UPDATE: This is back on eBay. Offers accepted.
Ran good the last time they drove it, but they don’t indicate when the last time they drove it was.
“Rare hard top I have never seen one like this before!
My father has owned this for many years and has driven the grand-kids around the ranch with it
We are still looking for the title.
This has not been driven since last year because my father ill and we are selling the ranch so I will be listing an assortment of items.
This is a rare hard top body style in overall good condition
2 wheel drive
ONLY 22,666 miles on it
Runs good last time we drove it.
I think the body is all original
Floorboards to have some serious rust”
View all of the sellers items on eBay
while there is no doubt much of this is rare and original, I don’t think it started out as one vehicle. My uneducated guess is three different donor vehicles ?
Given the 2WD DJ chassis, the DJ body, dash and top, I’d say there’s a lot of DJ parts here that could have originated from a single vehicle. Obviously a few of the extras, such as the seats, the roll bar, the PTO bar that’s been welded on the rear bumper, and the front bumper add-on aren’t original. Something custom has been added under the passenger-side dash as well.
Now, You Central States Willys Nuts pay attention. This is not a 1950 Model. It is a mid August 1963 built unit, one of 94 that month, a tailgate LHD originally steel top Dispatcher DJ3A. The data tag shown in the ad, previously unknown to us, 56337-23427 tells us this is built just before Kaiser changed over to their own numbering system. Also note the Paint and Trim tag is present, we’ve not seen many of them. The nice stock chassis with those precious 15′ 4 stud wheels makes this a worthhwhile buy. I’d sure chase it if it were closer to me. All you need to contact the owner is in the ad.
Some how I missed the photo of the data tag. I wanted to use that to identify the year. Thanks for the info glenn.
Glenn has nailed this as an August, 1963 build date, and with the exceptions of the front bumper, rear drawbar, full later seat from an unknown donor vehicle, and roll bar this is an original Jeep, one of 94 built that month. What makes it look unusual is the removal of the steel sliding driver and passenger doors(both of which locked back in the open position for ventilation), the steel upper side panels and the steel rear corner panels and sliding steel rear top door (which could also be locked in the up and open position). It still has the ribbed fiberglass top, wider steel windshield frame(that just bolts to the body) and the low door sills which made entry and exit much easier for delivery personnel. I believe the paint and trim codes indicate a white vehicle with black seats. The rear bumperettes were standard on the delivery model as well as the tailgate. The box on the right side under the dash was for bringing fresh air into the heater as noted by the grille on the outside of the body in front of the door. The taillights are replacement units, not stock. The license plate mounts on the center of the tailgate with a license plate light attached to it. When the tailgate is in the down position, the rear plate can be moved to a position to make it visible to following law enforcement personnel just in case the Jeep is exceeding the 50-55 mph limit on these little Jeeps.
It still has the rare 4 lug 15 inch wheels, that just about any DJ3A fan would love to get their hands on. These had the L-134.2 engine, 3 speed transmission with column shift(some had a floor shift), left hand drive(not a Postal Jeep!!!) Nearly 400 DJ3A units later(no description given on the various body style types),in January 1964, Kaiser implemented their new Model Identification system across the entire Jeep lineup and the DJ3As were given codes 8202-8205 to denote the various body styles.
Surreys were given 8204 as their model number. Open bodied DJ3As had 8202. We have not verified which body styles had 8203 and 8205, but if anyone has a 1964 Dispatcher with this style body and still has the model number attached to it, please let Glenn or me know. (colins60vette@cox.net).
I talked to the seller a little while ago and he has owned this for over 20 years, bought it from another rancher in the area who had it for many years before that. Our seller bought it the way it is now. They are looking for the title. He did not know the true year, or that the serial number plate was also the VIN. Advised him where to find the serial number on the frame, the model number of the Jeep and other items he might need when he gets ready to sell it. He has a local who is interested in buying it, so I will stay in touch with Ronnie and we can track this Jeep. His wife is going to send me his email address so I can send him more info. Of interest is that Ronnie is also selling his 1940 John Deere A, serial number 488009, which makes this the 9th 1940 JD A Model built in 1940 and his 1939 Caterpillar Motor Grader serial number 2M1232. Both are fully operational. The Cat is on ebay for $5K if any of you are interested. His town is located just north of the Lake of the Ozarks, central Missouri.
Here’s a link for the caterpillar on eBay. Seems like a reasonable price at $5k?? But, I know nothing about these:
1939 Caterpillar Grader Excavator