1971? CJ5

by Ian Ahearn
(Columbus, GA, USA)

I am a long time fan of everything Jeep, especially the old CJ's.

I had a '55 M38A1 a few years back that I never got running. It ended up costing 4 times more to ship it when I moved than I paid for it so I VERY reluctantly let it go.

I have been lost ever since. However, last week I found an old CJ5 sitting in some old guys backyard in eastern Alabama. I paid $2,500 for it.

The body seems to be in great shape, it starts and runs, until I got it home. Now it will start with some trying but stalls out if the Jeep isn't moving. I don't know what the cause of that is.

I really don't know what year the Jeep is. It is an early CJ5 for sure. It has the gas tank under the drivers sear which tells me it is pre-1970. It has the 4 cylinder inline engine with 3 speed.

The guy I bought it from says it is a 1971 and gave me a VIN of 8511012073, which I confirmed on the data plate on the inside of the engine compartment on the firewall (drivers side).

The data plate says it was manufactured by AM General in South Bend Indiana. I didn't think AM General made Jeeps unless that is another name for AMC!

It has a tailgate that says Willys even though the data plate says AM General. Weird. Any ideas on what year this Jeep is? I am looking to learn as much as I can about my new Jeep! Thanks.

-Ian


Larry's Comment: AM General began producing DJ5 Postal Jeeps and other commercial Jeeps, but was called The Defense and Government Products Division of Kaiser-Jeep in 1967. I don't recall any CJ5's built by AMG...military or otherwise.

AMC bought "Jeep" from Kaiser-Jeep in 1970. I don't believe the "Willys" name was used during AMC's ownership.

I haven't found any specific data on your particular ID number. You may have a patched together CJ5 with various parts from different years.

Also, AM General is indeed headquartered in South Bend, Indiana.

Ian...Hopefully someone will "comment" below with more details to help with the identification of your Jeep.