‘67 Cj5 6v?

My 57 is a 6v and most places when selling me parts try to give me 12v electronics so I'm guessing that was the cut off for 6v. That Speedo doesn't look that familiar to me, but I'll have to go looking to confirm.

 

It isn't much trouble, or expense to convert to 12 Volt, and there are some advantages to that.

 

The main drawback that I find is not being able to use jumper cables with newer vehicles. Other than that, I find six volt to be surprisingly okay.

Accessorizing (radio, etc) could be a difficulty if one cared about those things. But part of what I like about vintage vehicles is escaping modern distractions.

 

Roger that! I’ve never been able to hear a radio over the motor, rattle, and wind, AND nobody plays Waylon Jennings anymore, so why bother!

 

I don't have a radio in my Jeeps either, but they are 12V, so I could put one it if I ever decided to. Might be tough to find a working 6V radio, and there aren't as many AM stations as there used to be.

You can jump start a 6V vehicle with a 12V, but not the other way around.

 

Wire is sized by current, not voltage. You need double the current at 6 volts compared to 12, for the same power. Therefore wire for 6 volts is heavier than needed for 12 volts, and no need to change the wiring. Gauges and lights and motors depend on the voltage, so those must be changed. I suspect you could use an IC voltage regulator (7806) to drop the supply voltage for the gauges. You'd need to change the motors in your heater and wipers, if electric. You'd need a different generator and voltage regulator. Supposedly the 6V starter motor will be fine running on 12V, as long as you don't crank too long. Might be a good opportunity to switch to the Toyota starter that fits the F134.

Tell me if I've missed anything.

 

I dunno, I wouldn't. My cousins tried that on my grandpa's 1950 W-O jeep pickup, burned out the voltage regulator.

 

I didn't say it was a real good idea, but I have done it when there was no other choice and it worked.

 

Back in my hippy commune days we always parked the Willys PU and VW Beetle on the barn hill. We called it the 6 volt parking lot.

 

Your Jeep looks like its had a vin plate swap. Its really a '55 or '56. Thats a King Seeley speedo that was used up to '56 and is 6V. Everything is correct (more or less) for an early (6V) CJ5. That vin tag originally had 4 phillips screws fastening it to the firewall. Probably had a lost title, so it "became" a '67 because someone had the paper and vin plate available.
-Donny

 

Beg to differ, respectfully. My 56/57 has that speedo going to"8". The "9" type came after.

IIRC, '55 looked quite different. More Art Deco.

 

Is there any documentation as to what was used when? Not just the speedo, but other equipment? Of course, whose to say what’s original on the thing. Sixty years (plus or minus) is a long time.

 

Various discussions here, and the group wisdom that emerges. Try searching the archive.

For instance the '55 shown in this thread. http://earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/111340/page-2#post-1601409

 

Here’s a post that identifies it as a ‘57. Others say their ‘57 speedo ended in 8. I assume there could have been a switch from 8 to 9 mid year.

 

Sure.

My 1957 titled/dealer invoice CJ5 has the "8" But the Jeep has all 1956 features, including "56" written in crayon on the firewall... The world was not digital/binary back then. Plenty of gray areas.