In fact, slightly less than 2,599 of the Jeeps seem to have ended up with the OB prefix stamped on their VIN plate, and some of them also include the 454GB2 prefix.Īt right is early example 54OB10027, owned by Rick Rothermel in South Dakota.īelow is a list of 1954 Jeeps we know of with the "OB" numbers, from the list of Surviving CJ-3B Jeeps. * Serial numbers consecutive with 1955 productionįigures published by the former Willys Club, which also appeared in summary form in Sessler's Illustrated Jeep Buyer's Guide show the same group of 1954 CJ-3Bs with the unusual VIN prefix: The third digit represents the body type:Ī Special vehicle code is represented by a suffix added to theidentification number:ĥ7048-01 * CJ-3B Universal Jeep Fire Engineĥ7048-02 * CJ-5 Universal Jeep Fire Engineĥ7348 21158 and up CJ-3B Universal Jeep Open Bodyĥ7448 * CJ-3B Universal Jeep Stripped Chassisĥ7548 23233 and up CJ-5 Universal Jeep Open Bodyĥ7648 * CJ-5 Universal Jeep Stripped Chassisĥ7748 10001 and up CJ-6 Universal Jeep Open Bodyĥ7848 10001 and up CJ-6 Universal Jeep Stripped Chassis The fourth number represents the engine type:ĥ7348-10001-21157 CJ-3B Universal Jeep - Open Bodyĥ7448-10001-11366 CJ-3B Universal Jeep - Stripped Chassisĥ7548-10001-23232 CJ-5 Universal Jeep - Open Bodyĥ7648-10001 and up CJ-5 Universal Jeep - Stripped Chassisįor 1956, they changed the definition again: The second and third number represents the series and body style. OB Jeeps were simply Jeeps with bodies."įor the 1954 model year, Service Bulletin 328 lists: There were 2 standard types (besides the special models like the Fire Jeeps) of Universal Jeeps: Open Body and Stripped Chassis. Todd comments, "The breakdown of the prefix for the 19 model years finally answers the question. And see CJ-3B Serial Numbers and Production Figures for details on the old 1950-54 VIN series.) (See some speculation about that in the discussion further down on this page.
However, it doesn't state that fact explicitly, nor does it offer an explanation of why the prefix was used for only the first 2,600 Jeeps of 1954, before Willys returned to the 454GB2 series in use since 1950.
Todd Paisley's 2004 unearthing of Service Bulletin 328 dated 18 October 1956 and titled "Identification of Willys Vehicles" provides pretty strong evidence that the "OB" serial number prefix used briefly in 1954 indicated simply the standard "Open Body."
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