Forward-Control Jeeps are an awesome alternative to the traditional civilian Jeep that everyone is familiar with. According to Jeep.com, the FC Jeep was produced from 1957 to 1965 and they were “…highly maneuverable workhorses featured a unique cab-over-engine design gave them a hoodless, flat-nose appearance…the FC-170 was actually built on top of the existing CJ-5 chassis.” The Forward-Control Jeep was thrust into the collector car spotlight when a 1958 FC 170 was featured at the 2014 SEMA show. Built by Daystar Products, it may have blended in with the crowd, except for the fact that it featured retina-searing antifreeze-green paint and was sitting on tracks! Since then, FC Jeeps have come out of the woodwork and have been made popular again. This one is a 1960 4×4 and can be found here on eBay with a current bid of $22,500. Located in Fenton, Missouri, it has been restored but isn’t too nice that the new owner won’t want to drive it. Check out this awesome Jeep and thanks to Larry D. for the tip.
The interior is similar to other cab-over-engine vehicles. The engine is mounted between the front seats and has a hatch to access the engine. The dash has been repainted to match the exterior and the rest features a nice cream color. The seller says they are President Red and Glacier White. You can see some aftermarket gauges under the dash, however, the ad says the main gauges are inoperable.
The engine is a 226 cubic inch “Super Hurricane” in-line six. It is linked to a Borg-Warner T-90 three-speed manual transmission which shifts power through a Spicer two-speed transfer case. The front axle is a Spicer 44 with 4.89 gears while the rear is a Spicer 53 stuffed with 4.88s.
“More cargo space! On less wheelbase! And goes ‘anyplace’!” said ads for the FC Jeep. eighteen-foot turning radius
I would call it NBFC [NOT BUILT FOR COMFORT]. A work horse for sure, put a snow blade on the front and it will move snow, climb hills , cross muddy fields, wade across streams or go just about anywhere you might want to go. I like the colors and the general appearance of these beasts, but for me the price [even though probably fair] is to steep for me.
GodBless America
Way back when, a buddy of mine, who was not a “car guy”, bought one of these after seeing it for sale along the roadside because he liked the looks of it. Not too much later, he decided to join a commune in New Hampshire and wanted me to accompany him on the journey from Lancaster, PA because I was supposedly mechanically inclined. We had adventures along the way with overheating and electrical issues, but we made it eventually. He ended up leaving the commune after a few months, but the Jeep stayed there and apparently soldiered on for a few years, hauling firewood, making dump runs, and pulling Saabs out of snowbanks.
You lie – SAABs in snowbanks? ;)
@PaulinMA, there isn’t a snowbank made by man nor nature that can trap a Saab. He must have meant a Volvo, ’cause you know all Swedes look alike lol
That’s a Redneck dream machine! And I’m that Redneck 🤟🏻😁
A beautiful design, and ready to go anywhere. If you want this fun toy, price is insignificant.
It would be slow, crude, rough-riding, devoid of creature comforts, cold in winter, hot in summer. But if your goal is to have something different to run errands around town and haul plants from Home Depot and occasionally take to Cars & Coffee, this could be a pretty fun acquisition. Somehow it comes across as a cool beast.
These didnt have HEATING in them ?? Wow.
This is the LWB version, which handled much better and was much less prone to doing stoppies.
You will always be the first one to a front end crash.
Well, simply an outstanding find, only an idjit would disagree. Not much is said about how the FC was conceived. If anyone still cares, they were the brainchild of Brooks Stevens in the late 50’s, who saw the advantages of the new up and coming cabover semis, and applied that to smaller vehicles. These were very popular in city municipal applications, the park system in Milwaukee, I remember, had these with brooms for the ice skating rinks. Gas stations had these for snow plowing, the tight turning radius was better than any previous 4×4. Therein lies the demise of most FC’s. They rusted profusely, and I remember FC’s in junkyards with the cabs falling off. As a museum piece ( grandpa, what’s a museum?) it’s an unusual find, to actually drive one? In today’s traffic? May the good Lord have mercy on your soul, they were that dangerous at anything over 35 mph. Don’t believe me? Then plop down your 5 figures, and tell me how the ride home went,,,,
I was going to mention our esteemed Wisconsinite, Brook Stevens, but see you already did. I recall seeing the Willys FC on the roads in the early ’70s, but even then they were a rare sight and were generally in rough shape by that time.
Howard is right, I always wanted to own one but, rusted far too quickly. The price is right for an add to a collection but, a little more I would pay to run around the farm town.
Be a good truck to cruise the logging roads around here and gather firewood.
The FC-150 was based on the CJ-5, not the 170.
I owned a 170 and off-roading it reminded me of an amusement park ride!
I saw the custom at SEMA several years ago, beautiful…
Is it this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTqjSNffWzw
You’ve never really experienced the butt clenching feeling of true panic until you have to slam the brakes on one of these in traffic
Having a plow blade on the front mitigates this a couple ways by having traffic move out of your way and also in the opposite way that wheelie bars do on the back end of a gasser :D
Great looking truck but those gear ratios have to go 3:90’s would be a perfect choice
My Father-in Law had a ‘57 FC 150 with 53k and a factory snowplow. I was shopping for a cheap pickup at the time. Came to dinner one Sunday and it was gone! He had traded it for $250 and an ailing Simca. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d want that…” I missed out on an iconic rig, and he got a car that’s value was based on current scrap prices. Small consolation that he never lived it down.
Do NOT remove the counter balance weight from the back of this vehicle.
my father owned one when i was about 10 yrs old loved driving it it was very fun to play in
I’m not a big CJ5 fan but this thing is very cool. Other than the obvious safety issues, it seems to me this type of packaging would offer a lot more cargo capacity relative to vehicle footprint. I’ve always wanted to drive one of these forward control vehicles like this or a VW van just to see what it’s like. It looks like somebody did a fairly decent job bringing this one back from the brink so hopefully it will go somewhere where it is preserved in nice shape. I personally wouldn’t use this for actual hard work, carrying stuff, etc. Many of the new UTVs would work much better for those tasks and you won’t be tearing up an obvious timepiece.
SIMCA & FC – sounds like my neighborhood growin up – in which a teen here put the alu beer keg on for gas tank, a spare tire mounted on ‘hood’ for nose stands and generally had fun in a small town growin up~
I do not like the way some ‘restore’ as in the above link. Rather see it as it was (like a body builder human, odd and unappealing for me. Is there any FC left under there?). Mr Danforth writes abt 1 I’d rather see~
I’ve always loved these jeeps, just as I’ve always loved the Ford E150 froward-control pickups, and their Dodge and Chevy contemporaries. It would be fun to drive this through my small town, turning heads wherever I go, getting curious looks that say, “What the hell is that?!?” (Incidentally, that’s exactly what I said the first time I saw a Pontiac Aztek!)
I’ve never seen one this nice. They rusted just sitting so this is amazing. I always liked them. I might not after driving one but still would be a blast.