1969 Cj5... All Original?

Hi. ..."new to jeep"n.

I'm in Pittsburgh, recently retired, and bought a Flordia 4 cyl 3 speed cj5 titled 1969, s/n 830515 250603 on the engine compartment Kaiser s/n tag, and 2050603 on the top of the chassis's right channel. It appears to me be all stock except wheels, tires and maybe roll bar.

I'm rebuilding it as a US NAVY tribute jeep (color and markings), hopefully all stock. I graduated from high school and joined the Navy 1969. My dad, sister, and brother also served. I wish to remember my shipmates and family for their gift to all of us. I understand that in the 1960's the Navy bought some (near) stock cj5s for use on several Naval air stations, and I'd like to approximate them as well as I can afford. Any suggestions about where to find details on any Navy CJ5s will be appreciated.

I'm doing a complete rebuild (except engine) with my brother (Navy, retired). Because of rust, I need to replace the front floor (both sides), the entire rear deck, and both exterior sides. One front fender is clean but damaged beyond my ability to repair it. The back is slightly caved in where the brake and backup lights are mounted, but clean and repairable. The tailgate is slightly damaged but clean and repairable. The hood is slightly damaged but clean and repairable. The windshield frame is obviously repaired but fully serviceable.

The two rear fenders are clean and undamaged. The entire firewall section is clean and undamaged. One front fender is clean and repairable. The front grill piece is clean and undamaged. The frame is remarkably clean with only minor dings in the "bumpers". The dash is clean, maybe one extra hole(?).

I separated the body and chassis and have stripped all sheet metal parts to bare metal (except the rusted tub assembly). All parts appear to be "original", all with the original Presidential Red color under a recent bright red repainting (over a lot of Bondo on the fenders, hood, tub sides and floor).

I'm contacting you guys because my all original (?) 1969 CJ5 has:

no side marker reflectors or lights (and no fender or hood indents or screw holes for them)​

bottom mounted wipers and external motor

small amber front running lights and white backup lights (same style)

shallow metal bowl brake lights

"Jeep" embossed on both sides.

nothing embossed in the tailgate (no "Willy's", no "Jeep")

"4 Wheel Drive" decal on the tailgate under the newer paint

a snorkel cut out in the fender & hood

a slight curvature in the top and bottom of the windshield

a single stick for the transfer case

gas tank under the driver's seat

seat belts

roll bar mounted only on the rear fenders
​

Several of these seem to be inconsistent with other's ideas on the 1969 model year. I've been surfing Jeep forums and seen posts suggesting no snorkel cut outs by 1969, but with hood reflectors by then. Also, some sites say curved windshields started in 1970 - 71, but say the larger running lights started in 1969. They say 1969 isn't supposed to have "Willy's" or "Jeep" on the tailgate.

Does my cj5 sound like an all original 1969 to you guys or do you suspect I have a mix of part years (even though all are the same original color)? This matters because I'm probably buying a MD Juan tub kit and I want to buy the correct one. The 1969 CJ5 MD Juan tub kit is unique and I cannot establish why it should be unique. Quadratec doesn't know (!!!) and Willy's Overland hasn't addressed it with me (yet).

All comments will be appreciated. This project is a lot more fun when it is shared... especially if I can learn lots of new things about my new hobby.

Thanks in advance.

 

Perhaps locate the frame vin and go from there if you are replacing the tub.

VIN On Frame

 

Early 69's had small amber running lights.

 

1969 cj5 | Search Results | eWillys

Here are some pics of 1969s from ewillys to compare to. 69 70 and 71 had a lot of running changes going on because of the impending takeover from AMC.

 

My dad has an all original 69 (with V6) and everything is the same as your description except for the front turn signals (which were a running change as mentioned above) and the hood. I think your hood is probably not original to the Jeep.
I can't think of any reason that the 69 would have a unique tub...

 

the only thing I can think of would be which transmission cover it might have . rest of tub would be same

 

Thanks, Glen. Yes, some controls are on the left (throttle, choke, and maybe one or two more). Actually none were marked and that's something I wanted to nail down. I have photos but it's all disassembled now.

 

Thanks, montanacj. The s/n (VIN) on the engine compartment tag and the sequence number stamped on the frame both match. But I don't have a reference document that ties the s/n - sequence number to any manufacturing period. The "VIN" document on the EarlyCJ site is blank for my model year and sequence number, and it is the most complete reference I've found.

 

Thanks, fctex. I really like how sure your post sounds. Why do you think some others say the front parking/turn signal lights were large? I'd love it if we could establish that this is an authentic 1969 and put another stake in the ground fot that transitional period.

 

Wow! Thanks, homersdog. How did you do that search? I'm struck by all the variations. Wipers above and below, with and without snorkel cut out, with and without side marker lights... some on hood some on fender. All of this is going to be tough to nail down.

 

Thanks, colojeepguy. So, your post is the closest to a first person validation. Could you share your dad's VIN-s/n sequence number with me?

I'm most suspicious of the hood, but each fender also has a factory cut out in the fender top side flange (hood overlap). One is for a military version's wire on the driver's side and one for the military snorkel on the passenger's side.

 

Glen, I wondered the same thing, but MD Juan leaves out so many holes out that it didn't make sense to me that they might create a special p/n (and another inventory item) just to offer pre drilled holes for a surface mount reflector. You could be right though... I'll let you know if I pull the trigger on the MD Juan tub kit.

 

Thanks, twin2. I can't find reliable info on the Internet about MD Juan floor cut outs. The prevailing info is that you do most of your own cut outs, so I guess we'll see.

 

Glen, 'Sorry, I missed that you had a 1969 too. Can you tell me, we're your reflectors in the hood or fenders? We're there indents in the fenders to take the reflectors? Thanks.

 

Glen, Would you mind sharing your VIN- s/n sequence number. Our maybe just compare it with mine to see which was built first and how far apart. Thanks.

 

Has anyone listening done a MD Juan tub kit rebuild? It breaks my heart to give up on what may be an all original 1969 cj5 and keep only the frame and bolt on parts.

 

This was talked about on 2-24-2016, by Maurywhurt in restoration and research. Some members have early 69's with small front lens.