4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY JEEP · CJ · CHASSIS NUMBERS

Marque · CJ · chassis numbers

Jeep CJ chassis numbers

Four numbering systems in forty years: the Willys serial plates of the MB and the CJ-2A/3A/3B, the Willys and Kaiser prefixed serials of 1953–71, American Motors’ 13-character number of 1972–80 and the 17-character VIN from 1981. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

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Where to find it

MB and GPW: the data plate on the dash and the number stamped on the left frame rail behind the front bumper. CJ-2A to CJ-3B: the serial plate on the firewall (later on the dash) and the frame stamp on the left frame rail. CJ-5 to CJ-8: the plate riveted to the firewall by the master cylinder or on the dash, the number on the inside body panel by the handbrake, and from the mid-1980s on the wiper-motor cover; an abbreviated number is stamped on the passenger-side frame rail above the rear wheel.

How to read it

1941–1945MB / GPW serial
Willys MB serials began at 100001 in late 1941; Ford GPW serials began at 1 with the GPW prefix. The data plate carries the serial, the date of delivery and the model; the frame number is stamped on the left front frame rail and normally matches the plate.
1945–1953Model prefix + serial
CJ-2A serials began at 10001 in 1945 and reached about 224,000 in 1949; the CJ-3A began again at 10001 in 1949. The plate on the firewall gives the model and serial; the frame is stamped with the same number.
1953–1963 (Willys)Five-digit prefix + serial
Willys Service Bulletin 52-79 explains the prefix: the first digit the number of cylinders, the second and third the model year, a letter for the basic chassis, a letter for the body and a final digit for the series within the year — the first 1953 CJ-3B was 453GB2 10001. From 1955 the prefixes were fixed by model: 57348 = CJ-3B open body, 57548 = CJ-5, with the serial after a space.
1963–1971 (Kaiser Jeep)Four-digit prefix + serial
Kaiser replaced the Willys prefixes in 1963 with a chassis code and a two-digit series: 81 = CJ-3B (prefix 8105 continuing the 57348 sequence), 83 = CJ-5, 84 = CJ-6 — the same 83 and 84 that became the model numbers in the 1972 system.
1972–198013-character Jeep number
  • 1 J = Jeep Corporation
  • 2 model year (2 = 1972 … 9 = 1979, 0 = 1980)
  • 3 plant, transmission and drive (A = Toledo automatic, F = Toledo three-speed, M = Toledo four-speed, N = Toledo four-speed right-hand drive)
  • 4–5 model (83 = CJ-5, 84 = CJ-6, 93 = CJ-7 from 1976, 14 = Wagoneer, 15 = Custom Wagoneer, 16 = Cherokee, 17 = Cherokee S/Chief, 18 = Cherokee four-door, 25 = J-10 119-inch truck, 26 = J-10 131-inch, 45/46 = J-20)
  • 6 body and gross weight (1972–74: 5 = open body; 1975–80: A = 3,750 lb CJ, E = 4,150 lb CJ, N = 6,200–6,500 lb trucks and wagons, and other letters by model)
  • 7 engine (A = 258 six, E = 232 six, H = 304 V8, N = 360 two-barrel, P = 360 four-barrel, Z = 401 V8)
  • 8–13 serial (9–13 in 1972–74, when position 7 was the gross weight and 8 the engine)
1981–198617-character VIN
  • 1 = United States
  • 2 J = Jeep
  • 3 C = AMC (Jeep Corporation) — the WMI 1JC
  • 4 transmission and drive
  • 5 series and gross weight
  • 6–7 model (83 = CJ-5, 87 = CJ-7, 88 = CJ-8 Scrambler)
  • 8 engine
  • 9 check digit
  • 10 model year (B = 1981 … G = 1986)
  • 11 plant (T = Toledo)
  • 12–17 serial. The 1987 Wrangler YJ continued the pattern under 1JC and then Chrysler’s 1J4

Prefixes

Prefix or codeMeans
MB 100001…Willys MB serials from late 1941
GPW 1…Ford GPW serials
CJ2A 10001…CJ-2A, 1945
CJ3A 10001…CJ-3A, 1949
453GB2 10001The first 1953 CJ-3B (four cylinders, 1953, GB chassis/body, series 2)
57348 …CJ-3B, 1955–63
57548 …CJ-5, 1955–63
8105 …CJ-3B from 1963 (chassis code 81)
J…83…1972–80 CJ-5
J…93…1976–80 CJ-7
1JC…87…1981–86 CJ-7

Examples

J2F835TA10045
A 1972 CJ-5 in the Jeep-CJ.com decoder’s example: J Jeep, 2 = 1972, F Toledo three-speed, 83 CJ-5, 5 open body, T 3,750 lb, A 258 six, serial 10045.
453GB2 10001
The first CJ-3B of the second 1953 series, as CJ3B.info reads it from Willys Service Bulletin 52-79.

Serial sequences of the Willys era

Starting serials as CJ3B.info and the Willys parts trade record them; the CJ-3B and CJ-5 sequences ran on to 1963 and continued under the Kaiser prefixes.

Model and yearFirst serial
Willys MB, 1941100001
Ford GPW, 19421
CJ-2A, 194510001
CJ-3A, 194910001
CJ-3B, 1953 (453GB2)10001

Sources

  1. 1Serial Numbers and Production FiguresCJ3B.info · accessed 2026-09-22
  2. 2Kaiser Jeep Serial NumbersCJ3B.info · accessed 2026-09-22
  3. 3Kaiser Jeep 1960–67 Serial NumbersCJ3B.info · accessed 2026-09-22
  4. 4Stamped Numbers on CJ-3B FramesCJ3B.info · accessed 2026-09-22
  5. 51972–80 Jeep VIN decodingTom 'Oljeep' Collins · accessed 2026-09-22
  6. 6Jeep VIN decoder 1972–1980Offroaders.com · accessed 2026-09-22
  7. 7CJ VIN Decoder v3.4Jeep-CJ.com · accessed 2026-09-22
  8. 8Willys Jeep Serial NumbersKaiser Willys Auto Supply · accessed 2026-09-22
  9. 9Willys MBWikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22
  10. 10Vehicle identification numberWikipedia · accessed 2026-09-22

The numbers are as the sources cited above record them — the parts trade's frame-number charts, the clubs' transcriptions of the makers' bulletins and the enthusiast decoders; a blank cell means no number is recorded. Registry research, not a factory record — check the vehicle's plate and the maker's build record before relying on a range. Corrections through the suggestion form.