It's A 56... Right?

Because I am an insane person, I bought a second unneeded CJ5 in hopes that between it and my first CJ5, I could Frankenstein one "good one" together.

Per the source below - I think it's a 1956 model - do you agree?
https://jeepwillysworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Vehicle_Indentification.pdf






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A '56 is likely to have speedo dial that goes to "8," reverse shackles, and no driver-side heater cutout. I'd have expected the battery tray to be on top of the front-right frame.

 

Don't get too hung up on what year it is. Many (most?) CJ's are mix n match conglomerations of parts from multiple years and makes.

 

You’re not crazy. You’re normal. I look for a new one EVERY single day!

 

Thank you!

Do you mean 80 MPH? Now that you mention it, I gotta rummage through everything to look at the speedo... Not 100% sure I got one at all.

The Jeep is a pile of parts as the pic shows. I did not get a title (or anything else with an authoritative opinion as to title year or model year) with it. The original title was lost in a house fire... or so I was told.

In TX, when the original title is unavailable, you can apply for a bonded title. I'm thinking of doing that, but you have to put the year, make and model on the application.

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LOL Thanks! Screenshotting this to show my wife!

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The speedos were marked with single digits. *8* represents 80mph. Later models went to *9*.

Although It would surprise me if an F-head exceeding 80mph was ever a problem...

 

Ahh... so I see from Google images. Thanks!

Also... per the discussion below, A speedo topping out at "8" was a 1956 only thing?
http://www.earlycj5.com/xf_cj5/index.php?threads/43043/

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Yes. 1955 had a different speedo too - iirc it said Willys on it.

 

"Year" is a loose concept.

My stock one owner CJ5 was sold and titled as a 1957. I have the original sales slip. But it clearly has definitive 1956 features, and even has the digits "56" scrawled on the firewall at the factory.

 

Yep.

Jeep did not conform to the year/model concept used by passenger car manufacturers, at least until AMC took over ca 1969.
The yearly "new models" introduction was largely a sales tool that did not much apply to Jeeps.
Typically the dealership assigned year-of-manufacture at time of sale and registration.

New features did not necessarily conform to model-year boundaries ... possibly introduced as the old parts were used up.
Looking at the features is not an iron-clad method, like it would be with a Chevy or Ford.
Jeep also was very compliant with customer special orders, occasionally resulting in anomalous combinations of options and equipment.

And seventy years covers a lot of history in car terms.
Lots of the later (and superior) parts are easily substituted for the earlier parts, so mixing and matching is common.