What year is it ?

Hello All, I bought this CJ5 last spring at a local swap meet. Its titled as a 1957, but the serial # is 142xxx which seems to make it about 1963 according to other posts on this site. Will the ID# on the engine designate the year? What other features will help tell what year this jeep really is? I took some pictures in the garage you can view them here. I hope they help. http://community.webshots.com/user/kkj2jp Thanks, Greg

 

welcome from central VA. umm i cant find my serial number so i am no help. also no hurricane motor anymore so i cant help you their either. boy im useless today.

good to see you have the old :hurrican: i kinda like that rear cargo rack. looks like a good idea.

edit: ok i found my serial number list, it is later then '61 since my list only goes to that date.

 

Welcome Greg from Ohio. That CJ looks to be in very good shape! What city/state is it (and its owner ) located?

Just curious, what's the VIN prefix? That may reveal something. The engine ID may help, but could have been replaced at some point. Great job on posting pictures right away. You 'da man! Something to check....in the first pic, see that voltage regulator on the firewall? (that black box-lookin' thing) Take a wire brush and some cleaner and scrape off the top of the frame in the area underneath the v. regulator. Willys often stamped their serial numbers there. It'd look something like the pic attached. HTH!

 

I don't know the exact year, but the front turn signals appear to be the old type (real glass lens?). Also the taillights look like the original Hall taillights, very rare to find a jeep with them still intact in my experience. It has the rear bow sockets that were eventually deleted, my 67 doesn't have them. It looks very complete, great raw material for a restoration if that is what you have in mind!!

 

almost looks like an older (50s) chevy...gahh can't quite tell....

 

Nomad?

 

wish i knew my earlier cars better...



edit: 100th post....woot!

 

Yup kinda the way it looks, huh

 

Hello, The serial # is stamped on the frame and it matches the one on the plate. The prefix is 57548. It just occured to me that a prior owner probably applied for a lost title and thought this prefix was the actual VIN. Does 57548 make it a 1957 if that was the actual VIN? The front turn signals are glass and the rear tailights look to say Hall in a rounded diamond with a very small H. The shackles are in front. And to those of you who guessed 57 Nomad your right. It was my fathers he passed away at 84 last January. We both had a love of cars and we liked them in there original condition thats what attracted me to this jeep in the first place. The only rust I have found on this jeep is some bubbling of the paint in the tub cutout where there is a brace behind it. What is the best way to get at this problem? Thanks for the help, Greg

 

57548 is the correct CJ-5 prefix for years '55 - '63. The sequential serial number does put it more towards '62 or '63. From what I can tell, there's no evidence that it's really a '57. Especially if the s/n is stamped on the frame (which rules out identity theft).

Depending on which state you're in, a "title history inquiry", or similar title transaction history can be made at the local DMV or online to see what may have happened long ago.

If your gut tells you that you may have a unique situation, the gut's prolly right!

-Alan
P.S. Where are you from? There might be a fellow ECJ-5 member in your back yard.

 

I took a look at the engine serial # and it appears to be 4J313354. Can the engine be dated by this #? Thanks, Greg

 

I'm gonna say the 60'S steering wheel and no floor starter switch :?

 

Hmmmm, casting #s are available for the V6, but not sure about the F4. I didn't see any on the front page.

 

Think the 3B page has the F4 #s listed.

 

I can give you #s for two F heads. Just dont what year Jeeps they came out of.

 

Thanks guys for all the help! Yes Glenn, I'll bet thats what happened cause it says serial # right next to the prefix and the complete # is at the other end of the tag. I don't think this jeep has been modified much. I'm curious now if the engine is original. I think it is, but I'd like to confirm it if possible. By the sound of it so far you can't tell by the engine serial # I have, but are there casting #s that are coded to the date of manufacture? Greg