How much to register a just bought government surplus Jeep?

Hi 70 years old,

I'm sure you will soon get a reply to your post

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

10,000,000 VND for the plates and assorted paperwork. The temp plates can come off now. Now I need my inspection sticker and insurance. I'm guessing that I'll be out another 5,000,000 VND or so.

Hi, I know it's a while since you posted but how did you get on with your Jeep,also how did you go about purchasing a Ex military Jeep,I'm interested what procedures did you take and how did you hear about Ex Gov't Jeeps for sale
love to have some info,
   Thanks

Gritman wrote:

Hi, I know it's a while since you posted but how did you get on with your Jeep,also how did you go about purchasing a Ex military Jeep,I'm interested what procedures did you take and how did you hear about Ex Gov't Jeeps for sale
love to have some info,
   Thanks

I too am very interested in these ex military Jeeps. Any information would be appreciated!

The Jeep is a 1961 CJ-5 and will be out of the shop after a major rebuild in a few days. It was either a Contractor or US Government Civilian Vehicle. While the VN registration says 1970, both the engine and chassis number are from 1961. For some reason Jeeps are becoming popular and I've had three offers to buy mine. I love my Jeep. Mine is not for sale.

Registering a car or truck is about $1500-$2500 and you need to be a resident and have a VN drivers lisence. You also will need to get an inspection, pay a road fee and buy insurance every 6 months. Out in the boonies, this is several hundred dollars. I ran this jeep down by word of mouth.

Real, pre 1971, Jeeps are relatively high maintenance, as well as difficult and somewhat dangerous to drive for those who don't have Jeep experience. They are actually rather easy to roll over. The M-151, a much improved and much safer successor to the jeep, was considered too dangerous to be released to civilians and the US government destroyed them instead of releasing them to the public.

How do I like my Jeep. Love it. Note, in the military I was licensed for almost everything including M-1 tanks. Still, driving a Jeep or M-151 on a highway road march was miserable. The jeep was designed for off road and 1940's road conditions. 50 mph or 80 kmh is pushing it. The new highways, like they have around Can Tho, would be unpleasant to drive.

You will also need to find a good Jeep mechanic as a VN Gvt surplus Vehicle will need extensive work before it is really reasonable to use. In fact, I'd recommend that you locate a good Jeep mechanic first and let him help you find a Jeep.

Sam

70 years old wrote:

The Jeep is a 1961 CJ-5 and will be out of the shop after a major rebuild in a few days. It was either a Contractor or US Government Civilian Vehicle. While the VN registration says 1970, both the engine and chassis number are from 1961. For some reason Jeeps are becoming popular and I've had three offers to buy mine. I love my Jeep. Mine is not for sale.

Registering a car or truck is about $1500-$2500 and you need to be a resident and have a VN drivers lisence. You also will need to get an inspection, pay a road fee and buy insurance every 6 months. Out in the boonies, this is several hundred dollars. I ran this jeep down by word of mouth.

Real, pre 1971, Jeeps are relatively high maintenance, as well as difficult and somewhat dangerous to drive for those who don't have Jeep experience. They are actually rather easy to roll over. The M-151, a much improved and much safer successor to the jeep, was considered too dangerous to be released to civilians and the US government destroyed them instead of releasing them to the public.

How do I like my Jeep. Love it. Note, in the military I was licensed for almost everything including M-1 tanks. Still, driving a Jeep or M-151 on a highway road march was miserable. The jeep was designed for off road and 1940's road conditions. 50 mph or 80 kmh is pushing it. The new highways, like they have around Can Tho, would be unpleasant to drive.

You will also need to find a good Jeep mechanic as a VN Gvt surplus Vehicle will need extensive work before it is really reasonable to use. In fact, I'd recommend that you locate a good Jeep mechanic first and let him help you find a Jeep.

Sam

Hi Sam,

Many thanks for this information. I have noticed many Jeeps for sale have been fitted with modern Toyota engines, I guess to improve performance and reliability. What are your thoughts on this??

Cheers
Brad

Their are a couple of issues,

1) The paper work for an engine change is rather touchy. Make ABSOLUTELY sure that the paper work reflects the engine change.

2) The Toyota engine IS more modern and lower maintenance. The Jeep engine is incredibly durable. Annie Belle's engine is 53 years old. The crank still hasn't been reground. The crank does have slight wear and the mechanic used std size bearings and tapered shims under the bearings. I was working for a Foreign Car Garage in the early 1960's and highly approve of tapered shims. Most crankshafts have hardened journals and grinding undersized tends to cause rapid crankshaft wear.  With this rebuild the engine is bored 30 thousandths over. Boring to 60 thousandths over is normal with out putting in cylinder sleeves. With decent maintenance reaching 100 years of operation is quite doable for Annie Belle, not me. The transmission synchronizer is weak and will likely need to be replaced in the next few years. The axels have been overhauled and the transfer box is fine. The tub(body) was removed from the frame and and got needed repairs and a striped to bare metal repaint. The frame was found to be essentially perfect and was repainted.

