’ve cursed at them as they stop at every mailbox, and you’ve gotten mad at the USPS mailman for misplacing your packages, but have you ever seen one modified or remotely near a drag strip? My guess is no, and when I found out about Jordan Fisher’s 1973 Jeep DJ-5, he calls “Junkmail,” I had to get a closer look. The DJ-chassis, introduced in 1967, is based on the Jeep CJ-5 platform and production ran for the U.S. Government until 1984. They came with inline-four and six-cylinder engines from the factory and were commonly backed by Powerglide transmissions. The object of today’s feature, Jordan Fisher’s Jeep is on a whole other level, and most of the work he completed himself or with the help of friends, but we’ll get to that.
THE BACKSTORY
Jordan grew up around racing, tinkering in the garage, figuring out how things worked. He eventually moved into drag racing his dad’s Chevelle and the 1979 Camaro they built (which happened to be his mother’s first car). The other side of his racing expertise is a unique one; going to the University of Northwestern Ohio to further his education in high-performance motorsports. After moving back home and working for Drummond Racecars, he landed a job with Monster Jam in the engine teardown room. Eventually, he moved onto the assembly room, assembling and dyno testing a fleet of 100 engines for Monster Jam. Now he works in the metal shop and still gets to fabricate on monster trucks daily.
It all began when Jordan started looking for a rat rod project, thinking the old delivery Jeep body he bought for $150 would make a great starting point. The kink in the plan came when he ran across another 1979 Camaro subframe, at that moment the rat rod project took a turn towards his straight-line performance roots. Jordan wanted to accomplish the end goal of swapping the motor and all front-end parts from the Jeep to Camaro and vice versa.
HOW IT STARTED
Outside of his day job, Jordan has his shop, Fisher Motorsports. He completed the rest of the chassis — from the subframe back — in his shop using Chromoly tubing, and making sure all cage work was 25.5 Certified. Jordan’s plan for Junkmail is radial racing, meaning it will need to keep the short 88-inch wheelbase planted. For this, Jordan went the popular route choosing a trusted four-link type, giving him maximum adjustability. He fabricated the triangulated design in what very little room was available, which forces the pilot (Jordan himself) to practically sit on the rear tire. A narrowed Ford 9-inch hangs from the rear suspension. AutoFab Racecars took care of the front upper/lower control arms, and the DJ now rides on QA1 shocks.
THE END RESULT
A four-cylinder engine would normally sit right at home in the tiny factory engine bay, but the new tubing in the front-end opens up some room. Sure, the thought of a smaller V8 sounds good, but Jordan had other plans. Stepping up and building 632ci of big-block power for Junkmail, the enormous engine now spans the vehicle width. As a nice detail, the exhaust exits each cylinder individually behind the front tires. Junkmail stays old school in a few ways. For one, it uses carburation and the original power adder — nitrous oxide. An excellent addition is the mailbox fastened on top of the carburetor, serving as an air intake hat. With a nitrous plate and 632ci, this delivery truck puts about 1,200whp down to the rear tires through a non-factory Powerglide transmission! Jordan states the most challenging part of this project is keeping it from wheelieing the whole way down the track.
Inside is safe yet simplistic, sporting carbon fiber tubs and door skins. The floor and firewall are still metal, but Jordan fabricated and modified everything, including the carbon work. He sits in a Kirkey seat with a harness, reads vitals from Autometer gauges, and has two 10-pound Nitrous Outlet bottles within reach.
Like fans of Monster Jam, Jordan loves for people to come up to his team at the track and smiles when they say things like, “why?” or, “you’re crazy!” He’s proud of the fact that he took something extraordinarily unique and is doing what nobody else would dare to do with it. Jordan’s Junkmail is almost entirely built by himself with the help of friends support of his family, and that’s something to be proud of completing.
Jordan Fisher | 1973 Jeep DJ-5 "Junkmail"
| Power: | 632 cubic-inch Dart block, Callies 4.750 stroke crank, GRP aluminum connecting rods, Diamond pistons, COMP camshaft, Jesel belt drive, Pro-Filer 174x cylinder heads, Crower lifters, T&D rockers, Pro-Filer sniper intake, QFT carburetor, Nitrous Outlet (2) ten-pound bottles with plate kit |
| Drivetrain: | Bad Habit Racing Transmissions Powerglide, Moser Engineering aluminum center section with 3.73 rear gear, 40 spline gun-drilled axles |
| Chassis: | 88-inch total wheelbase sitting on a Camaro sub frame, box tube back half with a Chromoly 25.5 roll cage, four-link rear suspension, QA1 shocks, Autofab Racecars tubular upper/lower control arms, Wilwood brakes |
| Wheels & Tires: | Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels (15x4.5-inch front, 15x12-inch rear), Mickey Thompson Front Runners (front), Mickey Thompson 275 Radial Pro (rear) |
| Interior: | Kirkey racing seats, Autometer gauges, carbon fiber wheel tubs and interior panels |
| Thanks: | Mom and Dad, Jillian, Cody Thompson, Kai Poindexter, Konstant Design, QA1 Motorsports, Nitrous Outlet, Autometer Products, Autofab Racecars, The Metal Shop, Eastcoast Powder pro, The Jug Jacuzzi |
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