According to the Hurst Commando Registry ( ) and in their extensive VIN records, indications are that the first were built starting in April of 1970 and the VINs are generally seen in batches. The Hurst Commandos were built in small batches as the orders came in, so the special parts outlay could be managed in small orders. They had to preplan a little by buying some of the special parts ahead of time for initial production but they minimized costs along the rest of the way by buying only as many as orders dictated. There was a minimum number of sales needed to recoup costs and above that it was gravy. It’s probably more accurate to think of them as “high hopes.” They would sell as many as they could, or a few as people would buy. People sometimes take those plans as gospel on Jeep’s intent. The original 1970 press information stated a total of 500 Hurst Jeepster Commandos were to be built, 300 automatics and 200 manuals. Four Wheeler did a four page write-up in the July issue and some other press appeared in various magazines around that time. That event may have momentarily delayed the Hurst Commando debut but a press event was held in California in June of 1970 to announce the Hurst Jeepster as a ’71 model and dealers got an announcement dated July 10 giving them the ordering details. The Jeepster Commando was the logical choice for a Hurst/Jeep collaboration for both reasons.Īs the details were being worked out, something big happened: AMC bought Kaiser Jeep lock, stock and barrel. It’s sales numbers, however, were below an ideal level and falling off from a barrage of competition in the growing sport utility market. The Jeepster Commando, which had debuted in 1966 for the 1967 model year, was certainly Jeep’s most street-sporty model. Why the Jeepster Commando? The details on the decision-making process have not been unearthed but we can connect some dots logically. Given the SSR & O number (Special Sales Request and Order) used on the Hurst unit, the list of features and options was compiled in 1969 or early 1970. Kaiser Jeep reached an agreement with Hurst Performance Products to produce a special version of the Jeepster Commando for the 1970 or 1971 model year. That CJ is lost to time, as well as the records that might shed some light on it, but that timeframe was also the likely start of another Jeep project. The known Hurst connections with Jeep started in 1968, when they dolled up a CJ-5 for some promotional projects. There was a good ongoing example, the only slightly less stodgy AMC, who was using Hurst in a number of performance car projects. By the time the ‘70s were dawning, Hurst Performance Research had established a track record for developing sporty upgrades for production vehicles that added show and/or go, as well as attention-gathering publicity and showroom traffic.Īt the end of the ‘60s, the ever-stodgy Kaiser Jeep saw Hurst as a possible step up the ladder to consummate hipness. Since the ‘60s, the name “Hurst” has brought to mind images of speed and sport to the minds of gearheads the world over. T90, T86, T14A manual, TH400, 3-speed automatic torqueĭauntless V6, 160 hp & 235 ft./lbs. Red & blue stripes over Champagne White paintĪbout 100 built (the true production number is unknown).G70 x 15″ Goodyear Custom Wide Tread Polyglas tires with raised white letters.American Motors already had experience working with Hurst Performance Products so Hurst was given the job of coming up with a sporty version of the Jeepster. Something was needed to attract the attention of a younger crowd, and so the idea of a special Jeepster model was born. In 1970, when American Motors owned the Jeep brand, Jeepster sales had dropped off.
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