12 Volt From The Factory?

Our new 1955 CJ5 has some big 5 inch taillights that my dad says plugs right into the original harness. He also says that the generator and regulator run to good on 12 volt.he is thinking that the Jeep was optioned to be 12 volt, along with President red color, and chrome grab bar.

 

I believe 12 volt was indeed an option in 1955. Not so sure about "big" tailights.

Grab bar, chrome or not, was likely an option. My '56 didn't have one at all.

 

I stand corrected about the 12 volt option date.

 

Howard,

Good information but what does it have to do with the big tail lights Walter mentioned?

 

All I can see is a grey box with what looks like two mountain peaks and a moon.

 

The thread going down hill from here on a slippery slope?

 

I believe it is a 55. The speedo is a willys car speedo and the Jeep is very un molested. Like I have seen before. I owned a 55 in 2006 with 10,000 Original miles. It was 6 volt still. This jeep has a 12v generator and regulator, still 3/4 wide belt.

 

The taillights are stratolite s IA t-68 about 5 inches diameter.

 

A 1955 CJ-5 is what 69 years old. Unless you or at least your family or the guy next door has owned the jeep since new the absolute most plausible reason for the large tail lights and the 12V system is someone changed them. From the day our jeeps were new someone has been modifiying adding subtracting hanging stuff on them and drilling holes in them. The chances of some special order while possible Kaiser Willys did not have any 5" tail lights to install in the rear end of a Jeep in 1955 as they were not being used anywhere in anything they made. And as money grabbing as Willys was in the 50's they just weren't going to send someone out the Auto Parts store around the corner to pickup a set of 5" tail lights. And I sure don't see how having a Willys car speedo leads itself to the idea that some how the jeep was a special order it instead points to owner modification.

 

I believe Howard is correct on the timeline for 12 volts. Willys was a tad slow compared to other mfgrs. of the day.

 

I think you gut Mooned,

 

I prefer to think that the others were premature.

 

I’ve always considered 1957 as the year Willys changed over to the 12V system. That’s the year the 0-9 Stewart Warner speedometer with the orange needle was introduced, and 12V by the way. The prior years used 6V King Seeley speedos with a couple face variations between the ‘55 and ‘56 years. Model years generally change over around September, but Willys is notorious for running changes so no component is hard-and-fast correct for a particular model year as the changes were made.
-Donny

 

Does that mean the 1956 0-8 speedo was King Seeley? I didn't think it was.

 

I just skimmed through about 500 pages of the factory Bill of Materials pertaining to the introduction of the CJ5 to manufacturing in April/May 1954.

No mention of 12V option or optional larger tail lamp, nor Speedometer options.