Did you know that the US Army used the Suzuki Jimny? Apparently, the Army bought about 200 of these for testing with most of the production ending up in the Japanese Police Force. The one you see above (right) was reported as being a 1970 Suzuki PK. Note that the grill assembly is missing.
The PK name is unknown, and may not be accurate. In 1970, Suzuki began production of the LJ10 (Jimny). The LJ stood for ‘Light Jeep’.
The vehicle was originally developed by the Hope Motor Company of Japan in 1967 and available as the HopeStar ON360 before Suzuki bought the rights in 1968.
The 1970 Suzuki LJ10 had a 359 cc engine that produced 24 hp @ 5500 rpm. It was geared very low with a to speed of 50 mph, and had the climbing ability of 27.5 degrees and a gross weight of 1,290 pounds.
Suzuki also introduced their Posi-Force (CCI) oil injection system. This made it so that LJ owners would never have to mix the oil and gas together themselves. The CCI would inject oil to the cylinders and the crank case, with the oil in the cylinders being 4-5 times greater in quantity than what was delivered to the crankshaft.
Suzuki never exported LJ’s to the United States. Intercontinental Equipment Corporation of California imported the LJ’s to the United States, and they were sold mostly in California, Nevada and Arizona.
If you have any photos or information about the Suzuki’s purchased by the United States Military, please Contact Us.
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