ORIGINS of the HALF DOOR - A Tidbit of Jeep History

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
One of the things that Cindy and I love most about SEMA is that we always get a chance to hook up with old friends and from all around the country. Most recently, we ran into Dave Thompson, a friend we hadn't seen since our last trip to Moab and among other things, we got talking about all the cool old iron we've been seeing at the show. As a retired engineer who worked for Jeep back in the AMC days, Dave is literally a walking wealth of knowledge especially when it comes to Jeeps from that era. I literally learn something new each and every time I talk to him and this time around, I learned about the origins of the Wrangler half door.

Designed with aesthetically appealing lines that closely followed the body and constructed in a way that keeps passengers behind something solid while providing an open air feel, it's easy to assume that the half door was always a part of the Jeeps we know and love. Fact of the matter is, the half door is a relatively new idea and one that wasn't introduced until the YJ Wrangler back in 1988. And, as hard as it might be for some to believe, inspiration for it came from none other than, the Jeepster Commando. :cool:

The Inspiration
Here are a few shots of Emma, our 1969 Jeepster Commando and what she looks like as a convertible. Unlike the CJ-5 that was being made and sold during the same time period, Jeepsters came with fixed hard doors that had a low profile and one that followed the contours of the body to give it a clean look. This is where guys like Dave Thompson got the idea of creating the half doors we all love on a Wrangler today.

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The Results
Although they're nowhere near as in demand as they once were, Jeep Wranglers have been available with half doors much like what you see on Moby, our 2007 Jeep JK Wrangler and for almost 30 years. In fact, if it weren't for companies like Strike Force Zebra or Rugged Ridge, most people wouldn't even have the option to run a set of factory like half doors and so far, there hasn't been any word whether or not they'll be available on the new Jeep JL Wrangler.

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Anyway, for those of you who might be interested, this was just a tidbit of Jeep history that I happened to come across and I hope you enjoyed it. :cool:
 

MR.Ty

Token East Coast Guy
Neat! I have blindly believed that half doors originated on the CJs, its cool to know the real origin. Thanks for sharing. 👍
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Glad you guys liked the tidbit of Jeep history! It's always awesome that stuff like this can still be gotten right from the source :yup:
 
Awesome!!! What a wealth of knowledge. So cool. I do love Jeepsters and Emma is a Gem! People always ask why the name “SFZ” and tactical half doors. Maybe I can say it all started with “Commando” and the name evolved to SFZ and “tactical” fit right in.[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji12][emoji41]


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wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Awesome!!! What a wealth of knowledge. So cool. I do love Jeepsters and Emma is a Gem! People always ask why the name “SFZ” and tactical half doors. Maybe I can say it all started with “Commando” and the name evolved to SFZ and “tactical” fit right in.[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji12][emoji41]


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

LOL!! Run with it :clap2: :D
 

OJK12

New member
Awesome, thanks for sharing! I sure hope the JL has a half door option, after having both on my JK’s I would never willingly go back to full doors.


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cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Thanks for this history lesson Eddie! Never would have known the origin without this post!
 

jsukey

Member
Thanks for the info! I always wondered about that. I absolutely love mine! Couldn’t imagine it any other way.

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Loading up for the trip to Hidden Falls Adventure Park!
 

piginajeep

The Original Smartass
At least the Jeepster is good for something other than being ugly. 😀

Where did they get the idea for half doors for Jeepster? From the military guys that modified their Jeeps to have half doors?
 

Brute

Hooked
I had several choices of jeeps to start the JK6 project...I chose the only one with oem half doors...
 

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