1979 Jeep CJ-5 Silver Anniversary

What is a Silver Anniversary?

Jeep produced the Silver Anniversary in 1979 to honor the 25th Anniversary of the CJ-5.  Here is the 1979 Silver sales flyer! The Silver was based on the Renegade package and painted Quicksilver Metallic (8C). This was the only CJ ever painted this color. Other Jeeps could be painted silver metallic, but not Quicksilver. This strategy is similar to that taken with the 1982 CJ-7 Jamboree, which was supposed to be painted Topaz Gold Metallic (2H), which was otherwise reserved for the Wagoneer. Some Jambos were painted Olympic White (9B), which was a common color. The Silvers also had special seats and a commerative emblem on the glove box. The Silvers were not numbered, like the Jamborees.

Production Numbers

AMC planned to produce only 1000 SAs. Just how many they produced is a matter of debate. Some estimates are that only 500-800 were produced. We hope The Silver Registry will be able to clear this up.

Our current estimates are rough and very likely to change. It seems likely that Jeep did, in fact, produce 1000 SAs and that there should be about 300 remaining. We currently know of at about 75 Silvers, and over 90% have their original engine. We only recently started searching for Silvers. The Jambo Registry has been searching for Jambos since 2006.

How do we get 300 remaining?

The Jambo Registry estimates that between 600 and 650 Jambos were produced in 1982. The economy was in recession in 1982 and Jeep sales were down 50% from prior years. Jeep sold 41,501 CJ-5s in 1979 and only 23,820 CJ-7s in 1982. In other words, Jeep produced about 75% more '79 CJ-5s than '82 CJ-7s. If Jeep produced 600 Jambos then it seems likely that it produced at least 1000 SAs (600 * 1.75 = 1050). The '79 CJ-5 sales figures are the second highest in the history of the AMC CJ-5 (1974 was slightly higher). The CJ-5 was very popular.

The Jambo Registry estimates that about 250 Jambos are still in existence. That is about 38% of the number produced. The Jambos are three years newer than the SA ('82 vs '79). So a bit fewer than 38% of '79 CJs should remain. As a start, an estimate of 30% remaining seems reasonable, if not conservative. That yields our estimate of 300 remaining. That does not mean 300 are in original or even good condition. A large fraction of these may be in poor condition or even in salvage yards.

Some claim that only 800 Silvers were produced. If true, there should be about 240 remaining. If only 500 were produced, there should be about 150 remaining. One goal of The Silver Registry is to determine how many Silvers were produced and how many remain.

Overview

On the exterior, all Silvers came standard with Quicksilver Metallic paint, Renegade hood lettering, chrome wheels (15x8 without center caps), black soft top, black rocker trim (not chrome or bright aluminum), and special Silver Anniversary spare tire cover.

On the interior, Silver had special low-back black bucket seats with silver buttons (front and rear) to match the Quicksilver Metallic paint, center console, black floor and wheelhouse carpeting, rally clock, tach, and special glovebox badge. Silvers came standard with the 258 CID 6-cylinder engine and T-150 3-speed transmission. The 304 CID V8 was an option. The 258 could also be ordered with the T-18A 4-speed (for $161). In total, the Silver Anniversary package added $1,599 to the base sticker price of $5,588.

The Silver Registry^TM

Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC. © Copyright 2017. J. Eric Bickel. All rights reserved The Silver Registry is a trademark of www.79silver.com.

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