MB serial number

[stoffer]

hi all

first i better introduce myself my name is chris , ive just discovered the wonderful world of G5O3 and i must say what a fascinating corner of the internet submerse yourself.

Ok ill explain my situation I own a willys MB in bits i have the frame,tub no engine block,i do have the majority of the parts all original.
I`m certian the chassis is ww2 of course the tag is missing but the holes are there,the tub weather it rolled out of the factory with it we`ll never know.

The tub is a early one typically the glove box door is missing however i do have a number which is 104106 from what i can gather is early 43 ?

I want to restore this jeep as original as i can, i would like to Put a tag on the chassis, reading around it seems buying some old plates off a scraped jeep might be the best option

so here are my questions

Can a rough dod be worked out from this tub number ?

what would be and acceptable range in numbers for frame serial dod to match this tub ?

What would be an acceptable range in numbers for the engine block to match ?

I know we`ve got the the cream here when it comes to people with knowlege on the willys i would be most greatful if someone could help

many many thanks

chris

[dpcd67]

Welcome; where are you?; someone here might live near.

[rjbeamer]

One Question that I would have is where did the 104106 number come from as you say that the frame tag and data tag on the glove box is missing? Is this the Tub and/or body number?

Just as a point of information the frame number and glove box number will both be the same from the factory. The engine number will be different on the MB.

If the tub is a Willys tub there will be a number stamped on the left front tub frame Gusset. That number can help in estimating a DOD along with the serial number of the MB. (After re reading your post I am guessing that this is where you got the 104106 number)

You can buy new frame number plates and data plates to replace lost plates.

By the way welcome to the "G".

Roger

[stoffer]

hi guys
thanks for the replies

sorry i didnt explain my self the number is on the the tub on the drivers side gusset

[Ralph]

Welcome Stoffer,
If you go to the serial numbers page-off of the old site-you can search the MB data bases which in many cases include tub numbers from known frame/data plate w dates.You should be able to get something close.

[ghiltgen]

Welcome to the G, Stoffer! The MB I am restoring also had no data plates from the glove box and the front frame rail was gone and had new metal welded into place by a guy named bubba. Anyway, I used the body number to estimate the serial number and the DOD. The process I use goes like this. I plotted tub numbers from about 20 or so jeeps from the on line data base against the jeeps serial numbers and found you get a straight line with a high correlation coefficient. This means there is a linear relationship between the two numbers. Then from the equation of the straight line you can plug in your tub number and get the serial number. The process is the same for DOD from serial number. This process is called linear regression. I can help you calculate it but I cant do it till next week due to work hours. I would say that body number does correlate with an early 1943 Jeep. Also keep in mind that the engine Sn in an MB is not the same as the jeep frame and tub serial number, its usually higher. This felt to be due to engines being taken off the assembly line for generator and other things.

[stoffer]

thanks ghiltgen

thats very kind of you

[dpcd67]

I'm sure you realize that Willys started their production numbers at 100,000 so if yours is really 4106 then it is a Very early production MB, a slat grill; very desirable piece. Engines vary but are many thousands higher than the frame and body number. Due to, as stated, production for other uses and spares.

[ghiltgen]

Stoffer,

Based on my linear regression method, a WW2 Jeep MB with a body tub number of 104106 would have a Serial number 202015, and a day of delivery of on or about 2/13/1943 which is a Saturday. Keep in mind that these are estimates AND SHOULD BE REPORTED AS SUCH. for example if you add your Jeep to the data base on Ron's site (G503), you would report the body tube number as "actual", the DOD and SN as "estimated". The other thing is your DOD is on a Saturday, and no one knows for sure how much work was done on the weekends at WIllys. However, given that there was a war on, it is thought that some jeep production activity did occur on weekends. (At some point, I will go thru all the DODs listed as actual and find out how many, if any were on weekends!)

Note to dpcd, the number Stoffer reported is the body tub number, not the SN for the jeep. If it was the SN for the jeep you are correct that it would be an early, slat grill MB.

[stoffer]

thank you ghiltgen

thats very interesting have you ever tried this with known original MB`S to see how close you got ?

[ghiltgen]

Yes, it comes in close; either on the correct DOD or within 2 days typically.