Anyone know how CJ jeeps got to Thailand?

1346 Views 21 Replies 6 Participants Last post by BagusJeep, 9 mo ago

Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · 10 mo ago

Hi friends,

Hoping an aficionado can help me with the history of how CJ jeeps got to Thailand.

I have a 1968 CJ-6. It is a right-hand drive. Seems like it started out life that way. I bought it in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. Says Kaiser on the plate under the hood.

I thought maybe it was a base or MP jeep when the US was in Thailand during the Vietnam war.

But that's just a wild guess.

Any help or information would be great, thank you!

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #4 · 10 mo ago

Here's the plate. Says Toledo, Ohio.

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #5 · 10 mo ago

It could have been Franken-jeeped. Just wonder what it started life out as.

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #10 · 10 mo ago

All the guts are Nissan and it's now a diesel. I just wondered how it might have gotten to Thailand (at least the part still attached to the data plate, haha).

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #11 · 10 mo ago

Goodoldjeep said:
Right hand drive, probably from India via Britain

So, there were jeeps being shipped to India from Ohio then? I had no idea. I wonder why/how it got here. There aren't super close ties with India here in Thailand, but, stranger things have happened!

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #12 · 10 mo ago

Cj-6er said:
So, there were jeeps being shipped to India from Ohio then? I had no idea. I wonder why/how it got here. There aren't super close ties with India here in Thailand, but, stranger things have happened!

Rather, to India from Britain.

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #14 · 10 mo ago

Goodoldjeep said:
Jeeps went all over the world, with some licensing agreements in other countries. For instance the Philippines built them for years, then continued stamping bodies for the aftermarket abroad as well as to keep the Jeepneys supplied with body parts. India had some sort of contract with Kaiser too and is a former British colony which also had their share of Jeeps.

Sounds like India is the most plausible route then. Thanks for coloring in some ideas for origin!

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #16 · 10 mo ago

I thought so too! I was actually thinking of making it an "ambulance" or a "radio Jeep" project.

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Cj-6er

Discussion Starter · #18 · 10 mo ago

HAZCAT said:
It probably was a cj6 when it was built. CJ6 models were built as utility vehicles more designed for commercial applications and sold as such.
Utility companies used them to run the right-of-way paths to check lines. Sheriff and military, UNICEF ambulances, small tow trucks, half cab trucks. Game hunting in Africa (John Wayne movie Hitari)...
And like the CJ5, foreign ones were built right hand drive if required.
But what that is now is completely custom and if the frame isn't an open c channel 1968 CJ6 frame, what is still Kaiser?
The grill looks like it has the old style canvas seal, but the CJ was not a one peice body, the seats and roll bar are far newer. They don't have molded in flares, the gas tank is under the driver's seat and filler is just outside the door not far back like that and the door is not from a CJ6 and the opening is far larger than a 6. The M-170 military doesn't look like that either. Even though it has a pintle style hitch.
I have a 1970 Kaiser CJ6 with a full metal top and doors like the ambulances were built.

Thank you for that insight as well. Sounds like it started life in the states and then jumped the pond and got totally bastardized! But, it's all part of its story I guess. Like tattoos or something.

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