few Q's about 55 cj5

got my new 55 cj5 today and have a few questions as I start to tear her apart.

1. how do I tell what gear ratio it has?
2. Does the engine vin match the firewall vin?
3. is there a restoration book or somewhere I can look at pictures to see how this thing is supposed to look when done. like the dash and motor compartment?
4. was willys stamped into all the tailgates. Mine seems to be the orginal but witout the willys stamped in it

 

to answer some questions:

1) when changing out the diff. fluid look for stamping in the ring gear mine were 41:11 which means 41 ring 11 pinion to give a ratio of 41 / 11 = 3.73. you could also count the teeth if you can't find the stamping. also, jacking up the rear and counting the turn ration between the tire and the driveshaft would give you a ball-prak number.

2) if memory serves correct it shouldn't match

3)i can't pull it up right now but, most likely ther'll be information here as well as on the 3b page:
www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/Index.html

4) willys was stamped into the first models (i don't know years) and then at some point when kaiser took over they went plain with nothing stamped into them, then they went back to a Jeep stamping when amc took over. i don't know the specific years that the stampings appeared/dissapeared but if my memory serves me right that's what happened.


kinda perked my ears when i saw the city name... but the state doesn't seem to match. if i said anything wrong people will be by shortly to correct me.

 

First thing I'd do is get a Factory Service Manual. It has a buch of pics and is VERY thourough on the 'how-to' and descriptions.

My 56 does not have Willy's stamped into the tailgate and it is original.

Good Luck!

 

There should be a tag on one of the cover bolts saying the ring and pinion numbers and your '55 CJ should be 5:38:1 gears. BigBill

 

1) Might be a tag on some of the diff cover bolts. Look for that first....

2) My '57 CJ5 does not match the two numbers. The engine # is on the boss above the water pump. The firewall tag is a small aluminum plate on the driver's side. Also, you will find on the passenger frame rail stampings above the rearmost front spring hanger, and frontmost rear spring hanger. These numbers matched my firewall tag.

3) Keep looking here and also try Yahoo groups WillysTech. The only books I bought was Jeep Owner's Bible and the factory service manual. Otherwise, all my info came off the web. There is LOTS of good info on the web. I even burned a couple websites onto CDrom so I could use the laptop by the bench while rebuilding the T90/D18/Ross steering. Go ahead and make a seperate bookmark folder now...yer gonna need it. ( I have something like 40+ bookmarks in my "Jeep" folder)

4) My '57 has Willys stamped in it. Don't know the specifics of years and why, but it's the original as far as I know.

Keep us posted, and ask bunches of questions!!!!

 

Hi Guys, here's my .02 worth - if your axles are still in original trim - 538's were standard '54 thru '62 (acording to my early Jeep parts catalog) - engine number does not match vehicle VIN plate (and still doesn't) my '55 has the "WILLYS" stamped in the T/Gate and is original but my Buddy's '56 doesn't!! The Factory manuals aren't clear on that one but it appears that the stamping was fairly common '54 thru '60 - Have a Great Holiday Season!! Later, j