What Did I Just Acquire????

Previous owner acquired this Jeep from a deceased relative, who purchased it new in 1969. Currently, it has 21,000 original miles. This is where it gets weird... Jeep was special ordered through the dealer and it has a factory Kaiser/Willys manufacturing tag on the factory fiberglass tub with flip front end. Cab on the jeep is also quite unusual - unknown as to manufacturer. A lift kit and rims were installed, as well as a front disc brake conversion, but I may turn back to full stock. My questions and thoughts are many... main one being what the hell is it? Original uber rare glass tub jeep? Was thinking of rhino lining it to preserve the glass as all the original gel coat has weathered away, but don't want to act until I understand what I have in front of me. Engine is obviously a dauntless V6, transmission is a T86 with a single stick Dana 18, axle ratios are 3.73, probably traction device in rear axle.

I can provide more pics to help decipher. Thank you to all in advance!

 

What makes you think the fiberglass tub and front clip are original? Tags often move between tubs over 54 years.

 

If there ever was such a thing, that’s news to me and probably a lot of other people here who have been around jeeps their whole lives.

We’re obviously going to need pictures.

 

yep pictures needed
no jeep ever came from factory with a glass tub
aftermarket

 

OK, I'm tuned in..

 

It might be that the dealership ordered a fiberglass tub and clip to finish out the jeep with it ordered as a chassis. Serial number will be different on a chassis or firetruck. There were maybe a thousand per year of unfinished jeeps built Based on the old serial number log.

 

Fiberglass tubs are not original from the factory. Same with one-piece or regular fiberglass front clips. The tub has been changed and the serial tag has been remounted to the replacement tub. Aftermarket fiberglass tubs have been around since at least the late 60’s and became quite common in the 70’s and later. There’s a lot of things that get changed out on a 50 year old Jeep.
-Donny

 

ok to all... well here I go! Was told by close relative of the original owner that the chap picked the jeep up from the dealership equipped exactly as it is here, save for the rims, springs, tires. Front bumper is also original, but the tall brush hoop is missing.

 

THIS is exactly what I'm thinking the story is. Most likely a factory roller with a body placed on it at the dealership, with the tag affixed. Serial numbers on the tag are very strange as well. It reads "8305 A 222522"

 

Not to throw cold water on this but a chassis would have had an 83181 or 83182 SN prefix. The A is for the 225 and I think this CJ was just regular production despite anything you were told. It no doubt left Toledo with a steel tub. The VIN number indicates a build date of Oct 1966.

 

And that appears to be an Acme top.

 

The fenders having sidemarker dents also put them as newer than the windshield with top mount wipers.

It's hard to know the real story with these. For the longest time I thought mine was built with the hardtop I have but looking at the paint layers mine definitely had a half cab at some point in it's early life.

 

Yes, and those didn't exist until the late '70s or early '80s so at least part of the story is fabricated.

It also has a '68 or older windshield. The fenders also have the turn side marker indent which no fiberglass nose would have had in '69 since they didn't come out on factory Jeeps until 1970.

The story doesn't seem very believable on the surface. And some parts seem downright impossble. It looks like any other Jeep from the rust belt that had a fiberglass body swapped onto it sometime in the 70s or 80s. Without any sort of proof, it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

All that said, it's a good Jeep with some good parts.

 

...and if it's really a '69, it should have a T-14 transmission not a T-86.

 

...and it has a rear tank that didn't exist in 1969 and a '78 and up gas filler bezel.

 

2X. It looks to be an excellent start for whatever you have plans for. The weak spot will be the T86AA but there is no reason to address that until it starts letting you know that it is time for it to go. Depending on what use you have planed, it can be replaced with minimal work by replacing all the internals in the T86 case with T90 parts, or if you have access to a functional T90J, just replace the whole thing with the 2 5/8" thick adapter. The stronger, but less plentiful, T14 will also fit with minimal "adjustments", but make sure if you go that route to get the matching oddball 10 spline main drive gear for the transfercase.

 

I think that varied a lot with the manufacturer. My glass flat fender tub has ribs too.