What kind of Jeeps are seen in Jurassic Park?
The iconic Jeeps used in the 1993 movie 'Jurassic Park' were all latest model 1992 Jeep Wrangler 'YJ' Sahara Editions.
In the original novel, the tour vehicles used to take the guests around the theme park were Toyota Landcruisers and the staff cars were Jeep Wranglers.
For the movie, Ford Explorers were employed as part of a deal with Ford to promote their vehicles.
But the Jeeps remained as staff cars, and painted with the famous red stripes, in reference to a line in the novel explaining that the Jeeps were painted that way to stop the Triceratops ramming them.
What's the SCORE on a Jeep Wrangler 'YJ'?
Well, the first Wrangler YJ was sold in May 1986 and ran through 1995. This new Jeep was instantly recognisable from its immediate predecessor by its square headlights, a much hated departure from the iconic round headlights, by Jeep fans around the world!
But Jeep were trying to appeal to a new, young, up and coming audience, who had a good few dollars to spend. The 80's pack.
The call went out to design a new 'cooler looking' Jeep that would appeal to all those surfers and college kids who wanted something a little less agricultural than a Daisy Duke CJ.
The Jeep 'Wrangler' was built in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, from 1986 until 1992 when they were moved to Toledo, Ohio, USA - unbelievably, in the same production facilities as the original WWII 'Willys' Jeeps - the grandfather of almost every 4x4 made since, and certainly of all modern 4x4s, and yes - even Land Rovers - they were based on the original WWII Jeeps.
Are they rare?
About 25,000-44,000 'YJ's are still around in the US today in various conditions. Half are estimated to be on their last legs.
In the UK there are only 74 taxed and on the road as of Jan 2024 according to DVLA records.
That works out to one Jeep YJ for every 10,871 VW golfs in the UK.
So yes, in the UK they are very rare.
In 1988, the 'Sahara' model debuted- which is the famous model later seen in 'Jurassic Park' and 'Jurassic World'.
Soft tops with "half doors", featuring soft plastic zipper windows came standard (windows could be removed completely from these doors). Full-frame doors with conventional glass windows were optional on soft-top models.
Depending on year and interior colour, Jeeps could be had with the body colours in black, white, tan and gray. Roll-bar padding normally matched top colours, with the exception of white tops.
However, to find a good condition, base model Jeep YJ these days is very difficult here in the UK.
Could you buy a Jurassic Park Jeep from a dealer?
Amazingly with modern movie ties-ins and product placement, of which there is literally a boat load in JP93 and all subsequent JP and JW movies, Chrysler never released a JP themed Wrangler YJ.
Three Jeep Wrangler Sahara Edition in Sand Beige were purchased by Production for use in the film.
Two automatics and one manual that would become the 'Hero' Jeep.
This vehicle was fitted camera mounts under the chassis, and custom tow hooks on the winch plate. Depending on the need, the vehicles were swapped around to represent a total of four different vehicles; JP10, JP12, JP18 and JP29.
Upon their return to Los Angeles, one of the automatics was modified with a collapsible panel over the passenger side door to imitate being dented by the Tyrannosaur.
At the completion of Production, the Hero Jeep was dressed as JP12 and one of the automatics as JP10.
The last dressing of the final Jeep is not known.
For Jurassic Park, all three Jeeps sported half doors and Spice Tan soft tops, with a dark green interior trim.
4.0 litre, 6 cylinder models were used for filming, employing a Sand Beige Metallic Low Gloss base coat, accented in Ford Performance Red.
The thick red alloy wheels were not standard on the Jeep Wrangler, instead they were taken from the Jeep Comanche and sprayed to match the red car paint. (Ford Performance Red again) The original rims were 'steelies' and considered 'not cool enough' and the production design team, as with the Ford Explorers, were told to spare no expense in 'funking' them up for state-of-the-art island life.
They were fitted with a CB whip aerial on the passenger side but interestingly, none of them actually had a CB radio installed, deemed as unnecessary to the scenes and never seen in any interior shot.
They all featured the same green and spice seats with spice door pockets and spice roll bar coverings and soft tops.
Only one Jeep had roof top flood lights installed, and that is Dennis Nedry's personal Jeep #12. These were fitted on a custom made roof bar and were fully functioning moveable Jabsco marine searchlights controlled by four joysticks in a row on the passenger side of the dash board.
All 3 screen Jeeps were fitted with non-standard fog / spot lights on the front bumper and all were fitted with non-standard Ramsey REP6000 winches, but only one is used in the famous 'fetch stupid' scene where Nedry meets his sticky demise.
#10 was heavily modified with the entire roof and roll cage removed as well as having wooden boxes installed on either side of the rear passenger area.
