Famous Jeeps: Daisy Duke’s 1980 Jeep CJ-7 from The Dukes of Hazzard

Updated on Jul 30, 2024

When most think of The Dukes of Hazzard, their minds go a few places. Perhaps your mind hums that familiar Waylon Jennings title track or pictures a vibrant orange-clad 1969 Dodge Charger soaring through the skies. You may even drift to Catherine Bach’s Daisy Duke—if the latter is the case, you’re on the right track.

In this RealSource feature, we aren’t covering the General Lee or the roots of Daisy’s iconic shorts. Instead, we’re tackling a lesser-known but equally appealing ride in the original Dukes of Hazzard series. Follow along for our deep dive into Daisy Duke’s 1980 Jeep® CJ-7, which appeared multiple times in the original television series.

Stay tuned for an overview of the series, the Jeep, and a comprehensive guide to building your own Dukes of Hazzard-inspired Jeep CJ-7.

Table of Contents:

The Series

The Jeep

Build Your Own Dukes of Hazzard Inspired Jeep CJ

The Series: The Dukes of Hazzard

Guy Waldron’s The Dukes of Hazzard aired on January 26, 1979. Over the show’s seven-season run, it made a considerable name for itself via high-flying action stunts, fast cars, and comedic plots.

The show centers around two moonshine-running, bootlegging cousins—Bo Duke (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat)—as they attempt to evade and outsmart corrupt politician Boss Hog (Sorrell Booke) and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (James Best) while on probation.

The two race around the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia, in a modified 1969 Dodge Charger, sporting a front push bar, vintage turbine wheels, a slick orange paint job, a dixie-flag-sporting roof, and massive “01” lettering on each door. Their cousin, Daisy (Catherine Bach), is another protagonist, regularly seen saving the boys during their exploits.

The Jeep: 1980 Jeep CJ-7 Golden Eagle

With a hero car like Bo and Luke’s General Lee, Daisy couldn’t cruise just any old economy car. Instead, she pilots a V8-powered 1980 Jeep CJ-7 in the rare Golden Eagle trim. The white CJ-7 sports several standout details, including golden wheels, a massive bird emblazoned on the hood, and a “Dixie” script along the hood in the traditional location of the “Golden Eagle” decals.

The Jeep often appeared in off-road sequences, blasting through the dirt around Hazzard County.

Daisy’s Wrangler TJ: 2005 Remake

In 2005’s The Dukes of Hazzard film remake, starring Sean William Scott, Johnny Knoxville, and Jessica Simpson, Daisy (Simpson) is seen driving a familiar vehicle. While not a Golden Eagle CJ-7, she cruises the dirt roads of Hazzard County in a White Jeep Wrangler TJ Rubicon, paying homage to the original series.

Build Your Own Dukes of Hazzard Inspired Jeep CJ-7

If you’ve ever wanted to build a Dukes of Hazzard tribute, but the General Lee seemed out of reach, consider creating a replica of Daisy's Jeep CJ-7. Stay tuned for our comprehensive build guide, covering everything from the ideal platform to the modifications and customizations.

Platform

While Jeep CJ-7s were produced in mass numbers, Daisy Duke’s particular model wasn’t. Daisy pilots a rare ‘Golden Eagle” package, offered only from 1977–1983. While it’s unclear how many “Golden Eagle” packages were produced, even fewer remain today, making the model difficult to come by.

Fortunately, the package was little more than an aesthetic upgrade. It included factory-installed:

Golden steel wheels
Eagle decal on the hood
Larger tires
Levi's Soft Top
Rear-mounted spare tire
Wheel lip extensions
Spare tire lock
Convenience Group
Décor Group
Tachometer
Carpeting
Clock

Fortunately, nearly all these features can be added via aftermarket equivalents, reproductions, and used factory parts. For this build, any CJ-7 will do, though we’d recommend finding an example sporting the 304 AMC V8 engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission and a two-speed transfer case for screen accuracy.

Body

The body of Daisy’s CJ-7 is essentially bone-stock, down to the Olympic White (9B) paint job and factory Golden Eagle hood decal. The only notable difference is the replacement of the side-hood decals, which read “Golden Eagle” from the factory but “Dixie” in the series.

Wheels and Tires

Golden Eagle edition CJ-7s shipped from the factory with golden/bronze wagon-style steel wheels—a significant departure from the traditional white steelies or OEM “mag” style wheels found on Renegades. While you could always powder-coat a set of factory Jeep CJ-7 steel wheels or reproductions, like the Rugged Ridge Steelies, we’d recommend opting for a similarly styled and colored aluminum wheel to cut weight and improve drivability.

Products like the Method 703 offer similar styling but far superior construction—they also come finished in a similar bronze hue. Wrap these wheels in a simple all-terrain tire with period-correct styling, like 235/75R15 General Grabber AT/X, for a screen-accurate look and far superior performance.

Suspension

While Daisy’s Jeep appears to sit on factory suspension, that’s not to say upgrades aren’t in order. Consider upgrading the suspension with all-new bushings and replacement Superlift Shadow Series dampers to significantly improve ride quality, whether on the street or in the dirt.

Details

Of course, you can’t forget screen-accurate details. Add-ons like a reproduction Golden Eagle hood decal and custom “Dixie” script will make any die-hard Dukes of Hazzard fan weak at the knees.

With these final details handled, you’ll have yourself a screen-accurate tribute to Daisy Duke’s Jeep CJ-7.

As always, we offer all the parts and know-how to piece together this build and countless others at RealTruck. For additional information, check out the rest of our articles on RealSource, and don’t hesitate to contact the experts.