Help me to identify my Jeep

Hello everyone

I have just bought a property and it had an old jeep on it
The jeep was down near the creek and well we spent a bit of time on it and managed to get it going and drive it out.
The Jeep has a compliance plate that has a serial number 57548 (6) 111845 (L)
The numbers in the brackets appear to have been added at some other time in production

From your great site I have worked out that it is a 1955 CJ5 Open body vehicle. However there is a second plate below the first that has "Willeys Motors Australia Pty Limited" and then under that it has "CJ6" printed and then "1447" punched into it.
Also I have 4 gear sticks, have worked out that the first is gears 1 - 3, the second is Hi - Lo, the third is engage front drive, but there is a forth, smaller stick at the rear of the box close to the seat, not sure what this one is. The vehicle also has a ford 6 cylinder engine, but I think it came out with the 4 cylinder engine.

The jeep is fantastic, seems to go ANYWHERE!
Would be very grateful for any info you could give me as this is my first jeep and I know NOTHING about them.

Thanks

Gunning

 

Welcome to ECJ5

A picture would tell a thousand tales here, there are alot of clues on the Jeep that will help id the year.

the vin has too many didgets to be a 55 CJ5. if it is a cj5, the serial would be 1960. the prefix looks like an early CJ6, but I beliece should start with 577. one or both of the plates may ve from other jeeps. that's about the best I can do with what you posted.

the 4th stick sounds like a PTO lever, does it have a winch on the front, or a PTO on the rear? if not it could be an overdrive with an odd shifting location. a look at the rear of the transfercase would answer that for you.

Hope that helps

 

I have pics but not sure how to attach them?
Looks like I need to upload them first to a web address before I can insert them, can some one assist in where I upload them to? or how else to attach the pics

 

There are several ways to attach pics. Easiest would be to click the attachment button(paperclip) in the menu bar of the "reply to thread" window. Click browse, choose what pic you want to attach, click open, click upload on the attachment window and close. Back at the "reply to thread" window, click the down arrow next to the paperclip and click "insert" in the dropdown window. Hope that helps.:v6:

 

Sounds like you have a Australian built Jeep built in aust with Ford Falcon 6 cyl and called a " Combat 6 " it will be slightly different to US models and will possibly have Borg-Warner Aust gearbox and diffs. I assume you are in Aust if you are check out Jeep Action Aust magazine as they have a CJ5 combat 6,also try ozjeepoffroad.com as this is an aussie site.

 

forgot to add, pics will possibly confuse americans as body's are slightly different to US spec as they were modified in aust to suit RH drive and Ford motors such as your windscreen could be fixed and welded upright. I will look tomorrow to find a approx build date ( the extra letters in US plate were added in Aust )

 

Sounds like a cool find, I'm excited! Four levers and cj6 are always good! Welcome!

 

Yes, pics please!

 

Here are the Pics, have plenty more but this should be OK.

I dont think the ford 6 that is in the jeep was put in by jeep unless they were a tad ruff back then, the engine mounts are angle iron, the throttle linkages are welded to set the length. There is a vacuum booster sitting inside the engine bay, mounted on an angleiron bracket not connected to anything.

On the 4th gear stick could it be a front to back drive lock, ie locking both drive shafts to the same speed, preventing getting beached when one set of wheels start spinning???

More info, I have a split windscreen with a single wiper at the top, a snorkel hole on the RHS along the bonnet

 

There is no differentiation in the transfer case of these vehicles, so when it is in 4 wheel drive, the front and rear turn together. Most likely it is a PTO lever for a front or rear accessory or an overdrive lever, which would be my guess.

 

Looks like you got a venting windshield too, They'er rare here! and like that full bench seat to! Got an int. pic of the floor/levers etc? Looks like a great project!

 

That is a pretty good looking CJ6, scoop it up!

 

looks pretty rough, should sell it to me! congrats on the find. i wouldn't mind a pic of the 4 stick too. and welcome to the best forum ever.

 

that is exactly what i have except for the engine.
the ford (combat) engine wasn't added until later. unfortunately a lot of people pulled the fheads out and put in what ever was around mostly using the ford 6 cylinder because the transport departments didn't know the difference between a "real: combat one and a home built one. if you look at the grille you can see the gas axe marks. it has more than likely got the firewall cut and lengthened too? if you look very closely at the chassis you will see where Willys Australia added to extra 20" to turn it back into a real Jeep chassis.
i am trying to gather as much info as i can on the early Aussie CJ6's feel free to PM me for any info i can give

 

accelerator linkage is the same as the '69 CJ6 I used to own 30ish years ago, and similar to my 59 CJ5 ,remote brake booster was a common addition to help brakes. venting windshield and cut out in bonnet makes it a late 50s early 60s, as fheadcj6 says Ford motor looks like a transplant as " Combats " didn't come out till 64-65 I think

 

Sorry I gave wrong address for aussie web site should be " ausjeepoffroad.com "

 

Ayup. Grille has been cut back with a torch. Definitely not a factory installation.

I like it though - the Ford 144/170/200 is a good engine, and was used in a lot of cars and a few Ford light trucks (Ranchero, Bronco) here in the states. I'd clean it up, sort out any mechanical issues, and drive it.

 

I'll send you one of the cool much newer fixed in place windshields for that old ratty leaking vented one.

Good looking jeep. I'd say it just needs a little love and that puppy would be ready to go! Nice find.

trade windshields.....trade windshields....trade windshields