Hi Sam,
Thanks for all that info very interesting,
Den

On reflection, I'll add a warning about Toyota etc. engines. The Jeep engine is a low RPM engine. The much higher RPM that the Toyota etc. is comfortable with means that a Toyota engined Jeep can be driven much faster. This is very dangerous. Real Jeeps have a high center of gravity(due to the nearly one foot of ground clearance), are very narrow(to maneuver between close obstacles) and are very short( again for off road maneuverability). The real Jeep is a 1/4 ton off road truck not a car. The dimensions make a real Jeep very unstable when making a sharp turn and applying the breaks at the same time, even at fairly low speed. At highway speed, 60-70 MPH, this is very dangerous and has killed numerous soldiers and even more civilians.

Late model “Jeeps" are safe. But, they sit lower(less ground clearance), are wider, a few feet longer and almost twice the weight. They are also cars that are at home on the highway and have limited off road ability.

hi can you help need a replacement filleter that goes in side fuel fillter i have put a in line one in but would like the real deal ken hoian

70 years old wrote:

Late model “Jeeps" are safe. But, they sit lower(less ground clearance), are wider, a few feet longer and almost twice the weight. They are also cars that are at home on the highway and have limited off road ability.

Is it a US-made Jeep or a knock off from China with super thin steel body?

1963 CJ5 US heavy steel body

70 years old wrote:

1963 CJ5 US heavy steel body

Thanks for the info (and pricing).

Where do you get a Government Surplus Jeep I want one !!!
Can I have this IN Vietnam ... great Family car .... Yeah .

Will work good on Farm . yes .   Chris .

Again Info please !! Cheers .

Sam ...

I have worked on Jeep ... Universal Wagons from the 1950's with the 4 , and 6 cylinder engines . Owned them in Wyoming in Rocky Mountains and gouged through SNOW above the bumpers . The Jeep was always a Utility vehicle .

The older Jeeps had spline axles in the rear in Dana 25 axles . The axles are only capable of sustaining certain horse power or you will shred the outer hub with repeated spline failures . Yes .
Mine had overdrive and the 4 speed ( ? ) been awhile ... transmissions . All steel body . Narrow and a climber .

Utility Wagons would have sold like MAD in Vietnam . Yeah .
Jeeps are simple vehicles . Maintenance ... Yes . Worth it though . My question is weather a Toyota conversion will take out Spline Axles ??
Were the US Govt Jeeps solid axle in rear ? I never owned one of those , Just civilian with the T-90 tranny and Dana 25 Axles .
Put CJ 5 Axles in a Willy's and you get 65 mph speed with the 6 pot engine .

Happy Jeeping in Vietnam ! Cheers !!! C .

The Jeeps and M-151s here mostly have the F head 4. Some of the older Jeeps have the old flat head 4. Mine is a 1963 CJ-5 F-4 with front Dana 27 and rear Dana 44. For most of the local Jeep owners, a Jeep is a fun toy and their real ride is a BMW.

Getting a Vietnamese Drivers License is the First step in being able to register a vehicle. While the process isn't too difficult, time consuming or expensive for an American with a valid State DL; it does require long term residency.

The big issues with 4 wheelers are inspections every 6 months, road tolls, heavy traffic, road fees and so on.

Sam


Sam

Sam

I am marrying a Lady in Vietnam , so long term is not an issue . She has a farm near Plieku City , and I thought  the Jeep would work good in the highland country .  It could tow a small trailer and be used on Farm . Practical .
So there may be a discount for a vehicle if part of a Farming operation , in USA Farms are able to get " tax free " status on all machinery used in the actual production , light trucks , tractors , combines etc .

Vietnam may also have a similar program for Agricultural interests , do you know if they do ? I am very capable of repairing the Jeep , maybe shimming the planetary would be a little outside of my expertise , but rebuilding small engines and fuel systems are no issue at all .  I am a " Poor American " , I Most of the cars I was able to buy were built before I was 10 years old . Yeah ... that old .  Like I said , living in the Rocky Mountain region , WE HAD to FIX our rigs  ,  or walk .

Simple Life .   Chris . 

The discount is in buying a truck vs "car." A nice little SYM 950 Kg truck was around $10,000 brand new last time that I checked a couple of years ago. A bit bigger and nicer Hyundai Diesel truck with a 1300 Kg capacity wasn't that much more. . My License is good for 3400 Kg capacity as long as I am not commercial.

I'm an old Soldier and I like Jeeps. But, if I was more involved in farming, a real truck isn't much more $ to buy and will be a lot more practical for farm use and cheaper to operate. Personalty, in your situation, I'd go for the Hyundai. A Jeep is rated at a bit over 200 Kg and people haul more than that on a motorcycle.

Sam

Sam,

I appreciate your postings but am confused. First you said it was a Mahindra CJ4 (Mahindra is the Indian company which makes Jeeps), then you said it was a 1961 CJ5, then you said it was a 1963 US CJ5. Can you please clarify what exactly you have?

I too wanted to know how you got on to the Jeep in the first place. Who in government did you contact and how did you go about actually bidding and buying? Does the government advertise surplus sales? Where?

I am looking for a good mechanic for a Jeep M151A2, to repair my front end, make sure all adjustments are correct.
If anyone knows of any, please steer me to the right guy.