Finally, all Jeeps were fitted with two bright orange fog lights above the rear tail light clusters, for no other reason than Spielberg allegedly wanting 'more light' and 'cooler looking lights' on the rather underlit Jeeps.
The custom finished exterior red/beige colour scheme was in reference to the scant novel descriptions and interestingly against the widespread dislike of the Sand Beige Metallic Low Gloss (or 'candied' as they called it in the US at the time) paint colour, released by Jeep as an official colour for one year only - never to be repeated.
Which brings a rather large and obvious hurdle to builders of these movie jeeps - where to find the 100% accurate screen paints. More on that here.
So there you have the potted history of the Jeep Wrangler Mk1 'YJ' used in two JP movies and the minimum customisation required to make them Jurassic Park staff cars and straight into movie legend.
JPJEEP26 FIGURES
Torque
183 Nm
Torque
135 lb-ft
Rev. at Max Torque
3,500 rpm
Displacement
2,464cc
Displacement
150.4 cu in
Cylinders
4 Cyl - 2 V per Cyl
Bore
98.4 mm
Stroke
81 mm
Compression Ratio 9.2 :1
Engine Configuration Inline
Synchronization
Timing Chain
Type of Combustion Engine
Piston
Acceleration, 0-100 km/h
14.6 sec
Acceleration, 0-60 mph
14 sec
Length
3,879 mm
Width
1,676 mm
Height
1,829 mm
Track, Front
1,473 mm
Track, Rear
1,473 mm
Wheel Base
2,373 mm
Turning Circle
10 m
Number of Bolts
5
Bolt Distance
114.3
Nut/Bolt Dimensions
Name
Jeep Wrangler
Code
YJ
Version
mk1
Model
Sahara
Year of Build
September 1988
Place of Build
Brampton, Ontario, CN
Original Body Colour
Khaki Olive Green Metallic
Original Softop Colour
Spice
Original Interior Colours
Dark Green Carpets
Green seats with beige piping
Ash grey safety dash
Ash grey/ Beige dashboard
Beige center console
Original Wheels
Steel rimmed x 5
Original Tyres
205/75 SR15
Transmission
Manual 5 speed, selectable 4 wheel drive with rear wheel drive in two wheel mode.
4x4 modes
LS/ LH @117hp
Top speed
90mph
Power
88 kW
Horsepower
117 bhp
Rev. at Max Power
5,000 rpm
Central Bore (CB)
67.1
Fastening Type
Lug Nuts
Rim Type
6.5Jx15 ET25
Setting the movie antics and creative storytelling aside, it has to be said that owning, driving and displaying such an eye-catching and instantly recognisable movie vehicle is, without a doubt, a huge amount of fun.
It's fun to drive, fun to get stuck in traffic, fun to see folks wave and smile and take photos on the motorway or on a field somewhere at a charity event.
It's hugely rewarding and fun to raise money for charity, fun to bring a little joy into kids (and adults!) lives, and fun to be invited to so many varied events, from movie company celebrations, to one-off visits, to kids who might not have the chance to get out and about, let alone go mad with a real Jurassic Park Jeep.
But, there is another side of the coin that all classic car owners or movie car owners deal with on an almost daily basis: the hard work, dedication and expense involved in first obtaining and then keeping these vehicles driveable, safe on the roads, safe for fans, well maintained and as trouble free as is practicable.
I've owned and worked on plenty of sport cars: Mercs, BMW, Porshes etc, but nothing like this little Canadian 4X4, and certainly not to the detail and mechanical depth as this vehicle has required. (Yes you read that right, like all Jeep YJ's from '86 to '90, this one was built in Brampton, Ontario by Jeep America)
Underneath the cool paintwork (yes it's a fully sprayed and specially ceramic coated job, not a wrap) lies a 35 year old Jeep with 'old skool' mechanics and there are very, very few people in the UK who know much about them, especially a pre '92, 2.5l, 4cyl LHD with a single point fuel injection system, and Renix ECU.
Perhaps three outfits in the UK and even then each Jeep is different, and sometimes it just 'can't be done'
So here is a list of all the suppliers and good folks who have helped me keep this iconic and historic vehicle roadworthy, safe and fun.....
Hargreaves MOT, Keighley UK - EFI to Carb conversion, braking system upgrade, winch and plate security, suspension overhaul, emissions work, wiring and ECU overhaul
Jurassic Park Motor Pool, USA ( JP 'Jeep How To' Guide extraordinaire)
Jurassic Park Motor Pool, UK Division (advice, parts, meets, links and support)
Jeepey.com, UK - Paul and the crew for endless remote guidance and fix suggestions plus the parts.
Jeep Solid, USA - Jeep guru and endless info on DIY repairs and mechanics
Walker Products, Europe - Paul for all the help and hard to source parts.
PPG, USA - Paint sourcing & supply.
plus numerous Jeep owners around the world.