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New guy need help with year of jeep

Discussion in 'Early Jeep Restoration and Research' started by plymouthrock, Jul 31, 2015.

  1. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    I just made a deal on an early cj5 66-71 model. The vin is 8305C17354908. I have looked everywhere and nothing tells me what year it is. Can any one here tell me based off the vin? I know it's 66-71 because it has the 225 Dauntless V6 but how can I tell what the exact year is? It has no title. Will the vin plate tell a production date?
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2015
  2. Admiral Cray

    Admiral Cray I want to do this again.. Staff Member

    Welcome from Bainbridge Island, WA...

    The only thing I can come up with is it is a Jeep Universal, left hand drive, probably made in 1968 or 69. My vin charts only goes to June of 1967.

    I know there's more info, just don't know where to find it.

    If you post some pics that would help...
     
  3. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    Ok I've got pics how do I post them? That's it in my profile pic how do I post more here? It has the dauntless V6
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2015
  4. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    Ok it looks like I'm not allowed to post pics yet
     
  5. wheelie

    wheelie beeg dummy 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor

    Last edited: Jul 31, 2015
  6. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    Ok thank you! I have it narrowed down to 66-70 because the fuel tank is under the driver seat.
     
  7. Admiral Cray

    Admiral Cray I want to do this again.. Staff Member

    Last edited: Aug 1, 2015
  8. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

  9. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

  10. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

  11. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

  12. Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Most likely a '69, of course the serial number will tell for sure.
     
  13. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    8305c17354908
     
  14. Greenshirt82

    Greenshirt82 The Old Girl - '69 CJ5

    Last edited: Aug 1, 2015
  15. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    So does this mean it's narrowed to to 68 or 69? Thanks for all the help by the way this site is awesome!
     
  16. wheelie

    wheelie beeg dummy 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor

    Looks like it would be a '69, by the listed VINs. New model years were sometimes built at the end of the previous year, say Oct. of '68, for the '69 model year and sold as a '69, in '69. Sometimes, if, in the same build scenario, the JEEP was on the lot before Jan 1 of the model year, it could have been titled as the year it was sold. For instance, a '69 model that arrived on the lot in Oct of '68 and was sold in Nov of '68. It a 1969 model, with all the 1969 pieces and parts but, titled a '68 because it was sold in '68. Sort of muddies the water a bit. The VIN is ultimate deciding factor. Yours appears to likely be a '69.

    I notice the bottom mount wipers and low glass windshield.

    Looks like you have a good solid starting point.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2015
  17. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    Thank you ! I was very pleased to find it. Not much rust
     
  18. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    The VIN on these Jeeps does not tell you much, unlike VINs on modern cars. "8305" is CJ-5, open body. Not sure about the "c" but the rest is sequential serial number. Jeep continued incrementing the serial numbers across the year models, so the serial number will give you some indication of when it was built. The document on the thread linked to above will help with this.
     
  19. plymouthrock

    plymouthrock New Member

    what I know from vin decoders is 8305 is cj5 open body C is Canadian built 1 is left hand drive 7 is dauntless V6 354908 is sequential serial number but I can't find anything on the year yet
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2015
  20. timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    You are looking at the DropBox PDF? I looked there and found the "C17" decoding - AFAIK that's the only and most exact year-reference for the Kaiser era CJ-5s and CJ-6s.

    If you interpolate between what numbers are listed, realize that production volume changes throughout the year. Lots of vehicles are made for the start of the model year (September), and volume falls off and stops as the mid-summer retooling starts.